USPS Address and ZIP Code Verification 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A mail piece reads '123 W. Maple Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85001.' A second piece for the same building reads '123 West Maple Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85001.' Which statement is true?
- Both addresses are undeliverable because abbreviations must be standardized
- Both addresses are acceptable; USPS can match both to the same delivery point (Correct answer)
- Only the fully spelled-out version is accepted by USPS
- Only the abbreviated version is accepted by USPS
Correct answer: Both addresses are acceptable; USPS can match both to the same delivery point
USPS address-matching software recognizes both abbreviated and spelled-out directionals and street suffixes as equivalent.
Question 2: Which of the following five-digit ZIP codes is within the state of New York?
- 30301
- 10001 (Correct answer)
- 60601
- 77001
Correct answer: 10001
ZIP codes beginning with 100 are assigned to New York City; 10001 is in Manhattan.
Question 3: An address label shows 'PO Box 58, Rural Route 2, Smalltown, KS 67501.' What is wrong with this address?
- Kansas ZIP codes do not start with 6
- A PO Box and a Rural Route cannot appear on the same address line (Correct answer)
- Smalltown is not a valid city name
- The ZIP code has too few digits
Correct answer: A PO Box and a Rural Route cannot appear on the same address line
USPS policy requires that a PO Box number and a rural route not be combined on the same address; only one delivery point designator should be used.
Question 4: A ZIP code reads '9210.' What is the error?
- ZIP codes must start with a number above 9
- ZIP codes must have exactly five digits (Correct answer)
- ZIP codes cannot contain a 9 in the first position
- ZIP codes for California are four digits
Correct answer: ZIP codes must have exactly five digits
All standard USPS ZIP codes contain exactly five digits; '9210' has only four digits and is therefore invalid.
Question 5: An address is written as '700 N Main St, Apt# 12, Dallas TX 75201.' Which element deviates from USPS addressing standards?
- Use of 'Apt#' instead of 'APT' or 'Apt'
- Missing comma after the city name Dallas (Correct answer)
- N is not a valid directional abbreviation
- 75201 is not a valid Texas ZIP code
Correct answer: Missing comma after the city name Dallas
Standard USPS format requires a comma after the city name (Dallas, TX 75201); omitting it is a formatting error.
Question 6: Two address lines are given: Line A — '34 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028' and Line B — '34 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90082.' The correct ZIP is 90028. What is wrong with Line B?
- The street suffix is wrong
- The last two digits of the ZIP code are transposed (Correct answer)
- The city name is misspelled
- The state abbreviation is incorrect
Correct answer: The last two digits of the ZIP code are transposed
In Line B, the last two digits '28' are reversed to '82,' making it a digit-transposition error.
Question 7: What does the first digit of a USPS ZIP code indicate?
- The specific post office assigned to the address
- A broad national geographic area or group of states (Correct answer)
- The carrier route within a city
- The delivery point barcode sector
Correct answer: A broad national geographic area or group of states
The first digit of a ZIP code divides the country into ten large geographic areas, from 0 in the northeast to 9 in the far west.
USPS Address and ZIP Code Verification 3
A mail piece reads '123 W.
Maple Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85001.' A second piece for the same building reads '123 West Maple Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85001.' Which statement is true?