USPS Alphanumeric Code Verification 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Code string 'TZ8-002-AQ' is being verified against 'TZ8-002-AO'. A new clerk marks this as correct. Is the clerk right?
- Yes, the codes are identical
- No, the last character differs: Q vs O (Correct answer)
- No, the middle segment is wrong
- Yes, single-character differences are acceptable
Correct answer: No, the last character differs: Q vs O
The final character is 'Q' on the item but 'O' in the record; even a single character mismatch must be flagged as an error.
Question 2: Which pair of codes represents a TRANSPOSITION error?
- 'A1B2' vs 'A1C2'
- 'A1B2' vs 'A12B' (Correct answer)
- 'A1B2' vs 'A1B'
- 'A1B2' vs 'X1B2'
Correct answer: 'A1B2' vs 'A12B'
'A1B2' vs 'A12B' shows the '1' and 'B' swapped positions, which is the definition of a transposition error.
Question 3: A distribution code reads 'NDC-10-M'. The reference sheet lists it as 'NDC-10-M'. After verification, what should the clerk do?
- Flag the code because NDC codes require two letters at the end
- Pass the code as correct — it matches the reference exactly (Correct answer)
- Reject it because the format uses a letter after a number
- Re-verify with a supervisor before deciding
Correct answer: Pass the code as correct — it matches the reference exactly
An exact match between the item code and the reference means the code is correct and should be passed without flagging.
Question 4: Code '77W-EE9-04' is compared to '77W-EE9-40'. What kind of error appears in the last two digits?
- Substitution
- Transposition (Correct answer)
- Insertion
- Deletion
Correct answer: Transposition
The digits '04' and '40' are the same two characters in reversed order, which is a transposition error.
Question 5: A clerk must verify 20 codes per minute. She checks 'RT-5500-ZZ' against 'RT-5500-ZZ' and 'MV-3310-AB' against 'MV-3310-AB'. How many errors did she find?
- Two errors, one in each code
- One error in the second code
- Zero errors — both codes match (Correct answer)
- One error in the first code
Correct answer: Zero errors — both codes match
Both codes are identical to their reference counterparts, so no errors are present.
Question 6: A label shows 'USPS-BM-0047A'. The manifest lists 'USPS-BM-0074A'. Which segment contains the error?
- The 'USPS' prefix
- The 'BM' segment
- The numeric segment '0047' vs '0074' (Correct answer)
- The trailing letter 'A'
Correct answer: The numeric segment '0047' vs '0074'
The numeric portion reads '0047' on the label but '0074' in the manifest, a transposition of the interior digits.
Question 7: An extra character appears in one code: '55-KK-88X' vs the reference '55-KK-88'. What type of error is this?
- Substitution error
- Transposition error
- Insertion error (Correct answer)
- Deletion error
Correct answer: Insertion error
The item code has one additional character ('X') that does not appear in the reference, making this an insertion error.
USPS Alphanumeric Code Verification 3
Code string 'TZ8-002-AQ' is being verified against 'TZ8-002-AO'.
A new clerk marks this as correct.
Is the clerk right?