LiveAddress for Lists — Field Definitions

Understanding your address verification results

This article is about understanding the results given by LiveAddress for Lists. To learn how to obtain the results, see how to upload a list for processing.

About the results

Last Updated: April 11, 2013

The file you download from LiveAddress for Lists actually contains several files inside it to help you use the data more easily. Open any of these files in a spreadsheet program, such as Excel™, and here we define the column names. This guide is organized by filename as contained in your download file.

The terms field and column are identical.

Square brackets [ ] indicate input fields that you gave us with your list, even if they have nothing to do with the address. These values remain unchanged by LiveAddress but are kept in-line with your address data (particularly in the "everything" file). If the field has no name/title, LiveAddress will assign an arbitrary name like Field1.

The files

Your download comes with several files inside it.


everything

This file is not for the faint of heart. It contains all the input of your original list with LiveAddress output appended. Everything. All of it. The other files contained in your download are just pieces of this file.

Field Name Type Definition
Sequence int The order the addresses in your list were in when you submitted the list to us
Duplicate varchar(1) Indicates duplicate within same list. Duplicate is determined by street/city/state/zip, not recipient name or company data.

Y — The address is a duplicate of another in the list
[blank] — The address is not a duplicate
Deliverable varchar(1) Indicates deliverability status of the address. An address is considered "deliverable" if it is active, valid, and not vacant. To be flagged as deliverable, an address must meet these criteria:
  1. DPVCode must equal Y, S, or D
  2. Vacant must equal N
  3. Active must equal Y

Y — The address is deliverable and will receive mail.
[blank] — The address could not be verified as deliverable.
[All Input Fields] varchar Each of the fields you submit with your lists are preserved, even if they have nothing to do with the address. LiveAddress won't change the values of your original fields. Your fields are identified by square brackets, like this: [First Name]
FirmName varchar(31) Contains the name of the company, building, apartment complex, shopping center, or other distinguishing address information as found in the USPS database for the input street address. This field will normally list firms or high-rise records, but may also contain literals such as “Postmaster” or “United States Postal Service.” If you mapped the company name to this column and the USPS database does not include any company-specific data for this address, the company name you provided will be included in the results. If you didn’t include a company name and the USPS database does not include any company-specific data for this address, this field will contain the combined First and Last Name.
DeliveryLine1 varchar(50) Contains the first delivery line (usually the street address). This can include any of the following:
  • Primary Number
  • Street Name
  • Street Predirection
  • Street Postdirection
  • Street Suffix
  • Secondary Number
  • Secondary Designator
  • PMB Designator
  • PMB Number
DeliveryLine2 varchar(50) Contains the second delivery line (if needed) for the submitted address. It is common for this field to remain empty, but this field will also frequently list a private mailbox (PMB) number.
Urbanization varchar(50) Contains the Urbanization Name for the address. This field is used primarily for Puerto Rican addresses, and contains an area, sector, or development within a geographic region. These are the most important parts of a Puerto Rican address, and should be included following the name when addressing mail for Puerto Rico.
City varchar(50) The accepted city name returned for the submitted address
State char(2) The state abbreviation returned for the submitted address
FullZIPCode char(10) The complete, nine-digit ZIP Code (if processed successfully). The nine-digit ZIP Code consists of the five-digit ZIP Code and the ZIP+4 ("add-on") Code. If no add-on code exists, this field will contain only the five-digit ZIP Code.
ZIPCode char(5) The 5-digit ZIP Code for the address
AddonCode char(4) The 4-digit add-on code which gets appended to the ZIP Code
PMBUnit varchar(10) The private mailbox (PMB) unit designator. A PMB is usually a box that is assigned by a commercial mail receiving agency (CMRA).
PMBNumber varchar(8) Private mailbox (PMB) number; a PMB is usually a box that is assigned by a commercial mail receiving agency (CMRA).
ProcessFlag varchar(1) IGNORE THIS FIELD. IT'S FOR BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY ONLY! USE the DPVCode instead
Indicates whether or not the address was standardized. This means that the primary number was found within the valid range for the street/city/state/zip and is now correctly formatted. It doesn't mean the address is valid.
P — Pass; the address has been standardized.
F — Fail; The address could not be standardized and the input address was returned; see FlagReason for more information; corrective action probably necessary.
FlagReason varchar(30) Indicates the reason for the ProcessFlag value.

10 — Invalid dual address. Information presented could not be processed in current format. Be sure given components are correct and singular/disambiguous.
11 — Invalid city/state/zip. Ensure the city/state and ZIP code align.
12 — Invalid state name or abbreviation was submitted.
13 — Invalid city name submitted.
21 — Not found. The address, exactly as submitted, could not be found in the national ZIP+4 file. Make sure address is legible. Remove excessive abbreviations, etc.
22 — Multiple response. More than one ZIP+4 code satisfies the submitted address. Thus, the submitted address did not contain enough data to pinpoint a correct match; elements of the address may be missing.
31 — Exact match. This is a good thing.
32 — Default match. A match was made to a default record in the national ZIP+4 file. A more specific match may be available if a secondary number (apartment, suite, etc.) exists.
Footnotes varchar(30) Describes changes, if any, made to the address. See footnote definitions
EWS varchar(1) Indicates whether or not the address was flagged by Early Warning System (EWS). A positive result indicates that the street of the address is not yet ready for mail delivery and that the address will soon be added to the master ZIP+4 file (in the coming weeks or months). This commonly occurs for new streets or streets undergoing a name change.

Y — The address was flagged by EWS, preventing a ZIP+4 match.
[blank] — The address was not flagged by EWS.
CountyFIPS char(5) The 5-digit county FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) code; a combination of the 2-digit state FIPS code and the 3-digit county code designated by the NIST.
CountyName varchar(30) The name of the county the address belongs to
DPVCode varchar(1) Indicates the status of the delivery point validation, which describes whether or not the USPS delivers mail to the address.

Y — Confirmed. The entire address was DPV confirmed as valid.
N — Not Confirmed. The address could not be DPV confirmed as valid.
S — Confirmed by dropping secondary. The address was DPV confirmed by losing the secondary information (apartment, suite, etc).
D — Confirmed, but missing secondary. The address was DPV confirmed but it is missing secondary information (apartment, suite, etc).
[blank] — The address was not submitted for DPV confirmation. This is usually because the address does not have a ZIP+4 code or the address has already been determined to be non-deliverable.
DPVFootnotes varchar(30) Indicates the reason for the given DPV value. See dpv_footnotes
CMRA varchar(1) Indicates whether the address is associated with a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA), also known as a private mailbox (PMB) operator. A CMRA is a business through which USPS mail may be sent or received (for example, the UPS Store or Mailboxes Etc).

Y — Address is associated with a valid CMRA
N — Address is not associated with a valid CMRA
[blank] — Address was not submitted for CMRA verification
Vacant varchar(1) Indicates that a delivery point was active in the past, but is currently vacant (in most cases, unoccupied over 90 days) and is not receiving deliveries. This status is often obtained when mail receptacles aren't being emptied and are filling up, so mail is held at the post office for a certain number of days before being marked vacant.

Y — Address is vacant
N — Address is not vacant
[blank] — Address was not submitted for vacancy verification
Active varchar(1) Indicates whether or not the address is listed as "active" or "in-service" according to the US Postal Service. Here are a few examples:
  • A new housing development will register the addresses for each home with the USPS but the address will be “inactive” until someone actually moves in. At that point, the address will become active.
  • In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, many affected addresses (which were previously active) were listed as "inactive" while their fate was being determined.
  • A resident has opted to have their mailing address marked as "inactive" because they want to only receive mail at a PO box or other "drop" location.

Y — The address is currently listed as active.
N — The address is currently listed as inactive.
[blank] — No information is known by the USPS about the activity status
DefaultFlag varchar(1) Indicates whether the address is the "default" address for a building (for example, the main lobby). A positive value will also be present when a match is made to a base street record where high-rise exact records exist and no high-rise default record is present on the ZIP+4 file.

Y — The address matches a default high-rise or rural-route record
[blank] — The address does not match a default
LACSInd varchar(1) Indicates whether the address has an entry in the Locatable Address Conversion Service.

L — Match. There is a conversion address in the LACSLink database.
[blank] — No Match. No conversion address was found.
LACSLinkCode varchar(2) The reason for the LACSLink® indication that was given (below).

A — Match: Address provided. LACSLink® record match, and a converted address was provided.
00 — No Match. No converted address. No soup for you!
09 — Match: No new address. LACSLink® matched an input address to an old address, which is a "high-rise default" address; no new address is provided.
14 — Match: No conversion. Found a LACSLink® record, but couldn't convert the data to a deliverable address.
92 — Match: Dropped secondary number. LACSLink® record matched after dropping the secondary number from input.
[blank] — No LACSLink® lookup attempted.
LACSLinkInd varchar(1) Indicates whether there is an address match in the LACSLink® database.

Y — LACS record match; a new address could be furnished because the input record matched to a record in the master file.
S — LACS record - secondary number dropped; the record is a ZIP+4 street level or high-rise match. The input record matched to a master file record, but the input address has a secondary number and the master file record did not.
N — No match; a new address could not be furnished; the input record could not be matched to a record in the master file.
F — False positive; a false positive record was detected.
[blank] — No LACSLink® lookup attempted.
DeliveryPoint char(2) The last two digits of the house/box number unless an "H" record is matched, in which case this is the secondary unit number representing the delivery point information to form the delivery point barcode (DPBC).
CheckDigit char(1) Correction character, or check digit, to be appended to the 11-digit barcode
DeliveryPointBarcode char(14) The 12-digit POSTNET barcode. This consists of the 5-digit ZIP Code, the 4-digit add-on code, a 2-digit delivery point code, and 1-digit check digit (to ensure proper creation of the barcode). The whole thing is enclosed with a leading and trailing forward slash /.
CarrierRoute varchar(10) The postal carrier's route which the address lies on
RecordType varchar(10) Indicates the type of record that was matched. Only given if a DPV match is made.

F — Firm; the finest level of match available for an address
G — General Delivery; for mail to be held at local post offices
H — high-rise; address contains apartment or building sub-units
P — Post Office box; address is a PO box record type
R — Rural Route or Highway Contract; may have box number ranges
S — Street; address contains a valid primary number range
[blank] — No record type because address did not make a valid DPV match
Latitude varchar(24) The horizontal component used for geographic positioning; it is the angle between 0° (the equator) and ±90° (north or south) at the poles. It is the first value in an ordered pair of (latitude, longitude). A negative number denotes a location below the equator; a positive number is above the equator. Combining lat/lon values enables you to pinpoint addresses on a map.
Longitude varchar(24) The vertical component used for geographic positioning; it is the angle between 0° (the Prime Meridian) and ±180° (westward or eastward). It is the second number in an ordered pair of (latitude, longitude). A negative number indicates a location west of Greenwich, England; a positive number east. Combining lat/lon values enables you to pinpoint addresses on a map.
Precision varchar(24) Indicates the precision of the latitude & longitude values.

Unknown — Coordinates not known, possibly because address is invalid
None — Coordinates are not provided for this address. Military addresses such as APO and FPO do not provide coordinates.
State — Reserved for future use
SolutionArea — Reserved for future use
City — Reserved for future use
Zip5 — Accurate to a 5-digit ZIP Code level (least precise)
Zip6 — Accurate to a 6-digit ZIP Code level
Zip7 — Accurate to a 7-digit ZIP Code level
Zip8 — Accurate to a 8-digit ZIP Code level
Zip9 — Accurate to a 9-digit ZIP Code level (most precise but NOT rooftop level
Structure — Reserved for future use
CongressionalDistrict varchar(2) The congressional district to which the address belongs pertains. Output will be two digits from 01 - 53 or "AL". "AL" means that the entire state (or territory) is covered by a single congressional district. These include: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota,South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, Washington DC, Virgin Islands, and other territories.
RDI varchar(12) Residential Delivery Indicator (residential or commercial).

residential — The address is a residential address
commercial — The address is a commercial address
unknown — The RDI of the address is currently unknown

SuiteLinkMatch varchar(1) Indicates a match (or not) to the USPS SuiteLink data. SuiteLink attempts to provide secondary information such as "suite" or "apartment" whenever there is a match based on address and Firm Name (Company) input.

Y — There was a SuiteLink match and the result is provide
[blank] — There was no SuiteLink match

simple-mailable

This file contains only the addresses that were confirmed by LiveAddress as real and deliverable. It is safe to send mail to all addresses in this file. We did not include any duplicate addresses in this file, and we also excluded any addresses that are marked as "vacant" and/or "inactive."

Field Name Definition
Sequence See Sequence
[Input Names] For fields mapped to a FirstName, LastName, or FullName field during import, those fields are maintained and shown here by your address for convenience.
[Input ID] If a unique ID field was mapped during the import of your list, that data is persisted and shown in-line with your addresses for your convenience.
FirmName See Firm Name
DeliveryLine1 See DeliveryLine1
DeliveryLine2 See DeliveryLine2
City See City
State See State
FullZIPCode See FullZIPCode

simple-duplicates

This is a list of all the addresses which were marked as duplicates. By duplicate, we mean addresses of which occur more than once in the file you sent us. LiveAddress does not include recipient or company name when checking for duplicates.

It contains the same fields as simple-mailable.

simple-rejected

This file contains all addresses that we could not confirm as valid and deliverable addresses.

It contains the same fields as simple-mailable plus the following:

Field Name Definition
ProcessFlag See ProcessFlag
FlagReason See FlagReason
Footnotes Describes changes made to the address. See footnote definitions
DPVCode See DPVCode
DPVFootnotes See dpv_footnotes
Vacant See Vacant
Active See Active

components

This file contains more technical, nitty-gritty details about each address. It has a granular breakdown of the address components for each record in your file.

Field Name Type Definition
Sequence See Sequence
Duplicate See Duplicate
Deliverable See Deliverable
PrimaryNumber varchar(30) The building or house number; the primary delivery location
StreetName varchar(50) The preferred name of the street
StreetPredirection varchar(8) Directional information before the street name (North = N, Southwest = SW, etc.)
StreetPostdirection varchar(8) Directional information following the street name (North = N, Southwest = SW, etc.)
StreetSuffix varchar(12) An abbreviated value that further describes the street name (e.g. Street = St, Avenue = Ave, etc.)
SecondaryNumber varchar(8) The apartment, building, suite (etc.) number, if any
SecondaryDesignator varchar(8) Descriptive information about the location within a building or complex (e.g. Suite = Ste, Apartment = Apt, etc.)
ExtraSecondaryNumber varchar(8) Descriptive information about the location of a building within a campus
(eg. E-5 in "5619 Loop 1604, Bldg E-5, Ste. 101 San Antonio TX)
ExtraSecondaryDesignator varchar(8) Description of the location type within a campus (e.g. Bldg, Unit, Lot, etc.)
PmbDesignator Same as PmbUnit
PmbNumber See PmbNumber
CityName See City
StateAbbreviation See State
ZIPCode See ZIPCode
Plus4Code See AddonCode
DeliveryPoint See DeliveryPoint
DeliveryPointCheckDigit See CheckDigit
Urbanization See Urbanization