CASS Automation Rate Qualification 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A mailer submits 10,000 addresses through CASS processing and 8,500 receive valid ZIP+4 coding. What is the automation rate?
- 85% (Correct answer)
- 8,500 pieces
- 15%
- 1,500%
Correct answer: 85%
8,500 ÷ 10,000 × 100 = 85%; the automation rate is always expressed as a percentage of total pieces successfully coded.
Question 2: If an address matches to ZIP+4 in CASS processing but fails DPV confirmation, which postage rate category can that piece still potentially qualify for?
- Full automation discount rate
- Presorted (non-automation) rate (Correct answer)
- Single-piece (non-presort) rate only
- Priority Mail rate
Correct answer: Presorted (non-automation) rate
An address with a ZIP+4 match but no DPV confirmation may still qualify for presorted rates (carrier route or 5-digit presort) but cannot receive the higher automation discount.
Question 3: Which scenario would most directly cause a previously automation-qualifying address to lose its automation rate eligibility?
- The recipient moves and the address is not updated via Move Update before the mailing (Correct answer)
- The ZIP code boundary is administratively redrawn by the USPS
- The delivery carrier route is reassigned to a different route number
- The address is reformatted to all uppercase letters
Correct answer: The recipient moves and the address is not updated via Move Update before the mailing
Failure to update moved residents via Move Update means the mailing contains stale addresses that no longer represent valid current delivery points, disqualifying those pieces.
Question 4: Under what circumstance is a mailer permitted to use non-CASS-certified software and still claim automation rates?
- If the mailing is fewer than 500 pieces
- If the mailer manually verifies each address against USPS records
- No such circumstance exists; CASS-certified software is always required for automation rates (Correct answer)
- If the mailing is entirely within a single 5-digit ZIP code
Correct answer: No such circumstance exists; CASS-certified software is always required for automation rates
The USPS requires all automation mailings to be processed with CASS-certified software; there are no volume or geographic exemptions from this requirement.
Question 5: A mailer runs addresses through CASS-certified software but skips the DPV step entirely. What is the most accurate statement about the mailing's discount eligibility?
- The mailing qualifies for all automation discounts because CASS software was used
- The mailing may qualify for presort discounts but not for the full automation discounts that require DPV (Correct answer)
- The mailing is immediately rejected at the Business Mail Entry Unit
- The automation rate is automatically treated as 100% by the USPS
Correct answer: The mailing may qualify for presort discounts but not for the full automation discounts that require DPV
DPV is required to confirm actual delivery points for automation rates; without it, pieces may achieve presort-level discounts but cannot claim full automation discounts.
Question 6: Which type of address cannot qualify for automation rate discounts regardless of how CASS processing is performed?
- Addresses with secondary unit (suite) numbers
- Addresses located in recently rezoned ZIP codes
- Addresses confirmed as Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA) (Correct answer)
- Addresses on carrier route R001
Correct answer: Addresses confirmed as Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA)
Addresses confirmed as Undeliverable As Addressed have no valid delivery point and therefore can never qualify for automation rate discounts under any processing method.
Question 7: When calculating automation rate, which figure should serve as the denominator?
- Only the addresses submitted for CASS processing in that session
- The total number of all mail pieces in the complete mailing job (Correct answer)
- Only the addresses that successfully received a ZIP+4 code
- The number of unique 5-digit ZIP codes present in the mailing
Correct answer: The total number of all mail pieces in the complete mailing job
The denominator for automation rate is always the total number of pieces in the mailing job, not just the successfully coded subset.
CASS Automation Rate Qualification 4
A mailer submits 10,000 addresses through CASS processing and 8,500 receive valid ZIP+4 coding.
What is the automation rate?