When your project involves a mass mailing, it is important to verify your addresses are correct and deliverable per USPS specifications. If you've never had your address file certified, you may be surprised at the high number of addresses that are considered undeliverable. Undeliverable mail results in unnecessary and avoidable expenses to your organization.
When sending your mail piece at presorted postal rates, your address file must be certified. To obtain address certification services through the Bureau of Publications, complete our Document Design Request Form STD-7 and check the "Address Prep Services" box. We use a certification product that is approved by the United States Postal Service to certify your mailing list.
We can generally work with most file formats when certifying your address file. For your convenience, you can download our Mass Mailing Template to see how best to format your address file. If your file is structured differently, we will take your data and put it in the correct format needed for our address certification process. Please provide adequate time in your timeline for address certification services.
After completing our analysis process, three different Excel files will be available to you - a file containing the certified addresses, a file of the uncertified addresses and a file of the move updates.
The certified file includes all CASS-certified addresses compared against the USPS's official address file database, as well as any elected move updates. At this point, your certified file requires no further action and is ready for mailing. Please note that your mailing list must be certified no sooner than 95 days prior to the mailing.
Recent USPS postal regulations require that move updates be applied to all presorted mass mailings. Move updates essentially update an individual's address if they have recently moved. Failure to follow move updates requirements may result in your entire mailing being rejected for presort postal discounts. The USPS does offer an exemption from this requirement based on regulatory requirements that your program may have in place. You Must contact the USPS directory for this information.
If we are certifying your address file, we will also apply move updates at no additional cost. The end result is an Excel spreadsheet that contains the new addresses for all individuals that have moved within the last 48 months. This file is available for your internal use to update your records. After completing the move update service, your mail piece will be printed with the correct address, resulting in quicker delivery to the recipient.
If move updates cannot be applied to your mailing, please let us know. Instead of applying move updates, your mail piece will need to contain the following additional service –
"RETURN SERVICES REQUESTED." When using this service, the USPS will send the mail piece (along with a label containing the new mailing address) to the return address that is printed on the mail piece. This service is available for First Class mail pieces and comes at no additional postal cost to you.
Uncertified addresses do not comply with the USPS's postal database and cannot be sent at the presorted postal rate. By processing your address file through our address certification software, you will receive an Excel spreadsheet that contains all uncertified addresses along with an error code explaining what may be wrong with the address. This list can provide you with important information to correct your uncertified addresses.
When receiving a list of uncertified addresses, you have the following options:
Reduce your printing and mailing costs by not sending the mail piece to these addresses, since it is unlikely that the piece is deliverable.
Send the mail pieces hoping that the local mail carrier can figure out where to deliver these mail pieces.
Please note that these pieces will need to go out at full postal rate. You will not be able to send these pieces as part of a presort mailing.
If you are sending these pieces as First Class mail, the USPS will return all undeliverable mail pieces to the return address.
Try to correct the addresses yourself using resources you may have available.Reduce your printing and mailing costs by not sending the mail piece to these addresses, since it is unlikely that the piece is deliverable.
- Reduce your printing and mailing costs by not sending the mail piece to these addresses, since it is unlikely that the piece is deliverable.
- Send the mail pieces hoping that the local mail carrier can figure out where to deliver these mail pieces.
- Please note that these pieces will need to go out at full postal rate. You will not be able to send these pieces as part of a presort mailing.
- If you are sending these pieces as First Class mail, the USPS will return all undeliverable mail pieces to the return address.
- Try to correct the addresses yourself using resources you may have available.
- Once corrected, you can resubmit the addresses to us to certify.
The following table outlines some of the common error codes associated with uncertified addresses:
Error Description
| Additional Details / Explanation
|
Failed DVP because of invalid PO, RR, or HC box number
| PO, RR, or HC box number is no longer valid
|
Failed DPV because of invalid primary
| Primary street number does not exist
|
Matched to undeliverable address; 5-digit coded
| Several matches are possible, but not enough information is available to make a guaranteed match
|
Multiple possible matches with different ZIP+4 codes were found
| Several matches are possible, but not enough information is available to make a guaranteed match
|
Primary number invalid
| Primary street number does not exist
|
Street name invalid
| No such street for that city and state exist |
Suffix required to choose from multiple possible matches
| Street suffix required (i.e., Avenue, Drive, Street, Lane, etc.) to make correct address
|
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Equipped with a state-of-the-art intelligent mail inserter, the Bureau of Publications is ready to provide you with mail inserter services. Having the ability to read various bar-coded documents, our inserter audits each sheet through the entire inserting process to ensure the highest level of mail integrity on the market today!
When used in conjunction with barcoding, our inserter can intelligently address your mail pieces to match the personalized content contained in the envelope. If your mailing contains confidential or HIPAA covered information, you will want to be sure to move your mailings from window envelopes to non-window envelopes ink-jetted with the recipient’s name.
Working with a mailing that requires some pages to be stapled and others than need to remain lose, our inserter is equipped with the technology to support your simplest or most complex application. Engineered to insert #10, 6 x 9 and flats, no inserting job is too big or too small for us to handle!