Standard vs. Non-Standard Addresses

Standard Addresses 

A Standard Address can be found in the U.S. Postal Service's master database of all known delivery points in the United States. Such an address is complete and typically includes:

• a valid street name and house number
• a directional (abbreviations for compass directions, like E, S, W, NE, SW and so on) if required
• an apartment or room number (for multi-unit dwellings)
• a valid city name and two letter state abbreviation
• a ZIP Code

Most mail sent through Click2Mail that includes a standard addresses receives the discounted mixed AADC Automation postage rate.

Here is an example of a Standard Address:

Bob Smith 

1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW 

WASHINGTON DC 20500-0003 

Non-Standard Addresses

A Non-Standard Address is one that doesn't match any known address in the USPS delivery point database.

An address could be Non-Standard if:

• It lacks a directional (NW, SW, East¦)
• It lacks a street suffix
• It has an invalid street number

 All Click2Mail mail with Non-Standard Addresses is charged full First-Class single-piece postage rates.

Here is an example of a Non-Standard Address: 

Bob Smith 

Corner of 16th and Pennsylvania

Washington

Mail with Non-Standard Addresses incurs the following penalties:

• The address on your mail piece will not be recognized by USPS automated processing equipment, and may result in non-deliverable mail that is returned to sender.
• You forfeit the discounted mixed AADC Automation postage rate and will be charged the full First-Class single-piece postage rate for your mail piece.

For these reasons, it is a good idea to ensure that all your recipient addresses are Standard Addresses, especially if you will be sending mail to those recipients frequently.

Click2Mail Helps Standardize Your Addresses

Click2Mail does its best to automatically standardize addresses you enter in the Address Book or upload in a mailing list. However, it can only do so if each address is currently valid and can be uniquely matched in the address database. In certain cases, a missing directional or incorrect ZIP code could prevent automatic standardization.  

Other Information 

TIP: In addition to the interactive address cleanup tools on Click2Mail, you can also use the USPS online ZIP+4 Look-up facility to help correct problems with Non-Standard Addresses.

In the event that you are unable to find an updated address for one or more of your recipients, you could add an Ancillary Endorsement to your mailing order, which could help you obtain the new mailing address for your recipient(s).