Understanding Address Correction Results

Tuesday, Jun 28th 2022

If you’ve been in the mailing industry for awhile, acronyms like CASS, DPV and NCOA are very familiar. Perhaps you run these processes on your mailing lists every day. But after you run these processes, what should you do with the results? Many mailers will ignore the results completely, missing out on a key opportunity to cut down on their mailing costs. Today, we’ll review some of the results you’ll get after running your list through Address Correction, which includes data from CASS and DPV processing.

After CASS and DPV processing, most programs return an evaluation code for each address, letting you know what happened to the address during processing. There are three general types of return codes. Here they are, and here are some good ways to handle the addresses once the process is complete.

Matched Addresses

This return code, generally between 0 and 90 in Satori Software products, indicates that the program was able to match the address to a valid address in the USPS database. Sometimes the software makes changes to the address in order to match it. This could be added information, such as a street directional (west, northeast, etc), or corrections to the spelling of a street name or ZIP code can be made as well.

When an address has a return code indicating that the address was matched, you have a good level of certainty that anything sent to that address will be delivered. If the list you processed will be used again, either in another mailing, or as a customer database, it is always a good idea to update the source data with the updated address. This ensures that the cleaned address is available the next time you want to use it.

DPV Errors and Warnings

When the return code indicates a DPV issue (generally 91-99 and 492-493 in Satori Software products), this indicates that while the building/house number is correct, the apartment/suite number is missing or incorrect. These pieces can get delivery point information from the software, and still qualify for Automation prices, even with missing data. Because of this, many of these dubious addresses slip through validation and can result in returned mail.

Years ago, postal carriers were encouraged to try to deliver mail pieces with missing apartment or suite information. As many carriers would deliver to the same route their entire career, this process worked well. With USPS downsizing and routes changing constantly, they no longer encourage carriers to take this extra step.

Today, addresses with these return codes should be set aside and evaluated. In some cases, the mail will get to the intended recipient, but not always. In other words, these addresses should be treated like uncorrected addresses.

Other Uncorrected Addresses

There are many reasons an address can’t be corrected by CASS-certified software. Most commonly, the address has missing or misleading data that precludes a match to an address in the CASS database. Anything from missing street directionals (for example, the original address was 101 Main St, but Main St has both north (N) and south (S) designators), to poorly spelled street names can cause these errors. These addresses do not get delivery point information from your software, and do not qualify for Automation rates.

In some cases, addresses not matched can be delivered by the postal carrier. Familiarity with a route can allow a carrier to recognize what a misspelled word is meant to represent , and these mail pieces can get to their intended recipient. However, in most cases, uncorrected addresses wind up getting returned to the mailer or discarded by USPS. These addresses should be set aside and evaluated.

Depending on the reason you mail, there are several ways to handle these unmatched addresses. Watch for our next blog, where we review all of your address evaluation options.