Address Verification

Postal address verification for direct mail

If you or your company sends out postcards or letters, you have probably had mail bounce back. Returned mail is an indication that your direct mail process is not optimized and is usually due to incorrect data in your address database. This leads to postage waste and campaigns that underperform.

One step to optimizing your direct mail results is address verification. The more mailings you send that get delivered – the better your results will be. The simple one-step solution to the optimization is to use Postalytics with its integrated advanced address verification system that guarantees you a high deliverability rate.

Mailing address lookup

Postalytics software is certified by the USPS through the Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS). This means that we can access current mailing address information from the USPS. Every match we make in the Postalytics system performs an address check against the USPS’s official postal address database.

This means our address lookup API provides you with accurate information. Our powerful CASS-certified software allows you to find the address of any building using a ZIP code. You can also clean up your address list by performing a bulk check of addresses to identify invalid addresses.

USPS address verification

The message you send with a direct mail piece is important, but the success of your campaign depends significantly on the mailing list you use. The Postalytics system utilizes USPS resources that you can access for accurate and up-to-date lists and correct city and state data.

The USPS provides you with ways to verify a recipient’s shipping address, but the capabilities are limited and hardly suitable for verifying bulk addresses. Postalytics offers additional features for address validation that make it a far better option for verifying bulk addresses.

Verify an address: 3 ways Postalytics can help

Address verification, also known as address validation, is a technical process the postal service uses to verify the accuracy of postal information before sending a mailing. Learn how Postalytics’ direct mail automation tools eliminate invalid addresses to improve our service and save you money on direct mail campaigns:

1. We clean mailing lists

A successful direct mail campaign starts with a valid address check system. Postalytics cleans lists on import for invalid addresses, zip codes, and state codes. As part of our service, we also automatically mark invalid addresses (addresses returned to sender) as “invalid” so that subsequent mailings are not sent to them, and you always have the right address on file.

2. We run the mail through CASS

USPS developed the database (CASS) to ensure that all addresses used for mailing follow the same pattern. This reduces the risk of errors and ensures that mail is delivered to the correct location with a valid address. The CASS address format is address/house number, street name, city name, state name, and ZIP code. Postalytics matches all mailing address information on our customers’ mailing lists with USPS records as a certified CASS data processor.

3. We put an end to “dead” mail

NCOA stands for the National Change of Address database. This database tracks all permanent addresses of individuals and businesses that change. The NCOA databases help senders using Postalytics by providing us with the most up-to-date address data. This ensures that mailings are delivered to both active and lost customers at the correct address and reduces marketing waste caused by the non-delivery of mailings related to inaccurate address data.

Zip code lookup

The ZIP code in an address plays an important role in processing data quickly and accurately. Errors in the ZIP codes can cause processing delays. The USPS website offers a ZIP code lookup tool to query a ZIP code by entering the street address, city, or state information. Because Postalytics is software certified by CASS, we can automatically provide you with a ZIP code for each city address you want to look up to save you time.

Ready to send direct mail?

Sign up for Postalytics, upload your direct mailing list, and create your postcard or letter campaign in minutes using the online features and tools. Our innovative technology will automatically verify any address in your list to ensure your campaign is successful from the start.

FAQ’s

How do I verify an address?

There are several ways to verify address data and prevent using an invalid address. The first way is to use a USPS address verification API tool. These “address checker” tools allow you to verify US in batches or in real-time. Another method for address validation is to use an API. The API connects to your website, application, or other technology that performs address validation on mailing addresses as it is entered.

Can I verify addresses in bulk?

You may find tools to automate bulk mailings, but they don’t offer quality address verification. Therefore, it’s important to choose a reputable vendor like Postalytics that offers software certified by CASS for address verification to our customers. These standards ensure that the software is verified and reads every address correctly from the database. Without CASS certification, the risk of mail being returned or misinterpreted is high.

What is USPS address verification?

Postal address verification (also referred to as address validation) is when the USPS verifies the validity and deliverability of a physical mailing address. It checks that the addresses are correct.