Address verification is a system to check out the mailing address of people. The companies that offer address validation service compare the address against the authoritative database to find out whether the address is valid or not. This entire process is known as address verification.
If an address matches with the address filed in the authoritative database, then the system validates it. This validation indicates that the address is real. If the concerned address does not match with the address filed in the authoritative database, then the system proclaims it invalid. That indicates that the concerned address either does not exist or is not registered in the database.
Also See: Grammarly Review – Is Grammarly Premium Worth to Buy?
The authoritative databases are different in each country. For example, in the United States, the database used for checking the addresses is maintained by the United States Postal Services (USPS).
It does not matter which government agency handles the authoritative database of your country, you can always find a service provider that accesses the central database for address verification. Get in touch with such address validation services and use their tools or APIs for address verification.
Irrespective of the different format, the basic procedure to address verification is the same. You have to check the address in question with the ones filed in the database. If it does not match, then the address is invalid.
Steps of Address Verification in Address Validation
From the above section of this article, it might seem that the address verification system is easy. The truth is, it’s not that simple as well. The companies that offer address validation tools often have to complete many procedures to prepare the system to function smoothly.
There are many reasons why even a real address might not pass the validation test. To understand the process better, you should know more about how the system actually works. Check the following part if you know the system right from the beginning.
Address Parsing and Standardization
To make sure that the address gets validated, the service providers have to clean it first. That cleaning process generally involves parsing and standardization.
Address parsing: It is one of the techniques that help to break down an address. During this process, an address gets broken down into different constituent parts, like state, city, and ZIP code. There are different levels of parsing that a company can avail. Each results in various levels of accuracy. The functionality of the address verification service also depends on the levels of parsing.
Address Standardization: It is a technique of formatting mailing addresses, so that, they match with the address formats of the authoritative database. The standardization is only possible if you have parsed an address. It involves correcting the misspelt words, abbreviating notifications and filling the data gaps so that the address in question matches with the database format.
All in all, address validation service providing companies can make your job a bit easier by ensuring that the given address is valid and real. If you think you require the help of this smart service, get in touch with one of the verification service providing companies.
