The Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) enables the
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
(USPS) to evaluate the
accuracy
Accuracy and precision are two measures of ''observational error''.
''Accuracy'' is how close a given set of measurements (observations or readings) are to their ''true value'', while ''precision'' is how close the measurements are to each other ...
of
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
that corrects and matches
street address
An address is a collection of information, presented in a mostly fixed format, used to give the location of a building, apartment, or other structure or a plot of land, generally using political boundaries and street names as references, along ...
es. CASS
certification
Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
is offered to all
mailers,
service bureau
A service bureau is a company that provides business services for a fee. The term has been extensively used to describe technology-based services to financial services companies, particularly banks. Service bureaus are a significant sector within t ...
s, and software
vendor
In a supply chain, a vendor, supplier, provider or a seller, is an enterprise that contributes goods or services. Generally, a supply chain vendor manufactures inventory/stock items and sells them to the next link in the chain. Today, these terms ...
s that would like the USPS to evaluate the
quality
Quality may refer to:
Concepts
*Quality (business), the ''non-inferiority'' or ''superiority'' of something
*Quality (philosophy), an attribute or a property
*Quality (physics), in response theory
*Energy quality, used in various science discipli ...
of their address-matching software and improve the accuracy of their
ZIP+4,
carrier route
Carrier may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos
* ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game
* ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...
, and five-digit coding.
For software vendors and service bureaus, CASS Certification must be renewed annually with the USPS to meet current CASS Certification cycle requirements.
CASS Certified products are listed in USPS literature and on its web site. CASS software will correct and standardize addresses. It will also add missing address information, such as ZIP codes, cities, and
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
s to ensure the address is complete. Starting with 2007 Cycle L, CASS software will also perform
delivery point
In a postal system, a delivery point (sometimes DP) is a single mailbox or other place at which mail is delivered. It differs from a street address, in that each address may have several delivery points, such as an apartment, office department, ...
validation
Validation may refer to:
* Data validation, in computer science, ensuring that data inserted into an application satisfies defined formats and other input criteria
* Forecast verification, validating and verifying prognostic output from a numerica ...
to verify whether or not an address is a deliverable address and check against the USPS
Locatable Address Conversion System
Locatable Address Conversion System (LACS) is a service offered by the United States Postal Service to update mailing addresses when a street is renamed or the address is updated for 911
911 or 9/11 may refer to:
Dates
* AD 911
* 911 BC
* Se ...
to update addresses that have been renamed or renumbered.
A correct address saves the Postal Service time, money and manpower by reducing the volume of 1) non-deliverable mail; 2) unsorted mail; 3) mail that is deliverable, but requires extra effort to determine the proper location to which it should be delivered.
Mailers who use CASS software to check the addresses of their mailing may be able to qualify for
discounted postage rates from the USPS.
An example of what CASS software will correct in an address:
The input of:
1 MICROWSOFT
REDMUND WA
Produces the output of:
1 MICROSOFT WAY
REDMOND WA 98052-8300
Here the street and city name misspellings have been corrected; street suffix, ZIP code and ZIP+4 add-on have been added; and, in this case, the address was determined to be the location of a business.
In addition to an updated address, CASS software can also return descriptive information about the address. The information falls into two categories:
# If the address was successfully processed, or if not then why,
# Information on how to deliver the mailing.
References
CASS Certification Requirements, A Mailer's Guide
External links
USPS CASS web siteList of CASS Certified Software Vendors{{United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service