What is Address Verification?

Quick Definition

Address verification is the process of validating whether a physical address exists and is deliverable according to official postal service standards. It checks the address against authoritative databases like USPS, validates all components (street, city, state, ZIP code), and confirms the location can receive mail or packages.

Understanding Address Verification

Address verification goes beyond simple format checking to ensure an address is real, complete, and recognized by postal services. When you verify an address, the system compares it against official postal databases containing millions of deliverable addresses worldwide.

For businesses, address verification is critical for reducing failed deliveries, preventing shipping costs from invalid addresses, and maintaining clean customer data. E-commerce companies using address verification report up to 80% reduction in undeliverable packages and significant savings on reshipping costs.

The verification process typically returns standardized address formats conforming to postal service conventions, along with additional data like ZIP+4 codes, carrier route information, and delivery point validation. This enriched data improves mail sortation, reduces postage costs, and ensures faster delivery times.

Modern address verification APIs provide real-time results in milliseconds, making them suitable for checkout forms, account registration, and mobile applications where immediate feedback is essential for user experience.

How Address Verification Works

Address Input: User enters an address through a form, API call, or batch upload
Parsing & Normalization: System breaks address into components (street, city, state, ZIP) and normalizes formatting
Database Lookup: Address is checked against official postal databases (USPS for USA, India Post for India, etc.)
Matching & Validation: System finds exact or close matches, validates deliverability, and checks for PO boxes or business addresses
Standardization: Address is formatted according to postal service standards with proper abbreviations and capitalization
Result Return: API returns verified address with status codes, confidence scores, and additional metadata

Key Benefits of Address Verification

Reduce Failed Deliveries

Eliminate 80% of undeliverable packages by catching invalid addresses before shipment

Lower Shipping Costs

Save on reshipping fees, return processing, and customer service inquiries

Improve Data Quality

Maintain clean, standardized address data across your customer database

Enhance Customer Experience

Provide instant feedback on address errors during checkout or registration

Fraud Prevention

Detect fake or suspicious addresses during account creation or transactions

Compliance & Reporting

Meet postal service requirements and generate accurate shipping reports

Common Use Cases

1. E-commerce Checkout

Verify shipping addresses in real-time during checkout to prevent failed deliveries and reduce cart abandonment

2. Customer Data Cleansing

Batch verify existing customer addresses in CRM or database to improve data quality and reduce bounce rates

3. Logistics & Delivery

Validate destination addresses before dispatch to optimize routes and ensure successful first-time delivery

4. Financial Services KYC

Verify customer addresses for Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance and fraud prevention in banking applications

5. Direct Mail Campaigns

Ensure mailing list accuracy to reduce undeliverable mail, lower postage costs, and improve campaign ROI

Address Verification vs Address Validation

Feature	Address Validation	Address Verification
Definition	Checks format and required components	Confirms address exists and is deliverable
Data Source	Format rules and patterns	Official postal service databases
Accuracy	70-85% (format only)	95-99% (postal verified)
Standardization	Basic formatting	Full USPS/postal standards
Additional Data	Limited	ZIP+4, carrier route, lat/long
Cost	Lower	Slightly higher
Use Case	Basic data entry validation	E-commerce, shipping, compliance

How to Implement Address Verification with Sthan.io

Sthan.io provides a simple REST API for real-time address verification with USPS CASS certification. Here's how to implement it:

Step 1: Get API Credentials

Step 2: Make API Request

POST https://api.sthan.io/v1/verify/address
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

{
  "street": "1600 Amphitheatre Parkway",
  "city": "Mountain View",
  "state": "CA",
  "zipCode": "94043"
}

Step 3: Handle Response

{
  "status": "verified",
  "confidence": 100,
  "standardizedAddress": {
    "street": "1600 AMPHITHEATRE PKWY",
    "city": "MOUNTAIN VIEW",
    "state": "CA",
    "zipCode": "94043-1351"
  },
  "metadata": {
    "deliveryPoint": "00",
    "carrierRoute": "C909",
    "latitude": 37.4224764,
    "longitude": -122.0842499
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Address validation checks if an address is correctly formatted with all required components, while address verification goes further to confirm the address actually exists and is deliverable according to postal service records. Verification provides higher accuracy and includes USPS standardization.

CASS-certified address verification services achieve 95-99% accuracy when validating against USPS databases. Accuracy depends on data quality, regular database updates, and the completeness of input addresses.

Real-time address verification via API typically takes 50-200 milliseconds per address. Batch processing can verify thousands of addresses per minute, depending on the service and volume.

Yes, address autocomplete helps users enter addresses quickly but doesn't guarantee deliverability. Address verification confirms the final address exists in postal databases and can receive mail, reducing failed deliveries by up to 80%.

Related Terms

Address Validation

Address Standardization

USPS CASS Certification

Address Autocomplete

Address Parsing

ZIP+4 Code

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