USPS City and State Discrepancies 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An address reads '123 Main St, Riverside, CA 92501'. ZIP 92501 is valid for Riverside, CA. A clerk types 'NV' as the state. What kind of error occurred?
- Keying error in the state field (Correct answer)
- Incorrect ZIP code entered
- Wrong city spelled
- No error; NV is acceptable
Correct answer: Keying error in the state field
The clerk introduced a keying error by entering NV instead of CA, creating a state-ZIP discrepancy.
Question 2: Which of the following addresses contains a city-state discrepancy?
- Houston, TX 77001
- Boston, MA 02101
- Salt Lake City, NY 84101 (Correct answer)
- Chicago, IL 60601
Correct answer: Salt Lake City, NY 84101
Salt Lake City is in Utah (UT), not New York (NY), making this a clear city-state discrepancy.
Question 3: A USPS error detection form asks you to compare 'Albuquerque, NM' with ZIP 87101. This address is:
- Incorrect; 87101 belongs to Santa Fe
- Correct; 87101 is a valid Albuquerque ZIP (Correct answer)
- Incorrect; NM is the wrong state for Albuquerque
- Incorrect; Albuquerque is spelled wrong
Correct answer: Correct; 87101 is a valid Albuquerque ZIP
ZIP code 87101 is a valid code for Albuquerque, NM, so the address is consistent.
Question 4: A mail piece lists 'Kansas City, KS' but the ZIP code 64101 falls in Kansas City, MO. Which field is in error?
- The city name
- The state abbreviation (Correct answer)
- The street address
- The apartment number
Correct answer: The state abbreviation
ZIP 64101 belongs to Kansas City, MO, so the state abbreviation 'KS' is the discrepancy.
Question 5: If an address shows 'Memphis, TN' but the ZIP code 38101 routes to a Memphis, AR location, the error detector should:
- Approve the address as-is
- Flag the state as potentially incorrect (Correct answer)
- Return the mail to sender immediately
- Change the city to Little Rock
Correct answer: Flag the state as potentially incorrect
A ZIP routing to a different state than listed means the state field should be flagged for review.
Question 6: An address reads 'Boise, ID 83701'. A second version of the same address reads 'Boise, IN 83701'. The discrepancy is:
- IN vs ID — Indiana is wrong for Boise (Correct answer)
- The ZIP code is invalid for any Boise
- The street is missing from both records
- Both versions are acceptable
Correct answer: IN vs ID — Indiana is wrong for Boise
Boise is the capital of Idaho (ID); Indiana (IN) is an incorrect state for this city.
Question 7: During error detection, you notice 'Charlotte, SC 28201'. Charlotte is in which state?
- South Carolina
- North Carolina (Correct answer)
- Georgia
- Virginia
Correct answer: North Carolina
Charlotte is in North Carolina (NC), not South Carolina (SC), making 'SC' the erroneous field.
USPS City and State Discrepancies 3
An address reads '123 Main St, Riverside, CA 92501'.
ZIP 92501 is valid for Riverside, CA.
A clerk types 'NV' as the state.
What kind of error occurred?