3 Business Addressing Standards

31 General

311 Joint Industry and Postal Service Standardization Efforts

This chapter defines standardized formats for business addresses to be used on mailpieces. This standardization effort was originally initiated by the Direct Mail Association (DMA) Business-to-Business Users' Group in late 1987 and included the involvement of other DMA segments groups who provide business-to-business list services. The Postal Service's Address Management Office and National Customer Support Center (NCSC) have worked closely with these groups to pinpoint problem areas and develop recommended solutions. Members of the Graphic Communications Association (GCA) have also provided strong support for the development of these business-to-business addressing standards.

As awareness of business-to-business addressing issues became more widespread, a broader scope of industry participation was facilitated by the establishment of a special ad hoc Business-to-Business Addressing Subcommittee of the Mailers' Technical Advisory Committee in the fall of 1989.

Numerous joint working meetings were held to thoroughly define standardization needs and develop the components of the recommended addressing guidelines outlined in this section. It should be noted that this effort intentionally dovetailed with the earlier joint industry and Postal Service program that established the general addressing standards. Industry and USPS joint work groups will continue to be created to provide the information necessary to achieve the highest level of address quality possible.

312 Unique Addressing Issues

For consumer and residential addresses, a complete and correct address consists of three basic lines of information: Customer or Recipient Line, Delivery Address Line, and Last Line (City State ZIP). Depending on the address type, other address data elements could include apartment or suite numbers, post office box addresses, and a complete rural/highway contract route address (with route and box numbers).

Significantly, in terms of content, business-to-business mailers have much more to worry about with various permutations of firm names, the use of prestige addresses, and auxiliary company and personnel data, e.g., titles, personal/professional, and department or division. Consequently for the business-to-business mailer, the scope of standardization and list maintenance and correction becomes much more complex.

By establishing preferred format or data element location guidelines, defined character lengths, standard abbreviations, and a progression of compression steps, a process has been created that now enables mailers to uniformly condense business address components to any practical length, depending on the purpose and the need to abbreviate the data. The use of standardized abbreviations and logical compression steps is intended to facilitate the computer based merge/purge process, Postal Service multi-line optical character readers (MLOCR) and industry address matching services including ZIP+4 and NCOA.

The mailer has full discretion in the use of standard abbreviations and compression guidelines to optimize computer data storage and output to a mailpiece. There is no intent to mandate the use of these abbreviations or guidelines if the mailer prefers the full spelling.

313 Business Address Standardization Factors

Address standardization has the potential to improve many phases of the business-to-business mail process - from merge/purge to delivery. The following are specific problem areas these standards can address.

313.1 Costly Inefficiencies in the Merge/Purge Process

It is hard to identify and eliminate duplicate addresses when address data is presented in varying formats, i.e., when abbreviation and compression tactics are applied randomly or multiple data element combinations are used.

313.2 Costly Poor Address Hygiene

Businesses often prefer to use "prestige" or "vanity" addresses and occasionally use multiple versions of their firm name, depending on their market needs. They also apply differing abbreviation and compression tactics. As a result, match rates against Postal Service address improvement products, i.e., NCOA, Address Change Service (ACS), and ZIP+4, are low.

313.3 Costly Missed Opportunities for Barcoding Discounts

Because of inconsistencies in business address formats, business addresses often do not match against ZIP+4 data used to produce a barcode. Business-to-business mailers find it harder to take full advantage of new automation and barcoding discounts.

313.4 Costly Non-deliverability

Inconsistent addressing tactics or missing address elements due to varying compression methods often result in non-deliverable mail. Delivery of mail within an organization may also be impaired if internal mailstops are not part of the address. In this context mailstop refers to a unique routing code used by a company for internal mail delivery. It does not include the traditional information, such as Accounts Payable Branch, or Attn To:, Example: Mailstop ABC 456.

314 Purpose of Standardization

The purpose of standard abbreviations and compression guidelines is to provide a uniform reference when there is a need to condense address data. The standards contain the following components: an address format model indicating preferred address data element locations, a progression of optional line compression steps, and a table of standard abbreviations for the most commonly used business words. These tools are designed to meet the following objectives:

a. Improve computer matching of business address data in the merge/purge process and enhance the application of Postal Service address improvements.

b. Facilitate proper address compression for data transfers and differing output presentations, e.g., for Postal Service delivery vs. inside letter personalization or Cheshire labeling vs. ink jet printing.

32 Scope of Standardization

321 Benefits

The Business Address Standards are being adopted by postal units and are required in all internal Postal Service processing systems - including the NCOA System and ACS. Postal Service licensees, direct marketing service bureaus, and business-to-business mailers are encouraged to incorporate these standards as a means to achieve improved merge/purge results, higher list quality, and Postal Service deliverability.

There are additional benefits to be achieved through improved business-to-business address quality and a standardized address format, such as increasing potential deliverability of mail once processed and more consistency in address information stored in customer files and directories. The emphasis has been to clarify business-to-business addressing techniques and provide guidelines and tools that deal with the many unusual addressing conventions in business-to-business list processing. A strong focus has been on providing the Postal Service with a uniform approach to matching these addresses through its customer products and automated equipment.

322 Business-to-Business List Maintenance

Business-to-business addressing standards are tailored to provide guidance on the most efficient means to output a business address onto a mailpiece. It is necessary to begin with list compilation, list maintenance, or list management to ensure that the content of the address is both accurate and complete. A variety of AIS products and services are available to assist in these processes, which have worked well for consumer lists. The business-to-business standards are intended to greatly enhance the use of these products by providing a uniform format for business address information.

323 Business-to-Business List Correction

Prior to this effort of developing specific guidelines and tables for standardization of business-to-business addresses, the application of the Postal Service AIS address improvement products and services was not always an effective means to correct business-to-business addresses - simply because of poor match rates. With the Postal Service incorporating the tables and guidelines that have emerged from this process, the AIS services are much improved for business-to-business applications. In the future, once a business-to-business address has been matched against AIS files, the address list should be corrected accordingly. Business-to-business addresses that have been standardized will contain all the necessary address elements required for Postal Service delivery as well as the most correct firm name and contract information as required for marketing purposes.

324 Business-to-Business List Updates

Once files are updated, it is important to establish list management procedures to ensure timely updates and maintain accuracy. It is highly recommended that new addresses go through a verification and standardization process to obtain the correct ZIP+4 and delivery point codes prior to adding them to your master address list.

325 Business-to-Business Address Output

Once an address has gone through a standardization process, look at the output of the address as it appears on the mailpiece, insert, or address label. A standardized address should also be "machine readable" so that it can be processed on high-speed optical character readers (OCRs). Publication 25, Designing Business Letter Mail, contains specifications for properly formatting and printing delivery address information on letter mail. Following these readability guidelines for letter mail that has not been prebarcoded helps to ensure successful OCR processing. Some important elements affecting machine readability are contained in Appendix A of this document. For complete information, however, we recommend that you obtain a copy of Publication 25 from your local post office. If your mailpiece will be submitted for automation rates (other rates may also apply), the requirements in Domestic Mail Manual A800 and C840 must be met.

It is recommended that delivery address information be stored in a minimum of 30 bytes or spaces in your computer system. The most optimum recommendation is 64 bytes or spaces to be compatible with the Postal Service National ZIP+4 database.

The Postal Service defines a complete address as one that has all the address elements necessary to allow an exact match with the current Postal Service ZIP+4 and City State Files to obtain the finest level of ZIP+4 and delivery point codes for the delivery address. A complete address may be required on mail at some automation rates. See DMM A010 for more detailed information.

A standardized address is one that is fully spelled out, abbreviated by using the Postal Service standard abbreviations shown in this publication or as shown in the ZIP+4 Files.

326 Business-to-Business Deliverability

The final benefit to be achieved through business-to-business address standardization is deliverability of a mailpiece. Addresses that are complete and have matched the Postal Service files and/or directories have a better chance of being properly delivered. Printing complete information on a mailpiece and eliminating extraneous information that can confuse Postal Service delivery personnel or be misread by Postal Service equipment improves the ability to provide timely delivery. The industry and the Postal Service will continue to work together to explore ways to improve the processing and delivery of mail in a timely, cost effective manner. Business-to-business address standardization is a very positive step towards improved address quality and a cost-effective operation both for the business-to-business mailer and the Postal Service.

33 Defining Business-to-Business Data Elements

To understand the complexity of business-to-business addressing, a strong effort has been made to identify and define the many individual data elements that can be included in a business-to-business address. Input from the business-to-business field (users and suppliers) - gathered from several industry surveys - aided in the development of the following list. The first nine data elements relate to the marketing intentions of the mailer and do not actually affect the Postal Service deliverability of a piece.

The following are data elements that could be included in a business-to-business address:

Address data elements 10 through 27 are Postal Service standardization issues for purposes of distribution and deliverability:

The following business address format is recommended when outputting to a mailpiece. Except as noted below, the use of a specific address line or address data element within a line is optional based on marketing intent, data availability, label size, or mailer preference. When a business address data element is not used on a mailpiece, the address data element above is positioned downward into the vacant area, thereby maintaining overall relative address data element placement on the mailpiece.

Address Data Element	Example
Optional Endorsement Line	#BXNHJVF *********C002
Key Line Data	#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO3# /12345678
POSTNET Address Block Barcode
Mailstop Code	MSC4567ABCD
Attention Line	MS MILDRED DOE
Individual Title	PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
Functional Title	DESIGN ENGINEERING MANAGER
Group, Department, Division Name	BRAKE CONTROL DIVISION
Business/Firm Name	BIG BUSINESS INCORPORATED
Delivery Address Line	12 E BUSINESS LN STE 209
City, State, ZIP+4 Line	KRYTON TN 38188-0002

It is unlikely that any one business address contains all 11 of the business address data elements detailed above. The example above defines the business address data elements and their relative placement on a mailpiece. Generally, only five lines of address information are suitable for automated processing when not barcoding.

The use of a standardized business address format, standard business word abbreviations, line removal, and business address line compression logic is intended to improve the quality of matches between Postal Service and industry address improvement, hygiene, and matching services. This would include computer-based change of address and merge/purge programs and would facilitate Postal Service and commercial MLOCR recognition.

When outputting business address data elements to a mailpiece, the complete address data element, including the complete and correct spelling of each word, is preferred. In those instances where certain constraints limit the number of words or characters that can be placed on the mailpiece, the most preferred method is to replace fully spelled words with standard address and business word abbreviations. If additional reduction in lines or address data elements is necessary for application on the mailpiece, then apply the guidelines in logical order as presented in section 34.

It is important to note that the application of these logical steps is the option of the mailer and is provided as a standardized approach for use when the mailer has a business need to alter the address format. It is recommended that each logical step be applied only if the additional compression offered by that step is required or desired by the mailer. The application of some logical steps could produce an output that may be unacceptable to the mailer.

34 Line Removal Guidelines

341 Sample Business Address Format

Line #	Data Element	Example
*1.	Optional Endorsement Line	#BXNHJVF *********C002
**2.	Key Line Data	#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO3# /12345678
**3.	POSTNET Address Block Barcode
***4.	Mailstop Code	MSC 4567ABCD
***5.	Attention Line	MS MILDRED DOE
***6.	Individual Title	PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
***7.	Functional Title	DESIGN ENGINEERING MANAGER
***8.	Group, Department, Division Name	BRAKE CONTROL DIVISION
*9.	Business/Firm Name	BIG BUSINESS INCORPORATED
*10.	Delivery Address Line	12 E BUSINESS LN STE 209
*11.	City, State, Zip+4 Line	KRYTON TN 38188-0002
* These lines directly affect Postal Service distribution. ** These lines are required for some Postal Service programs. *** These lines are optional for the mailer.

342 Primary Considerations

The preferred location for the POSTNET Address Block Barcode is above the address block or immediately below the optional endorsement and/or key line information, if used. However, it may be placed below the address block if necessary. In either location it must be within 4 inches of the bottom and 1/2 inch from either edge of the mailpiece in order to be read by the barcode sorter. Refer to section C840 of the DMM for additional criteria and options for placement of the barcode on mailpieces.

343 Address Line Removal

If the number of business address lines on a mailpiece must be reduced, apply the following steps in the order listed.

343.1 Lines Required for Postal Service Distribution

Lines #9, #10, and #11 contain addressing data elements that are required for distribution and delivery by the Postal Service. Therefore, they must appear as the last three lines of the address block. If it is necessary to compress the number of characters in an address data element, use the recommended Abbreviations or Suffix Tables or the word compression guidelines identified in this publication.

Line #9, Business/Firm Name, should be printed on a single line for maximum MLOCR matching. If necessary it may be wrapped down. The use of standard business word abbreviations is preferred over line wrapping.

When secondary delivery information, e.g., APARTMENT or SUITE, is part of the address but does not fit on the Delivery Address Line, all secondary components should be placed immediately above the Delivery Address Line.

It is preferred that all City, State, and ZIP Code information be presented on a single line. If that is not possible, the ZIP Code or the ZIP+4 code should be placed below the City State information. However, when compressing line #11 do not remove the hyphen between the ZIP Code and the ZIP+4 add-on code.

343.2 Required Lines for Certain Postal Service Programs

Lines #1 and #2 may be required on the mailpiece when it is submitted under some of the Postal Service Presort programs or the ACS program. Therefore, when they are present they must appear in the address block in the order indicated by the Sample Business Address Format. They cannot be wrapped, altered, or compressed.

343.3 Optional Lines

Lines #4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are not required by the Postal Service for distribution and delivery and are optional for the mailer.

Line #5, Attention, when it contains an individual name, or line #7, Functional Title, may be critical for delivery within the company or firm, but the use of both may not be necessary.

35 Address Data Element Compression Guidelines

The Postal Service and commercial MLOCR equipment can read a maximum of 40 characters per line within a maximum of 8 separate words per line. If either parameter is exceeded, the MLOCR ignores the entire line.

Apply the following steps if it is necessary to reduce the number of words or characters from business address data elements applied to a mailpiece. Use the order listed.

351 Removal and Deletion Restrictions

Do not remove or delete any characters or symbols from line #1 Optional Endorsement Line, line #2 Key Line Data, or line #3 POSTNET Address Block Barcode.

352 Abbreviations

Use the standard business and address word abbreviations for address data elements whenever necessary. These abbreviations can be found in Appendix G. It is recommended that you only abbreviate the last word. You should not abbreviate words when the name length meets the user's character length requirements.

353 Right-to-Left Evaluation

Evaluate each of the business address data elements in each business address line separately. Always work from the right to the left within each address line.

354 Special Characters

Remove special characters, multiple blanks, and punctuation in order as listed below.

355 Remove Certain Words

Replace or remove certain words as listed below. However, the use of standard business word abbreviations is preferred over removal of words. The following compression technique should be applied only if the standard abbreviations do not meet particular business needs.

· Replace and with space.

· Replace space & space with space.

· Replace number words with numeric symbols: first with 1ST.

· Remove etc., i.e., in care of, and et al.

· Remove words like the, of, by, for, at, also.

· Remove ATTENTION, ATTN:.

· Remove gender words like MS, MRS, MISS, MR, SIR.

· Remove title words like DR, PHD, DDS, RN.

356 Wrapping

When address information does not fit on one line, wrap the additional information on either the line above or below, as shown below. However, the use of standard business word abbreviations is preferred over line wrapping. Only wrap lines if standard abbreviations do not meet your business needs.

Line #9, Business/Firm Name, should be printed on a single line for maximum MLOCR matching. If necessary, it may be wrapped down.

When secondary delivery information, e.g., APT or SUITE, is part of the address but does not fit on the Delivery Address Line, wrap up all components of the secondary information immediately above the Delivery Address Line.

It is preferred that all City, State, and ZIP Code information be on a single line. If that is not possible, the ZIP Code, including the ZIP+4 code, may be placed below the city/state information. However, when compressing line #11, do not remove the hyphen between the ZIP Code and the ZIP+4 add-on code.

357 Line #9 Compression

When compressing line #9, Business/Firm Name, do not alter the first and second words (leftmost), if possible, except when the first word is THE, which may be removed.

358 Standard State Name Abbreviations

When an individual state name that appears anywhere in a business address must be compressed or abbreviated because of space restrictions, use the standard State abbreviation listed in Appendix B.

Note: Use US for United States. Use USA for United States of America.

359 Repetitive Word Removal

Remove repetitive words; however, standard business word abbreviations are preferred over word removal. The compression technique in this step should be applied only if standard abbreviations do not meet your business needs.

3510 Short-Ending Substitution

Substitute short endings on words.

3511 Last Word Abbreviations

If the last word of an address line is any of those listed below, first replace the word with the standard abbreviation. If additional compression is still required, remove the word or its standard abbreviation.

Note: This step can be applied only to address lines #6, 7, 8, and 9.

3512 Vowel Removal

It is recommended that vowels not be removed if the desired address data element compression can be obtained by first using standard word abbreviations.

From the right side of the address line, beginning with the rightmost word, remove vowels as necessary on a word-by-word basis to achieve desired compression. Leave the last vowel; if the first character of a word is a vowel, do not remove that character. It is also recommended that the vowels not be removed from the leftmost words.