USPS City and State Discrepancies 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A package is addressed to 'Portland, OR' but the ZIP code 04101 belongs to Portland, ME. Which field contains the error?
- The street number
- The state abbreviation (Correct answer)
- The recipient name
- The ZIP code
Correct answer: The state abbreviation
ZIP code 04101 belongs to Portland, Maine, so the state 'OR' (Oregon) is incorrect.
Question 2: An envelope lists 'Springfield, IL 62701' but the sender wrote 'MO' as the state. What type of discrepancy is this?
- City-ZIP mismatch
- State-ZIP mismatch (Correct answer)
- Street address error
- Name formatting error
Correct answer: State-ZIP mismatch
ZIP code 62701 belongs to Springfield, IL, making 'MO' an incorrect state abbreviation.
Question 3: A mail piece shows 'Columbus, OH 39401'. The ZIP 39401 is actually in Hattiesburg, MS. Which correction should be flagged?
- Change the city to Hattiesburg and state to MS (Correct answer)
- Change only the city to Hattiesburg
- Change only the state to MS
- No correction needed
Correct answer: Change the city to Hattiesburg and state to MS
Both the city and state are wrong for ZIP 39401, which belongs to Hattiesburg, MS.
Question 4: Which pair correctly matches a city to its state abbreviation?
- Phoenix, GA
- Miami, FL (Correct answer)
- Denver, TX
- Seattle, OR
Correct answer: Miami, FL
Miami is located in Florida (FL); the other city-state pairings are all incorrect.
Question 5: A letter addressed to 'Las Vegas, CA' arrives at a USPS facility. The error detector should flag this because:
- Las Vegas does not exist
- Las Vegas is in Nevada, not California (Correct answer)
- CA is not a valid state abbreviation
- Las Vegas has no ZIP code
Correct answer: Las Vegas is in Nevada, not California
Las Vegas is in Nevada (NV); listing California (CA) is a city-state discrepancy.
Question 6: Two records show identical street addresses but one lists 'Atlanta, GA 30301' and the other 'Atlanta, AL 30301'. What should be checked first?
- The recipient's name
- Whether 30301 is a valid Atlanta, GA ZIP code (Correct answer)
- The delivery route number
- The postage amount
Correct answer: Whether 30301 is a valid Atlanta, GA ZIP code
Verifying whether ZIP 30301 belongs to Atlanta, GA will determine which record has the state discrepancy.
Question 7: A package bound for 'Nashville, TN' carries ZIP code 37201, which is valid for Nashville. A second line reads 'TX' in the state field. This is an example of:
- A correct address with a redundant state
- A state field override error
- A ZIP-city match with a state discrepancy (Correct answer)
- A missing suite number error
Correct answer: A ZIP-city match with a state discrepancy
The city and ZIP agree (Nashville, TN 37201) but the state field incorrectly says TX, creating a state discrepancy.
USPS City and State Discrepancies 2
A package is addressed to 'Portland, OR' but the ZIP code 04101 belongs to Portland, ME.
Which field contains the error?