Depending on your environment and needs, you will need to use different operations for their corresponding strengths. As of this writing, we recommend GetBestMatches as it will yield the highest level of accuracy while making any necessary corrections to your input values without changing the original intent of the address.
GetBestMatches also includes extra information such as DPV codes, residential delivery indicator (RDI), and the possibility of appending suite information.
Address2 should be reserved for extraneous information such as “C/O John Smith” or “Leave package around back”. The standardized format returned by service is what you should use to help ensure that the mail is correctly delivered. However, if you wish to store the primary and secondary address data separately for your own records, then the service does return this information as properly parsed address fragments. For example, to recreate Address1 without the secondary address data, append the following output fields together, separated by spaces: FragmentHouse + FragmentPreDir + FragmentStreet + FragmentSuffix + FragmentPostDir To get the secondary address data by itself: FragmentUnit + Fragment + FragmentPMBPrefix + FragmentPMBNumber
What is the purpose for the Phone Number and Name inputs?
AV4 has a unique new feature…
Including the Phone Number and names of the business/residents at the address allows AV4 to get a higher level of accuracy for the address. You can include these and it will help choose the most appropriate address for the information, even with incomplete address information.
The Sample Code is Giving Strange Errors or is Crashing!
Most likely, the sample code cannot connect to Service Objects…
Many environments will not allow you to connect out on port 80, or will clip out XML data from these requests/responses. The easiest way to check for this is to open a browser on the machine running the sample code. In your browser, navigate to:
https://trial.serviceobjects.com/av4
Then try to run one of the operations with your trial key. If you get a browser error, or get no data back, then the sample code isn’t able to connect either. Contact your systems administrator to resolve why you are not able to connect to Service Objects.
Address Validation says it can’t find my street!
DOTS Address Validation will work hard to find your address…
Including Phone and name information will yield a higher likelyhood of this address being found. In addition, setting a higher Mode will yield more results.
For ValidateAddress, what are the minimum required fields?
Besides the license key the base required fields are Address1 and Mode, but the service works best when either ZIP or City/State are included
Does Address Validation do delivery point validation? I need to know if the USPS can deliver to this address.
Yes, we do.
What does the IsResidential flag help with?
In some situations residential deliveries can cost more so this flag helps with shipping strategies and costs.
What is CASS?
The Coding Accuracy Support System (https://www.serviceobjects.com/blog/cass-dpv-higher-standard-address-accuracy/) enables the United States Postal Service (USPS) to evaluate the accuracy of software that corrects and matches street addresses.
Is Address Validation CASS-certified? Can I use it to get postal discounts?
Yes and No, our core address validation engine is CASS certified…
It meets and exceeds all requirements for address correction except bulk mail discounts. AV does not print the UPSP forms required for bulk mail discounts, because of this we are not formally CASS certified. You cannot use AV for bulk-rate postal discounts.
What are the possible errors that AV will return if an address is invalid?
Please refer to/display/devguide/AV4+-+Errors
What can barcode digits help me with?
They allow clients to verify the uniqueness of an address…
Each address in the US is given an unique barcode digit. By comparing these addresses in a system, duplicate address records can be identified.
For example, if you validate “123 Main street, Anytown, CA”, but in Anytown, CA, there is only a “West Main street” and an “East Main street”, then this will result in a “Multiple Addresses Match”. You will need to specify either West Main or East Main as the street name to get a corrected, single address.
There are other cases in which “multiple addresses match” will occur, but are rare and often have to do with a difference in zip+4, or suite numbers.
We do not currently have the GetPossibleMatches operation from Address Validation 2, but we will in the future.
I need to know exactly how long each of the output fields could be. What is your standard field length?
Please email us atmailto:support@serviceobjects.com, and we’ll send you the exact field length specifications…
As a general rule, you won’t get a field longer than 80 characters.
Does AV validate suite or apartment numbers?
Yes.
Does AV validate PO Boxes/box numbers?
Yes…
PO boxes are correctable and are indeed validated. Out of range PO Box numbers will yield the appropriate error.
I need both address correction and geocoding information. How can I get both at once?
We offer alternative services to provide this information…
Please see DOTS Address Insight.
Additionally, if we run batches for you (see question below) we can provide both address correction and geocoding simultaneously.
If you have a need for special information or format, email us at support@serviceobjects.com
Where do you get your address information?
The short answer is the US Postal Service…
We gather our data from many various sources.
I am not a programmer. How do I use DOTS Address Validation US?
Service Objects runs batches for you…
A free batch trial is available at https://www.serviceobjects.com/upload-center.