Country Specific Guidelines – en_US
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for Search and Autocomplete rating within the US market. As such, these guidelines should be considered supplemental to the Global Search and Autocomplete Guidelines.
2. Address Components in Rating Interface
Below is a table of all mandatory/essential address components for each type of result in Maps Search (MS) and Autocomplete (AC).
Table Notes: | |
If Applicable | See section 7.1.2 Unit/Apt in Global MS Guidelines |
Features/POIs without Expected Address | See Global Guidelines |
Yes* | If the result is within the test locale the Country is optional. When the result is outside of the test locale the Country is mandatory. |
When rating, you may occasionally come across a result for which the City or Postal Code or Street Directions on TryRating differs from the POI’s official website. In such a case, you are expected to use the Postal Services to investigate the discrepancy and determine the appropriate components for the full address listed in the Result.
Note: You are only required to check the result address on USPS if the city OR postal code OR street direction/type is different than the official website. If the result address is identical to the official website, then no further research is expected.
In some cases, multiple localities would be appropriate for a single address due to overlapping boundaries. It is imperative to verify that the alternate locality returned is not an accepted alternative address prior to applying the rating of ‘Incorrect – Locality’.
When confirming with USPS, you will need to input the full result address, including the locality, in question, and click ‘Find’. If the address is validated by USPS rate the address we list as ‘Correct’. If it is not validated by USPS we can assume the official website is correct and rate our address as ‘Incorrect – Locality. See examples below.
Result Address | Official Address | USPS Return | Rating & Explanation |
2828 Colorado Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90041 United States | 2828 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock, CA 90041 | 2828 Colorado Blvd Los Angeles CA 90041 | The result address lists the city as ‘Los Angeles’, while the official website lists ‘Eagle Rock’. After checking the full address with both cities in USPS, we can confirm that both cities are accepted for this address (Los Angeles encompasses Eagle Rock). Therefore, the address should be rated as Correct. |
2828 Colorado Blvd Eagle Rock CA 90041 | |||
6833 Main St Hialeah, FL 33014 United States | 6833 Main St Miami Lakes, FL 33014 | 6833 Main St Miami Lakes FL 33014 | The result address lists the city as ‘Hialeah’, while the official website lists ‘Miami Lakes’. After checking the full address with both cities in USPS, we can confirm that only Miami Lakes is accepted for this address. Therefore, the address should be rated as Incorrect – Locality. |
In some cases, multiple Postal Codes would be appropriate for a single address, so it is imperative to verify the any Postal Code discrepancy between the Result and the official site, is not an accepted alternative address prior to applying the rating of ‘Incorrect – Postal Code’.
When confirming with USPS, input the full result address and click ‘Find’. If the postal code that USPS returns with the full address matches our result address postal code rate the address as ‘Correct’. If USPS returns the official website postal code rate our address as ‘Incorrect – Postal Code’. See examples below.
Result Address | Official Address | USPS Return | Rating & Explanation |
2455 State Road 16 Saint Augustine, FL 32092 United States | 2455 State Road 16 Saint Augustine, FL 32084 | 2455 State Road 16 Saint Augustine FL 32092 | The result address lists the postal code as ‘32092’, while the official website lists ‘32084’. After checking the full address with USPS, we can confirm that only ‘32092’ is accepted for this address. Therefore, the address should be rated as Correct. |
5433 Park Pl Rosemont, IL 60126 United States | 5433 Park Place Rosemont, Illinois 60018 | 5433 Park Pl Rosemont IL 60018 | The result address lists the postal code as ‘60126’, while the official website lists ‘60018. After checking the full address with USPS, we can confirm that only ‘60018’ is accepted for this address. Therefore, the address should be rated as Incorrect – Postal Code. |
When comparing a result address to an official website address if the street direction (North (N), East (E), South (S), West (W)) OR the street type (St, Dr, Ave, Cir, Blvd, etc) in the result address does not match the official website we need to verify which address is correct using USPS.
When confirming with USPS, input the full Result Address and click ‘Find’. If the address USPS returns matches our result address rate the address as ‘Correct’. If the address USPS returns matches the official website rate our address as ‘Incorrect – Street Name’. See examples below.
Result Address | Official Address | USPS Return | Rating & Explanation |
757 E Lewis and Clark Pkwy Clarksville, IN 47129 United States | 757 Lewis and Clark Pkwy Clarksville, IN 47129 United States | 757 E Lewis and Clark Pkwy Clarksville, IN 47129 United States | The official website does not list a direction ’E’ in the street name. We need to confirm whether this is correct or not with USPS. USPS confirms ‘E’ direction is correct for the full address: 757 E LEWIS AND CLARK PKWY |
CLARKSVILLE IN 47129-2269. Therefore, the address should be rated as Correct. | |||
13801 Independence Blvd Indian Trail, NC 28079 United States | 13801 E Independence Blvd Indian Trail, NC 28079 United States | 13801 E Independence Blvd Indian Trail, NC 28079 United States | The official website lists a direction ’E’ in the street name that our result listing is missing. We need to confirm whether this is correct or not with USPS. USPS confirms ‘E’ direction is correct: 13801 E INDEPENDENCE BLVD INDIAN TRAIL NC 28079-9611. Therefore, the address should be rated as Incorrect – Street Name. |
142 S Chesterfield St Aiken, SC 29801 United States | 142 SE Chesterfield St Aiken, SC 29801 United States | 142 S Chesterfield St Aiken, SC 29801 United States | Our result address does not have the ‘SE’ direction type in the street name it has ’S’. The official website lists a direction ’SE’ in the street name. We need to verify whether this is correct or not with USPS. USPS confirms ‘S’ direction is correct – 142 CHESTERFIELD ST S AIKEN SC 29801-4502. Therefore, the address should be rated as Correct. |
1855 S Stapley Rd Unit 105 Mesa, AZ 85204 | 1855 S Stapley Dr Unit 105 Mesa, AZ 85204 | 1855 S Stapley Dr Unit 105 Mesa, AZ 85204 | Our result lists Rd (Road) instead of the official website listing of Dr (Drive). We need to verify whether this is correct or not with USPS. USPS confirms the correct street type is: 1855 S STAPLEY DR UNIT 105, MESA AZ 85204-6650. Therefore, the address should be rated as Incorrect – Street Name. |
2823 E. MLK St Austin, TX 78702 | 2823 E. MLK Blvd Austin, TX 78702 | Our result lists Blvd (Boulevard) instead of the official website listing of St (Street). We need to verify whether this is correct or not with USPS. USPS confirms the correct street type is: 2823 E MLK BLVD, AUSTIN TX 787021542. Therefore, the address should be rated as Correct. |
This address system is grid-based, and utilizes coordinate-like directional blocks, rather than using traditional street name and numbers. Each locality or area has a central point representing (0,0) on the grid, from which the streets are generally incremented by 100, and are named by the position relative to the center.
Result Address | Street Number Component | Explanation |
1675 S 900 W Salt Lake City, UT 84104 United States | 1675 S – [Street Number/Block Location] 900 W – [Street Name/Block Location] | ‘1675 S 900 W’ should be treated as the ‘street number and name’ of the address when confirming the address on USPS. |
This address system applies to Queens borough of New York City and the localities contained within.
Addresses are written with three components – two numbers, separated by a hyphen, followed by the street on which the building is located. The number that appears before the hyphen indicates the lower of the crossstreets on a building’s block. The second number, following the hyphen, indicates where on the block the address is located.
The hyphen is considered optional and must be removed when validating components on USPS.
Result Address | Official Address | Rating | Explanation |
6925 49th Ave Woodside, NY 11377 United States | 69-25 49th Ave Woodside, NY 11377 United States | Correct | Addresses of this type are considered Correct with or without the hyphen included in the result. |
3601 31st St Long Island City, NY 11106 United States | 36-01 31st St, Long Island City, NY 11106 United States | ||
36-1 31st St Long Island City, NY 11106 United States | 36-01 31st St, Long Island City, NY 11106 United States | Incorrect – Street Number | Both the result addresses are considered Incorrect because the street numbers (36-1 and 361) are not interchangeable with 3601. 36-1 and 361 drop the ‘0’ from the address making it a different address. |
361 31st St Long Island City, NY 11106 United States |
A coordinate address system that signifies how far from a specific cross point an address is found on a particular road. The coordinate portion of the address should be treated as a street number.
Result Expectation | Official Address | Rating | Explanation |
W156N7356 Pilgrim Rd Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 United States | W156N7356 Pilgrim Rd Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 United States | Correct | “W156N7356” should be treated as the ‘street number’ of the address when confirming the address on USPS. |
Counties are Address Type Results. If there is an error within the address it should be indicated using the Address Accuracy Dropdown.
Result Address | Result Expectation | Rating | Explanation |
Pope, AR United States | Pope County, AR United States | Incorrect – Locality | In this example the word ‘County’ is dropped from our result address. There is no city named ‘Pope, AR’, there is only a Pope County, AR. This result should be rated as Incorrect – Locality because it is missing the word ‘County’. |
Address Validation Process – Business/POI
Note: The workflow chart above is only meant for Business/POIs where we would expect a full address. The chart is not meant to be used for section 8.3. Features Without an Expected Address & 8.3.2. POIs Without an Expected Address.
Note: Use the ‘How to Use’ USPS Guideline below if you are unable to determine whether the address is verified or not on USPS.
Note: When validating the address on USPS, the (+4) number extension that follows the 5-digit main postal code is only used to help understand whether the address exists.
We do not demote if we are missing the (+4) number and ignore if we return the (+4) number in the result.
USPS returns both the main locality postal code and the (+4) area designated postal code as well.
Double check if the address is deliverable by clicking the arrow tab to the right of the returned address. Check the DPV Confirmation Indicator for a “Y”, the letter Y indicates that the postal service considers the address as deliverable.
After looking up zip code by address, check to see if the address includes a zip code with (+4) postal code designation included. If this is missing, it is likely that the address does not exist.
Look Up a ZIP Code™
Double check if the address is deliverable by clicking the arrow tab to the right of the returned address. Check the DPV Confirmation Indicator for an “N”, the letter N indicates that the postal service does not consider the address as deliverable.
Note: Do not solely base address validity on USPS alone (in some cases homes without mailboxes (P.O. Box holders) or POIs without expected mailing addresses (Parks, etc.) will not be considered deliverable address via USPS). Always perform research via web sources and street level imagery to ensure that the entity does not have a physically address.
USPS clearly indicates that an address is non-existent by including an error prompt. Always double check for misspellings and matching street types, USPS does not always automatically autocorrect incorrectly inputted address information and may present a False-Negative.
In instances noted above where USPS cannot validate an address as deliverable but other sources point to its existence, it is best to rate based on alternative resources. These types of residences include cabins, rural homes and some homes in gated communities where mail service is not offered. Addresses can be searched using a search engine, by keeping the street number, street and street type portion in quotations followed by locality and state. Example, if the query is for 11413 N Lake Rd, Espyville, PA 16424, search by “11413 N Lake Rd” Espyville, PA and find results that are direct matches. In the supplied example, USPS cannot verify the address and rather shows a range of addresses. When the specific address is queried as above, the existing property can be validated via a combination of 3 trustworthy realtor websites with pictures of the homes exterior.