Address Validation

Knowing what kind of address you’re mailing to can be important and often will influence the amount you pay for postage and shipping. Shipping to residential addresses, for example, tends to be more expensive than shipping to commercial ones. There are residential and commercial addresses, mixed addresses, as well as post office boxes. Post office boxes (P.O. Box) are traditionally used by individuals to receive mail in areas where mail may not be delivered directly to their homes. People also use P.O. boxes for security, privacy, the need for quicker delivery, and to maintain a permanent mailing address.  What is a P.O box address? A P.O. box address typically will have "P.O. Box ###" as the full address line, after the street address, or in the second address field. Sometimes it may appear without the letters, like "#324" or shortened to "POB 373". Shipping to P.O Boxes: what you need to know Sometimes merchants or e-commerce vendors will not ship to P.O boxes. If you use a courier service, like UPS or FedEx, these companies don't guarantee shipments to P.O. boxes the same way they will with standard mail to a home or business address. If you promise customers that their shipments will arrive within certain time frames, P.O. boxes can cause problems for your service guarantees. Also, if you need to know where your customers actually live, these addresses will get in your way. How to determine if an address is a P.O Box The easiest way to identify whether an address is a P.O. box is to use address verification software. Our address verification services provide indicators that identify P.O. box addresses during validation, giving you the information you need to choose the appropriate shipping method and keep your operations running efficiently. Address verification can also identify Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA) addresses—private mailbox services offered by companies such as UPS and FedEx. These addresses may resemble standard street addresses but function differently than residential or commercial locations. Knowing whether you're shipping to a P.O. box or a CMRA helps you make more informed fulfillment decisions. Improve delivery accuracy with address verification Understanding your address data helps reduce shipping costs, minimize returned packages, and improve the customer experience by increasing delivery accuracy. With Experian's address verification services and free address lookup tools, you can quickly identify P.O. boxes, CMRAs, and other address characteristics before they create operational challenges. Learn how Experian's address verification solutions can help you validate addresses, reduce delivery issues, and improve operational efficiency.

See how address validation helps ecommerce retailers reduce shipping errors, improve data quality, and personalize customer experiences.

Address verification is the process of determining whether an address is accurate and properly formatted while it also gives valuable data about the address. This process saves time and money by offering accurate data using information from the USPS and international carriers, including whether each address is categorized as a business or residential address. Businesses that utilize address verification tools are able to provide information directly to their customers with confidence, avoiding extra fees and returned mail. Address verification and the important data related to it allows businesses to make more informed and cost-effective decisions throughout their mailing campaigns. Altogether, address verification is a key tool in effectively reaching customers and having an accurate picture regarding shipping expenses, and businesses should know how to use address verification to their advantage. What is the difference between business addresses and residential addresses? When it comes to shipping, business addresses and residential addresses are viewed differently by mail carriers. Businesses should be aware of these differences before planning a mailing campaign or delivering to customers. The costs of shipping can vary based on the type of address to which you’re sending. In fact, private shippers may charge an address correction fee if an address has been wrongly identified as a residence or business. From the perspective of a mail carrier, business addresses are more convenient to deliver to as they are usually located closer together in dense commercial areas. This allows carriers to deliver more packages in a shorter amount of time. Alternatively, residential addresses are typically more spread out, using more time and taking carriers away from their high-density delivery route, which usually raises shipping costs. As a result of the differences in mailing between the two types of addresses, it is crucial that businesses have accurate data in their system. This data allows them to understand where each mailing is being sent in order to avoid unwanted fees and make sure that each one reaches its target. How different carriers classify residential addresses All mail carriers categorize addresses as either residential or business addresses. However, the criteria used to define a residential address can differ depending on which mail carrier you use. This means that although an address may be considered residential by the USPS, it may not be considered residential by a private mail carrier. The USPS designates each address as either residential or business based on the purpose of the address. Regardless of the location of the address, the USPS focuses on whether or not the address itself is home to a business or a residence. When mailing through the USPS, shipping costs are the same regardless of which address type you are shipping to. On the other hand, private carriers rely on city zoning for designating addresses. This means that for private carriers, the actual purpose of the address is unimportant. If a business is located in a zone that is used primarily for residential purposes, then the business will be categorized by the carrier as having a residential address. Because private carriers charge higher fees for residential addresses, in these instances, businesses may need to anticipate paying a higher cost for commercial shipping in these zones. What is a Residential Delivery Indicator (RDI)? Residential Delivery Indicator (RDI) identifies whether an address is categorized as residential or commercial. RDI is a data type sourced and shared by the USPS. The USPS makes this data available to address verification tools for the sake of rate shopping and analysis. What is Record Type? Record Type is another descriptor provided by the USPS to give more information about an address. USPS uses Record Type to specify an address type further, providing information about the type of residence or business by using more specific categories. Record Type Includes the following values: “F” = Firm or business“G” = General delivery“H” = High-rise“P” = PO Box“R” = Rural route or highway contract route“S” = Street Using the RDI and Record Type codes help you understand what kind of address you are sending to, and this can sometimes help you save on costs for shipping and mailing, while also giving you a sense of the mix of addresses where your business delivers its goods. Experian’s address verification tools give your business access to both RDI and Record Type in each dataset so that you can have a complete picture of the addresses you are sending to. Benefits of identifying a business address vs. a residential address Maintaining a database that accurately identifies residential and business addresses is a crucial part of any mailing strategy. By having access to accurate and up-to-date data, your business can boost its performance in the following ways: Have a more informed mailing strategy Information obtained from the address verification process, like RDI and Record Type, allows your business to gain more insight about customer locations, delivery tracking and more efficient shipping routes. An optimized shipping route will shorten delivery time, reduce shipping costs and create more satisfied customers. An informed and effective mailing strategy helps your business stay connected with customers and ultimately increases sales. Reduce return mail Using address verification tools gives your business confidence that your mail will be delivered the first time. Returned mail translates to lost time, materials and money. Managing return mail also takes more energy for employees who need to correct and sort it. A database complete with accurate and valid addresses will help you make sure that you have the correct address and that you pay the correct shipping costs for the type of address you are sending to, preventing return mail and protecting your investment. Increase your marketing impact When you are confident that your materials will reach their intended target, you can be assured your message will be received. Businesses that verify addresses will see a higher return on investment for marketing materials as they know which clients they are reaching and are less likely to receive returned mail or pay for address correction fees. Sending the right message the first time allows your marketing to reach clients without losing money on avoidable fees or errors. How to use address verification to verify a business address Experian’s address verification tools allow you and your business to verify each address so that you know where your packages and other mailings are going. With accurate data, your business is able to avoid address correction fees, reduce returned mail and properly connect with customers. Our address verification solutions help you improve customer experience, reduce costs, and boost business performance. Fill out the form to learn more: