For direct marketing and sales campaigns, the procurement and provision of high-quality address material of your target groups represents an essential contribution to the success of the planned campaigns. Many address lists are generated automatically and have a high error rate as well as outdated data records. However, errors also frequently creep into address data that is generated in-house and by hand.

With Address validation you can check if the address is valid

Address verification of address4.com is the process of checking a postal address against an authoritative database to determine if the address is valid (this process is also called address verification). If the address in question matches an address in the official database, the address is ‘valid’: for example, it is a real address. Addresses that do not match any address in the database are presented as not valid: for example, the address either does not exist or is not registered in the official address database.

How to Prepare an Address for the Validation

Before an address can be validated, a lot has to be done to prepare it for the validation process. And there are some reasons why a real address cannot be validated. To understand the details of the validation process, it is best to start at the very beginning. Before an address can be validated, it often needs to be parsed first, which usually involves analysis and standardization.

Address Parsing

Address parsing breaks down an address into its component parts such as city, state and postcode. Different versions of parsing have different levels of accuracy – and different levels of functionality.

Address Standardization

Address standardization involves formatting a postal address to conform to the standard address format specified by the relevant postal authority. Once an address has been parsed correctly, it can be standardized. The standardization process may include correcting spelling errors, filling in data gaps (e.g. missing postcodes, street names, etc.) and shortening messages to conform to official database formats.

Once the address is formatted correctly, it is checked by searching for its twin in the official address database. If there is a match, the address is valid. If not, it is invalid.

Reasons Why Addresses might be Considered Invalid

Just because an address has not been validated does not mean that it is not genuine. There are several reasons why an address may be considered invalid. Here are some of them:

• Imaginary address: The address is fake, hypothetical, no longer or not yet in existence. A made-up house number in your street would have this effect, as would the address of a building that was demolished six months ago.
• Wrong address: Sometimes the address entered is so poorly written/formatted that it cannot be accurately corrected. Or incorrect information is entered, such as an incorrect street name or house number.
• Address not occupied: Perhaps a building is new or vacant. In any case, the address will not be listed in the official postal address database if no one lives there to receive mail. Therefore, it will not be validated.
• Unregistered address: New buildings, new residents, residents who do not want/need to receive mail – these are all examples of an address that is not yet/no longer registered with the USPS. If they are not registered, they are not in the system. And if an address is not in the system, it is considered invalid.