Post Office Address Verification

Address verification is necessary to ensure that your mail gets delivered. The United States Postal Service (USPS) offers two options for address verification.

The first option involves using the USPS Address Lookup tool on its website. This tool compares the primary number of your address to the official address database. It may also check other elements of your address.

The second option involves receiving paper mail from the USPS. This paper mail will contain a verification code.

You can also use third-party address verification tools. These tools are more advanced and can read even minor misspellings. They are typically available in CSV and Excel formats.

There are also CASS certified software programs that verify that required elements of postal addresses are correctly spelled and formatted. Typically, the CASS-certified provider enters addresses into the USPS address database.

A DPV Confirmation Indicator of "Y" is a valid delivery point. It indicates that the address is the most accurate address for the delivery location.

Using the USPS Address Lookup tool is free. However, the input must be precise. If the input is inaccurate, the tool will be unable to recognize the address.

The USPS offers Address Element Correction, Delivery Point Validation, and NCOALink(r) products for address verification. While these products are not free, they do offer more comprehensive solutions.

The NCOALink(r) database contains 160 million permanent change of address records. It cross-checks addresses with its own database and the USPS address database. Each record is marked as valid if it matches.