home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The Business Master (3rd Edition)
/
The Business Master (3rd Edition).iso
/
files
/
busition
/
wunbar
/
postal.txt
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1993-04-01
|
88KB
|
2,023 lines
This document is formatted as an ASCII text file (including line
drawing characters) for screen viewing or printed output.
Printed output is 32 pages.
A PRIMER ON
ADDRESSING STANDARDS
FOR UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
AUTOMATED
OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION (OCR)
AND POSTNET BARCODE
MAIL SORTING
How to format address output
on labels or envelopes to make maximum use of
automated mail processing
────────────────────────
Including
Letter mail size specifications
Address location on the mailpiece
OCR readable type styles
Address data elements
Address format specifications
Standard abbreviations
POSTNET Barcode interpretation and location
USPS publications
Shareware programs
────────────────────────
K. P. McClanahan
5787 Sebring Drive
Indianapolis 46254-1539
(Not connected in any way with the United States Postal Service)
April 1993
Revision 2.0
This document is written for personal computer users everywhere.
It is not copyright. It may be freely copied, edited,
and distributed or even plagiarized.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Disclaimer: While best efforts have been made to assure │
│ the accuracy of the information in this document, it is │
│ not intended to be authoritative. Readers seeking to │
│ conform to United States Postal Service standards should │
│ consult Postal Service publications listed in the Refer- │
│ ence section rather than rely on the information here. │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
TABLE OF CONTENTS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Introduction.................................................. 1
Benefiting from Automated Mail Processing............... 1
Glossary.................................................. 2
Automated Sorting............................................. 4
Letter Mail Specifications......................................6
Letter Mail Dimensions for OCR Processing..................6
Locating the Address on the Mailpiece.................... 6
Font Characteristics for OCR Reading.......................7
Address Block Specifications................................... 8
The Ideal Address Block................................... 8
Data Elements............................................. 9
Address Block Format......................................10
Using Standardized Abbreviations.............................. 22
United States and its Territories and Possessions.........22
Canada....................................................23
Geographical Abbreviations (Directionals).................23
Street Designators........................................23
Secondary Unit Designators................................24
Hispanic Style Addresses..................................25
POSTNET Barcoding............................................. 26
Using the POSTNET Barcode.................................26
Delivery Point Barcode................................... 26
Barcode Format............................................27
Interpreting the POSTNET Barcode......................... 27
Locating POSTNET Barcode on the Mailpiece.................28
Facing Identification Mark.....................................30
Something for Nothing..........................................31
References.....................................................32
A PRIMER ON ADDRESSING STANDARDS FOR
POSTAL SERVICE AUTOMATED OCR SCANNING AND SORTING
Standards and specifications for structuring
a mailing list database on your personal computer
and printing labels or envelopes
INTRODUCTION
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Benefiting from Automated Mail Processing────────────────────────
Most of us take addressing a letter for granted. We write
or type the address--or what we think is the address--on an en-
velope, stamp it, put it in the mail, and then become angry when
the Post Office (oops!, Postal Service) takes days or even weeks
to deliver it across town.
Well, a lot has changed since that idea has become fixed in
our collective consciousness. In the first place, more and more
mail is being addressed using personal computers at home and in
the office. And the Postal Service is into its second generation
of automated OCR sorting equipment--vast improvements over the
first versions. OCR systems now read the address line as well as
the ZIP Code line in the sorting process. Yet, even the newer
Optical Character Recognition scanners can only handle a 40
character line with at most eight words per line. Any line ex-
ceeding those parameters is ignored and the mailpiece is spit out
for manual sorting. Thus, the use of standard formats and ab-
breviations is particularly important to speed mail processing.
This document is intended as a primer on structuring a
database and formatting an address to meet USPS OCR and POSTNET
Barcode specifications. For some readers the information here
will not go far enough, and I refer them to USPS publications 25
and 28 on addressing standards (See References). For other
readers, anything that smacks of uniformity and standardization
is a challenge to be as non-conforming as possible. Neverthe-
less, in recent years the hygiene (or etiquette, if your prefer)
of addressing "mailpieces" has evolved, and a primer such as this
in order.
The first section deals with mailpiece dimensions and the
address block location that can be scanned by OCRs. The second
section specifies the structure of an address block, its data
components, and the preferred or standard specifications for each
component. A third section lists most of the USPS specified ab-
breviations for use in automated sorting. And the final section
describes POSTNET barcode usage for readers with access to
POSTNET Barcode printing programs such as WonderBar 4.1 or Under-
Bar 2.1 (See References).
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--2
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Glossary─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Below are definitions of some less-than-obvious terms or
terms with specific meanings used in the text.
Address Block: The group of address lines on a mailpiece.
BCS: BarCode Sorting--Automated sorting equipment and process
for interpreting the POSTNET barcode and sorting the mail-
piece.
BRE: Business Reply Envelope(s)--Letter mail with prepaid
postage and the endorsement "Postage will be paid by
addressee"; in other words a BRM envelope.
BRM: Business Reply Mail--Preaddressed, postage-paid-by-
addressee letter mail that adheres to specific Postal Serv-
ice regulations. The addressee pays First-Class postage
(plus a fee) for mail actually received.
CRM: Courtesy Reply Mail--Letter mail preaddressed by the ad-
dressee, but requiring postage. CRM is similar to BRM and
is typically used by utilities, credit card companies and
others for bill payments.
Delivery Address Line: The "street" or PO BOX line of an ad-
dress, directly above the Last Line in a properly formed ad-
dress.
Delivery Point Barcode (DPBC): An 11-digit POSTNET barcode that
identifies every delivery address in the US.
FIM: Facing Identification Mark--A barcode printed at the upper
edge of letter mail to the left of the postage area that
provides a machine-detectable indicia for automatic facing
and canceling, particularly for letter mail that does not
have stamps or meter imprints that can be detected by
automated sorting equipment. The FIM is used primarily on
BRM and CRM, although it may be printed on other letter mail
as well.
Last Line: The CITY, STATE, ZIP line of an address.
Letter mail: Mail (mailpieces) meeting specific size standards
for OCR or BCS processing.
Mailpiece: A Postal Service term meaning any item in the mail.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--3
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
OCR: Optical Character Recognition--an automated process for
reading typewritten or printed addresses on letter mail.
OCR Read Area: The area of a mailpiece which is scanned by wide
area OCR scanners to optically read the address, print a
POSTNET barcode, and perform an initial sort.
POSTNET Barcode: POSTal Numeric Encoding Technique Barcode--A
series of long and short bars that encode address informa-
tion. It may be printed on a mailpiece by the customer or
by the Postal Service to facilitate sorting and delivery.
Range: The numeric part of a street address or secondary unit.
In 1234 MAIN ST APT S23, "1234" is the address range and
"S23" is the secondary unit range.
Recipient Line: The address line above the Delivery Address
Line. For residence addresses this is the person for whom
the mailpiece is intended; for business addresses it is the
name of the organization.
Secondary Unit Indicator: An additional address specifier fol-
lowing the street address for apartment, room, building,
etc.
State designator: The two-character alphabetic abbreviation for
states, territories, possessions, and FPO/APO military ad-
dresses of the United States and for provinces and ter-
ritories in Canada.
ZIP Code: Zone Improvement Program Code--A five digit number
placed after the state designator that specifies a Postal
Service delivery zone.
ZIP+4 Code: A numeric code placed after the ZIP code, and
separated from it by a hyphen, providing additional sorting
information. The Zip+4 Code may now consist of a hyphen and
4 or 7 numerals (the 7 numerals are allowed only if the
mailpiece is barcoded by the customer before mailing accord-
ing to Delivery Point Barcode standards).
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--4
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
AUTOMATED SORTING
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Basically, the Postal Service processing system is comprised
of four sorting levels:
Level 1: Preliminary Sorting
─────────────────────────────
Advanced facer-cancelers which face mail properly, can-
cel postage and separate machine addressed letters for
processing on optical character readers. These machines
also read Facing Identification Mark patterns on busi-
ness reply and courtesy reply mail and separate it for
further automated processing.
Level 2: OCR Scanning/Sorting
──────────────────────────────
High-speed optical character readers (OCRs) that read
machine printed addresses on letter mail, print a
POSTNET barcode in the lower right corner of each mail-
piece and perform an "initial sort." OCRs are capable
of reading, barcoding and sorting mail at a rate of 10
pieces per second (compared to one piece per second for
manual barcoding).
Level 3: POSTNET Barcode Scanning/Sorting
──────────────────────────────────────────
High-speed barcode sorters (BCSs) designed to read
POSTNET barcodes on letter mail and sort it accordingly.
Mail "prebarcoded" by postal customers bypasses OCR and
other sorting operations for direct BCS processing.
Level 4: Manual Barcoding
──────────────────────────
Remote Barcoding Systems (RBCSs) which provide a means
of barcoding letter mail that is not "prebarcoded" by
postal customers, nor "OCR readable." RBCSs are much
more efficient and perform more functions than the older
mechanized means of sorting mail but are still slower
than automated sorting. RBCS operates at one piece per
second.
OCRs are designed to read machine printed addresses informa-
tion on letter mail and convert that information into a postal
barcode, which it prints on the mailpiece. To read the delivery
address, the OCR must be able to find it. Once the scanner lo-
cates the address, it must be able to see all elements clearly.
Thus, location on the mailpiece and print quality are important.
If address characters are excessively slanted or touch each
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--5
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
other, or if there is not sufficient contrast between the back-
ground and the address characters, the OCR can't accurately read
the address.
After successfully reading the address, the OCR searches its
files for the same address. Once found, it prints the ZIP+4 and
Delivery Point Barcode in the lower right corner of the mail-
piece. The OCR then performs an "initial sort" based on the bar-
code it just printed. From that point on, the mail is sorted on
high speed barcode sorters from origin to the letter carriers who
will deliver it.
Unlike OCRs, barcode sorters ignore all alpha/numeric print-
ing and read only POSTNET barcodes. The wide area scanners on
BCSs read barcodes printed in the address area as well as in the
conventional lower right corner. Mail is therefore processed
much faster.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--6
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
LETTER MAIL SPECIFICATIONS
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Letter Mail Dimensions for OCR Processing────────────────────────
Although postal OCRs and BCSs can sort a variety of letter-
mail sizes, it's necessary that the mailpieces be rectangular and
fall between the minimum and maximum dimensions in Table 1.
Otherwise, the pieces tend to tumble and jam during transport. To
determine if your mail meets the needed "aspect ratio" (is suffi-
ciently rectangular), divide the length by the height. If the
answer falls between 1.3 and 2.5, and your mail is within the
size ranges shown in Table 1, it is "machinable."
Letter Mail Dimensions (inches)
┌────────────┬────────────┬────────────┐
│ Dimensions │ Minimum │ Maximum │
├────────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ Height │ 3-1/2" │ 6-1/8" │
│ Length │ 5" │ 11-1/2" │
│ Thickness │ .007"* │ 1/4" │
└────────────┴────────────┴────────────┘
TABLE 1
*Letter mail should be at least .009" in
thicknesses if it exceeds 4-1/4" in
height or 6" in length.
The length of a mailpiece is the dimension
parallel to lines of the delivery address.
For example, a 4" x 5" (height x length) envelope is not
"machinable" since its aspect ratio is 1.25 (5 divided by 4),
wile a 4" x 6" envelope is machinable with its 1.5 aspect ratio,
even though both envelopes are within the parameters of Table 1.
Locating the Address on the Mailpiece────────────────────────────
The left edge of the delivery address block (the address)
shouldbe located within 10-1/2" of the right edge of letter mail
measuring between 10-1/2" and 11-1/2" in length. The address
block should be completely within an area no higher than 2-3/4"
and no lower than 5/8" from the bottom edge of the mailpiece.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--7
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
├───────50% of length─────────┤
┌─────────────────────────────┬───┬────────────────────────────┐
│ │ 33% of FIM POSTAGE │
│ RETURN ADDRESS AREA │ height AREA AREA │
├─────────────────────────────┘ ─┴─ │
│ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ 2-3/4" from bottom edge of piece to top of area │ │
│1\2"│ │1/2"│
│ │ OCR READ AREA │ │
│ │ Print address or place label │ │
│ │ in this area │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ └───────────────────────────┬────────────────────────┴────┤
│ 5\8" │ BARCODE CLEAR AREA │
└────────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
├─────────4-3/4"──────────────┤
Figure 1
Font Characteristics for OCR Reading─────────────────────────────
Because they are more easily read by OCRs, type styles
(fonts) described as "simple sans serif" (nonserifed) are recom-
mended for printing the delivery address. As a general rule,
type styles defined as light, bold, extended or condensed should
not be used. Another rule of thumb is to avoid type styles that
contain numbers which are more likely to be misread by OCRs than
others. These include styles with "flat top threes", which may
be read as fives, and sixes or nines which may appear as eights
to an OCR. Italic, highly-stylized, and script-like styles
should also be avoided. Dot matrix characters are OCR readable
if the dots, that form each character, touch each other, or are
not separated by more than .005". [Note: some of the type
styles tested and approved are Standard Typewriter, Helvetica
(Geneva), Futura Medium, Univers, News Gothic, and Century Light
Schoolbook. Avoid Times Roman and similar styles.]
OCRs will read type sizes between 8 and 18 point. The
recommended type size is 10 or 12 point (standard typewriter
Elite--12 characters per inch or Pica--10 characters per inch).
Kerning should not be used, and at least a space of two points
(1/36") should separate lines. The address should not be slanted
(or skewed) more than 5 degrees, relative to the bottom edge of
the mailpiece--especially important with address labels, since
OCRs can't read crooked labels.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--8
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
ADDRESS BLOCK SPECIFICATIONS
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
In a perfect world, all that would be needed to identify a
particular state and delivery area would be the ZIP Code. The
city and state is actually redundant. Unfortunately, the Postal
Sevice wants the redundancy since a great deal of ZIPped mail is
incorrect. In fact, they're kinda cranky if you leave out the
city and state. Too many people inadvertantly transpose digits
in the ZIP Code. The city and state names serve as a cross
check, allowing the Postal Service to correct customer errors
avoiding the infamous "Return to Sender" rubber stamp. In addi-
tion, in rural areas or small towns with a ZIP Code that serves
several named localities, the city and state actually assist in
sorting. So, even with a 5-, 9-, or 11 digit code, the complete
address is required.
The Ideal Address Block──────────────────────────────────────────
The address block on a properly addressed mailpiece follows
a specific format.
A well-formed residence address:
MR JOHN DOE
1234 N WILLOWBY ST APT 101
ANYTOWN US 12345-6789
∙ All lines of an address block are formatted with a flush
left margin and are within 5 degrees of parallel with
the bottom edge of the mailpiece.
∙ Each line of the address is no longer than 40 characters
and consists of no more than eight elements (e.g. num-
bers, words, and abbreviations separated by spaces).
∙ Uppercase letters only are used (although lower-case
letters in a number of styles, particularly standard
typewriter Courier are acceptable).
∙ A sans serif, fixed pitch, 12 point font is used, al-
though Courier is acceptable. Script fonts and fonts
with curved serifs such as Times Roman, are not accept-
able for OCR scanning. Kerning must not be used.
∙ No punctuation except a period, slash or hyphen in the
address range (e.g.: 39.2 or 1/2 or 345-10) and hyphen
in the ZIP+4 code is used. No commas, no periods, no
quotes, no percentage signs, no pound signs (designating
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--9
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
apartment number, for instance), no parentheses, nor as-
terisk are used. Only the characters A-Z, numerals 0-9,
"/", ".", and "-" are appropriate.
∙ Only one space separates address elements, except two
spaces separate the state designator and the ZIP Code or
ZIP+4.
Data Elements───────────────────────────────────────────────────
In conjunction with the direct mail industry, the USPS has
defined a set of 27 data elements, particular to business-to-
business mailings (which are the most difficult addressing
challenges).
Company/Contact Information:
───────────────────────────
Name Prefix (MS, MR, PROF, DR etc.)
First Name
Middle Name or Initial
Surname
Suffix Title (JR, III and PHD, JD, etc.)
Professional Title (PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER)
Functional Title (DESIGN MANAGER)
Division/Department Name (BRAKE DIVISION)
Mailstop Code (MSC 123)
Distribution and Delivery Address Information:
─────────────────────────────────────────────
Street Number
Predirectional (N, E, S, W, NE)
Street Name (OAK)
Street Suffix (ST, AVE, BLVD)
Postdirectional (N, E, S, W, NW)
Secondary Unit Indicator (APT, BLDG, RM)
Secondary Range (number) (234)
Company Name (BIG BUSINESS INCORPORATED)
PO BOX Number (PO BOX 12345)
City (ANYTOWN)
State (US)
ZIP Code (12345)
ZIP+4 code (-6789)
Carrier Route Code (CR23) [only for bulk mail]
Optional Endorsement
Key Line Code
POSTNET Barcode
POSTNET Address Block Barcode
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--10
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Address Block Format─────────────────────────────────────────────
Postal Service OCR equipment looks for specific information
at specific locations within the address block. Consequently,
each line in an address has meaning in the automated sorting
process. (Also see line wrapping below.)
Line-Specific Data Elements
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Line │
│ Number Line Designation Example │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1* Optional Endorsement Line #ABCDEFE#*******CR02 │
│ 2** Key Line Data #ABCDEFGJKLMNOP/1234456 │
│ 3** POSTNET Address Block │
│ Barcode █ ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄ █ ▄ █ █ │
│ 4*** Mailstop Code MSC 123 │
│ 5*** Attention Line MS MILDRED SMITH │
│ 6*** Individual Title PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER │
│ 7*** Functional Title DESIGN MANAGER │
│ 8*** Group, Division, │
│ Department Name BRAKE DIVISION │
│ 9* Recipient Line BIG BUSINESS INCORPORATED │
│10* Delivery Address 12 E BUSINESS LN STE 209 │
│11* Last Line ANYTOWN US 12345-6789 │
│12* Country (if not USA) GERMANY │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Table 2
* These lines directly affect USPS distribution and
must be included on all mailpieces, except for line
number 1 which is only required for bulk, presorted
mail.
** These lines are required for some USPS programs.
*** These lines are optional, but may be needed for
distribution within a particular business location.
Note: The POSTNET barcode above uses ASCII characters for
display purposes only. These are not valid barcode
characters for mailpieces.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--11
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
LAST LINE
───────── For automated processing, the format of
the last line is particularly vital. It
contains the City, State and ZIP Code or
ZIP+4 information. It is strongly recom-
mended that only approved last line
(city or place) names as listed in the
Postal Service City State File currently
in effect be used.
A hyphen must separate the first five
and last four numerals in the ZIP+4
code. No other punctuation should be
used.
City names should be spelled out com-
pletely. However, when 13-character ab-
breviations must be used due to labeling
constraints. The 13-character abbrevia-
tions provided in the City State File
must be used.
WEST STOCKBRIDGE becomes
W STOCKBRIDGE
NEWBERRY SPRINGS becomes
NEWBERRY SPGS
One space should separate the city name
and two-character state abbreviation.
Two spaces are preferred between the
state abbreviation and ZIP+4 code.
DELIVERY ADDRESS LINE
─────────────────────
Components The components of the delivery address
line are the:
primary address number
predirectional
street name
suffix
postdirectional
secondary address indicator
secondary address range.
101 W MAIN ST E APT 12
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--12
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Punctuation Punctuation in the delivery address line
is limited to periods, slashes, and
hyphens where such punctuation is sig-
nificant in local addresses.
Periods: 39.2 RD
Slashes: 101 1/2 MAIN ST
Hyphens: 289-01 MONTGOMERY AVE
Hyphens in primary address numbers are
usually significant and must be used.
Hyphens in street names are normally not
significant and should be replaced with
spaces.
455-01 MID-ISLAND PLZ becomes
455-01 MID ISLAND PLZ
Directionals Abbreviate directionals (if they are one
of the eight standard directionals
listed below) to the appropriate one or
two character abbreviations.
234 NW SMITH ST
61781 ROBERTS DR S
1101 N BAY DR
599 S BAY BLVD SW
However, do not abbreviate the second
PREdirectional, reading left to right if
two directionals occur together:
5000 SOUTH EAST END AVENUE becomes
5000 S EAST END AVE
1274 WEST SOUTH OAK ST becomes
1274 W SOUTH OAK ST
But:
405 SOUTHEAST MAIN STREET becomes
405 SE MAIN ST
The same rule applies to POSTdirection-
als, except the first (reading left to
right) is not abbreviated.
MAPLE CT NORTH WEST becomes
MAPlE CT NORTH W
But, where local usage (refer to the lo-
cal USPS Address Information System)
uses alphabetic designators, spell out
post directionals to avoid confusion
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--13
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
If local streets are designated
FOOLS BAY A DR
FOOLS BAY B DR
then spell out the postdesignator for
FOOLS BAY WEST DR
Numeric Street Names Spell out numeric street names only when
there are duplicate street names within
a postal delivery area, and the only
distinguishing factor is that one is
spelled out. (The street name should be
shown exactly as it is listed in the na-
tional USPS ZIP+4 File).
SEVENTH AVE to distinguish it from
7th ST
Highways and Roads Road and highway names are the exception
to the general rule that address com-
ponents should be abbreviated where
standards are in place. Road names
should be spelled out if length restric-
tions permit. However, if the name of a
state is only part of the primary street
name, the standard two letter abbrevia-
tion should be used. For example:
COUNTY RD 440 becomes
COUNTY ROAD 440
I10 becomes
INTERSTATE 10
HWY 66 becomes
HIGHWAY 66
CALIFORNIA COUNTY ROAD 555 becomes
CA COUNTY ROAD 555
KENTUCKY ST HWY 334 becomes
KY STATE HIGHWAY 334
HWY 11 BYPASS becomes
HIGHWAY 11 BYPS
HWY 31 BYPS ROAD becomes
HIGHWAY 31 BYPASS RD
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--14
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Other examples:
101 S COUNTY ROAD 20 E
11216 COUNTY HIGHWAY 140
1501 HIGHWAY 50
220 INTERSTATE 680
22604 ROAD 123
1605 STATE HIGHWAY 335
7890 STATE ROUTE 45
115 US HIGHWAY 41
3000 TOWNSHIP ROAD 20
1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE
Rural Route Use the designator RR for rural routes
and HC for highway contract routes:
RFD 4 BOX 122-1A becomes
RR 4 BOX 122-1A
STAR ROUTE 4 BOX 227 becomes
HC 4 BOX 227
There should be no additional designa-
tions, such as town or street names used
on the delivery address line. If secon-
dary street names are used, they should
be on the line above the delivery ad-
dress line.
DAVIS FARM RD
RR 22 BOX 17
General Delivery The designation GENERAL DELIVERY is the
only information on the delivery address
line. The final four digits of the
ZIP+4 code will be 9999.
Post Office Boxes Post Office boxes should be in the
PO BOX nn format. Other designations
such as "Postal Drawer L", "Caller
Box L", or "Lockbox L" should be changed
to PO BOX L.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--15
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Private mail boxes are not allowed to
use the PO BOX nn designation. Instead,
use the mailstop code above the atten-
tion or recipient line.
MSC 127
MR JOHN DOE
1234 MAIN ST
The delivery line address is the stan-
dardized address of the private company
renting mail boxes.
DUAL ADDRESSING
───────────────
The use of dual delivery addresses such
as both a street address and a post of-
fice box is not recommended. If dual
addressing is used, one delivery desig-
nation should be placed on the Delivery
Address Line and the other on the line
immediately above. Mail will be
delivered to the address on the Delivery
Address Line, and for that reason the
ZIP Code should reflect that address.
GRAND PRODUCTS INC
100 MAJOR ST
PO BOX 200 <─────────Mail will be
ANYTOWN US 12345 delivered here
MILITARY ADDRESSES
──────────────────
The delivery line for all APO/FPO
military mail must be standardized as
follows:
PSC (or UNIT) nnnn BOX mmmm
or
Ship name
SEAMAN JOSEPH EGOR
B DIVISION
USS SEA DEVIL SNN-664
FPO AA 34093-2344
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--16
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
SSGT ROBERT ROBERTS
PSC 802 BOX 2625
APO AE 09777-0010
Note that the "state" abbreviation AE is
for Armed Forces Canada, Europe, the
Middle East and Africa; AA for Armed
Forces Central and South America, and AP
for Armed Forces Pacific.
PUERTO RICO
───────────
Addresses in Puerto Rico follow slightly
different standards even though served
by the USPS and generally use Hispanic
designators. See USPS Publication 28
for specific information.
INTERNATIONAL MAIL
──────────────────
The bottom line of the address should
show only the COUNTRY NAME in full (no
abbreviations) in capital letters. Do
not place the foreign postal code on the
bottom line.
INGE DIETRICH-FISCHER
HARTMANNSTRASSE 7
5300 BONN 1
GERMANY
CANADA ONLY
───────────
Either of the following formats for
Canada only may be used:
MS HELEN SAUNDERS
101 CLEAR STREET
OTTAWA ON K1A 0B1
CANADA
MS HELEN SAUNDERS
1010 CLEAR STREET
OTTAWA ON CANADA
K1A 0B1
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--17
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
UNUSUAL ADDRESSES
─────────────────
There are a number of situations that
create standardization problems.
Hyphens in address range, particularly
in New York City and Hawaii:
112-10 BRONX RD
The hyphens are significant and should
not be removed.
Grid-style addresses:
842 E 650 S
E is a Predirectional, S is a postdirec-
tional, and 650 is located in the
primary name (street) field. (This ad-
dress is equivalent to
842 E COUNTY ROAD 650 S in certain
areas.)
Combination address ranges such as
N6W23001 BLUEMOUND RD as found in Wis-
consin.
Fractional addresses such as 123 1/2
MAIN ST require a space before the "1/2"
and must not use the "½" character found
on ASCII computers and some typewriters.
Foreign words in addresses, particularly
Spanish and French words in street ad-
dresses are handled individually:
CALLE RIO GRANDE
RUE ROYALE
ADDRESS FITTING
───────────────
The USPS OCR equipment can read a maxi-
mum of 40 characters per line within a
maximum of 8 separate words per line.
If either parameter is exceeded, the OCR
will ignore the entire line, forcing the
mailpiece to be manually sorted.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--18
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
If it is necessary to reduce the number
of words or characters from business ad-
dress data elements, use the following
steps IN THE ORDER LISTED.
Abbreviate Use the standard business and address
word abbreviations for address data ele-
ments, but only when necessary.
MS MILDRED DOE
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
BRAKE DIVISION
BIG BUSINESS INCORPORATED
12 EAST BUSINESS LANE SUITE 12
ANYTOWN US 12345-6789
when fully abbreviated becomes
MS MILDRED DOE
PRO ENGR
BIG BUS INC
12 E BUSINESS LN STE 12
ANYTOWN US 12345-6789
Special Characters Remove any punctuation and special
characters from the address unless
required as part of the address.
Abbreviate State When a state name appears in a business
address, and the address must be com-
pressed due to space restrictions, use
the standard state abbreviation.
(However, the full spelling is preferred
whenever possible.)
VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION
becomes
VA CONSTRUCTION CORP
1435 VIRGINIA HILL WAY
becomes
1435 VA HILL WAY
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--19
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Remove Words Remove certain words listed below.
However, using standard abbreviations is
preferred over word removal.
Replace " and " with a space
Replace " & " with a space
Replace number words such as
"first" with "1ST"
Remove "etc.", "% care of", "et al"
Remove words such as: "the", "of",
"by", "for", "at", "also"
Remove "ATTENTION" and "ATTN"
Remove titles such as "PHD", "MD",
"DR", "RN", etc.
Wrap Information When address information will not fit on
one line, wrap (move) the additional in-
formation to either the line above or
below, as indicated. However, standard
abbreviations are preferred to wrapping.
No Wrap 1. Optional Endorsement
No Wrap 2. Key Line Data
No Wrap 3. POSTNET Address
Block Barcode
Wrap Down 4. Mailstop Code
Wrap Down 5. Attention Line
Wrap Down 6. Individual Title
Wrap Down 7. Functional Title
Wrap Down 8 Group, Division
Wrap Down 9. Recipient Name
Wrap Up* 10. Delivery Address
Wrap Down** 11. Last Line
* When the secondary address informa-
tion, such as a room or suite num-
ber will not fit on the delivery
address line, it should be placed
on the line directly above.
1234 W MISSISSIPPI ST NW STE 5678
becomes
STE 5678
1234 W MISSISSIPPI ST NW
** If the city, state and ZIP+4 will
not fit on the last line, move the
ZIP+4 to the next line down, flush
left.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--20
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
ANYTOWN, US 12345-6789 becomes
ANYTOWN, US
12345-6789
Remove Repeats Remove repetitive words.
GOODMAN GOODMAN WILSON AND HARLOW
becomes
GOODMAN WILSON AND HARLOW
Substitute Endings To fit addresses to a 40-character line,
change word endings.
an to n
cr to r
ial to l
al to l
ies to s
es to s
ed to d
ing to ng
tion to tn
Last Words If the last word of an address line is
any of those listed below, first replace
the word with the standard abbreviation.
If additional compression is required
remove the word or its abbreviation.
This step can be applied only to address
lines #6, 7, 8, and 9.
ADMINISTRATION ADMIN
AGENCY AGCY
BRANCH BRNCH, BR
CENTER CTR
COMPANY CO
CORPORATION CORP
DIVISION DIV
ENTERPRISE(S) ENT
GOVERNMENT GOVT
GROUP GROUP
HEADQUARTERS HQ
INCORPORATED INC
LABORATORY[IES] LAB, LABS
LIMITED LTD
MANAGEMENT MGT
MANUFACTURER MFR
MANUFACTURING MFG
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--21
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
MUNICIPAL MNCPL
NATIONAL NATL
PARTNERSHIP PRTNRSHP
SYSTEM SYS
Vowel Removal From the right side of the address line,
beginning with the right most word,
remove vowels as necessary on a word-
by-word basis to achieve desired com-
pression. Leave the last vowel, and if
the first character of a word is a
vowel, do not remove that character. It
is also recommended that vowels not be
removed from the left most words.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--22
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
USING STANDARDIZED ABBREVIATIONS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Postal Service abbreviations fall into two categories
depending on where they are used in the address block. Standard
abbreviations should always be used in the last line (city,
state, ZIP), and in the delivery address line (street address)
according to the general rules outlined above.
Abbreviations in the company/contact (recipient information)
lines should be used to meet the 40 character OCR limitation. In
an effort toward standardization, USPS Publication 28 provides 38
pages of standardized business word abbreviations in addition to
those below.
Listed here are some of the more important abbreviations for
use in the delivery address line and last line of an address
block.
United States and its Territories and Possessions────────────────
Alabama AL Minnesota MN
Alaska AK Mississippi MS
American Samoa AS Missouri MO
Arizona AZ Montana MT
Arkansas AR Nebraska NE
California CA Nevada NV
Colorado CO New Hampshire MH
Connecticut CT New Jersey NJ
Delaware DE New Mexico NM
District of New York NY
Columbia DC North Carolina NC
Federated States North Dakota ND
of Micronesia FM Northern Mariana
Florida FL Islands MP
Georgia GA Ohio OH
Guam GU Oklahoma OK
Hawaii HI Oregon OR
Idaho ID Palau PW
Illinois IL Pennsylvania PA
Indiana IN Puerto Rico PR
Iowa IA Rhode Island RI
Kansas KS South Carolina SC
Kentucky KY South Dakota SD
Louisiana LA Tennessee TN
Maine ME Texas TX
Marshall Islands MH Utah UT
Maryland MD Vermont VT
Massachusetts MA Virginia VA
Michigan MI Virgin Islands VI
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--23
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Washington WA Arcade ARC
West Virginia WV Avenue AVE
Wisconsin WI Bayou BYU
Wyoming WY Beach BCH
Bend BND
Armed Forces Bluff(s) BLF
Central and South Bottom BTM
America AA Boulevard BLVD
Armed Forces Branch BR
Canada, Europe, Bridge BRG
Africa, and the Brook BRK
Middle East AE Burg GB
Armed Forces Bypass BYP
Pacific AP Camp CP
Canyon CYN
Cape CPE
Canada───────────────────────── Causeway CSWY
Center CTR
Alberta AB Circle CIR
British Columbia BC Cliffs CLFS
Manitoba MB Club CLB
New Brunswick NB Corner COR
Newfoundland NF Corners CORS
Northwest Course CRSE
Territories NT Court CT
Nova Scotia NS Courts CTS
Ontario ON Cove(s) CV
Prince Edward Creek CRK
Island PE Crescent CRES
Quebec PQ Crossing XING
Saskatchewan SK Dale DL
Yukon Territory YT Dam DM
Divide DV
Drive(s) DR
Geographical Abbreviations Estate(s) EST
(Directionals)───────────────── Expressway EXPY
Extension EXT
North N Fall FALL
East E Falls FLS
South S Ferry FRY
West W Field FLD
Northeast NE Fields FLDS
Southeast SE Flat(s) FLT
Northwest NW Ford(s) FRD
Southwest SW Forest FRST
Forge FRG
Fork FRK
Street Designators───────────── Forks FRKS
Fort FT
Alley ALY Freeway FWY
Annex ANX Gardens GDNS
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--24
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Gateway GTWY Radial RADL
Glen(s) GLN Ranch(es) RNCH
Green(s) GRN Rapids RPDS
Grove(s) GRV Rest RST
Harbor(s) HBR Ridge RDG
Haven HVN Ridge(s) RDG
Height(s) HTS River RIV
Highway HWY Road RD
Hill HL Row ROW
Hills HLS Run RUN
Hollow(s) HOLW Shoal SHL
Inlet INLT Shoals SHLS
Island IS Shore SHR
Islands ISS Shores SHRS
Isle(s) ISLE Spring SPG
Junction(s) JCT Springs SPGS
Key(s) KY Spur(s) SPUR
Knoll(s) KNLS Square(s) SQ
Lake LK Station STA
Lakes LKS Stravenue STRA
Landing LNDG Stream STRM
Lane(s) LN Street ST
Light(s) LGT Summit SMT
Loaf LF Terrace TER
Locks LKS Trace(s) TRCE
Lodge LDG Track(s) TRAK
Loop(s) LOOP Trafficway TRFY
Mall MALL Trail(s) TRL
Manor(s) MNR Trailer TRLR
Meadow(s) MDWS Tunnel(s) TUNL
Mill ML Turnpike TPKE
Mills MLS Union(s) UN
Mission MSN Valley VLY
Mount MT Valley(s) VLY
Mountain(s) MTM Viaduct VIA
Neck NCK View(s) VW
Orchard ORCH Village(s) VLG
Oval OVAL Ville VL
Park(s) PARK Vista VIS
Parkway(s) PKY Walk(s) WALK
Pass PASS Way(s) WAY
Path(s) PATH Well(s) WLS
Pike(s) PIKE
Pines PNES Secondary Unit Designators─────
Place PL
Plain PLN Apartment APT
Plains PLNS Building BLDG
Plaza PLZ Department DEPT
Point(s) PT Floor FL
Port(s) PRT Hanger HNGR
Prairie PR Lot LOT
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--25
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Pier PIER Hispanic Style Addresses───────
Room RM
Slip SLIP Avenida AVE
Suite STE Calle CLL
Stop STOP Caminto CMT
Trailer TRLS Cerrada CER
Unit UNIT Circulo CIR
Basement BSMT* Entrada ENT
Front FRNT* Paseo PSO
Lower LOWR* Placita PLA
Lobby LBBY* Rancho RCH
Office OFC* Vereda VER
Penthouse PH* Vista VIS
Side SIDE*
Rear REAR*
Upper UPR*
*These do not require the
use of a secondary RANGE
(number) to follow.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--26
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
POSTNET BARCODING
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
This section describes the POSTNET (POSTal Numeric Encoding
Technique) barcode and shows you where to locate it on the mail-
piece and how to read it manually. The text has been excerpted
and edited from USPS Publication 25, "Designing Business Letter
Mail," August 1992 (see References). The complete publication is
available from the Business Services Unit of most larger Postal
Service offices. It contains full POSTNET barcode specifica-
tions.
Using the POSTNET Barcode────────────────────────────────────────
The POSTNET barcode was developed by the Postal Service to
encode ZIP Code information on letter mail, which can be read
rapidly and reliably by relatively inexpensive barcode sorters.
The barcode may represent a five-digit ZIP Code (32 bars), a
nine-digit ZIP+4 code (52 bars), or an eleven-digit delivery
point code (62 bars).
Postal customers may preprint POSTNET barcodes on outgoing
letter size pieces, as well as on business reply and courtesy
reply mail (see below).
Delivery Point Barcode───────────────────────────────────────────
The Delivery Point BarCode (DPBC) was developed by the
Postal Service to uniquely identify each of the 115 million
delivery points in the Untied States. It forms the system foun-
dation for virtually eliminating the time used by carriers to
sort letter mail prior to delivery. The DPBC is formed by adding
10 bars to an existing ZIP+4 barcode. The 10 bars represent two
additional numbers (normally the last two numbers of the street
address, post office box, rural route or highway contract box).
Postal customers who apply DPBCs may print the numeric
equivalent of the DPBC on the last line of the address. The
numeric equivalent is formed by adding three numbers immediately
after the ZIP+4 code. The first two numbers correspond to the
DPBC address coding rules, and the last number is the correction
character. When read from left to right, a correctly formatted
DPBC numeric equivalent consists of five numbers, a hyphen, and
seven numbers.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--27
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Barcode Format───────────────────────────────────────────────────
Whether it represents 5-, 9- or 11-digit ZIP code informa-
tion, the POSTNET code should always be printed in a format that
begins and ends with a "frame bar" (full or tall bar). To ensure
POSTNET accuracy during processing, it's also necessary that a
"correction character" (five bars) be included immediately before
the right-most frame bar of all POSTNET codes. The correction
character is always the number which, when added to the sum of
other digits in the barcode, results in a total that is a mul-
tiple of 10. For example, the sum of ZIP+4 code 12345-6789 is
45. Adding a correction character of 5 results in the sum of the
10 digits being a multiple of 10.
MARK POLLAN ┌──Correction character
101 MAIN ST │ sum of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,1
ANYTOWN, US 12345-6789014 plus 4 to equal multiple of 10
││
└┴──────Last two numbers of
the primary street address
Interpreting the POSTNET Barcode─────────────────────────────────
The basic elements of the POSTNET barcode are binary digits,
represented as full bars and half bars. Full bars represent "1"s
and half bars represent "0"s. Each code character is made up of 5
bars which represent a single numeric digit. Specific combina-
tions of 2 full bars and 3 half bars represent the numbers 0
through 9. Only the 10 combinations shown below are valid code
characters. Note that they represent all possible combinations
of 2 full bars and 3 half bars. This feature is central to the
error recovery feature of POSTNET, since reading a combination of
5 bars containing other than 2 full and 3 half bars will be in-
terpreted as an error by the system.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--28
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Numeric Bar Position Weights
Value 74210 7 4 2 1 0
1 00011 ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █
2 00101 ▄ ▄ █ ▄ █
3 00110 ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄
4 01001 ▄ █ ▄ ▄ █
5 01010 ▄ █ ▄ █ ▄
6 01100 ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄
7 10001 █ ▄ ▄ ▄ █
8 10010 █ ▄ ▄ █ ▄
9 10100 █ ▄ █ ▄ ▄
0 11000 █ █ ▄ ▄ ▄
With the exception of zero, the numeric value of each valid
combination of 5 bars may be determined by adding the "weights"
of the 2 positions occupied by the full bars ("1"s). From left
to right, the bar positions are weighted 7, 4, 2, 1, and 0. For
example, the combination 01010 contains a full bar in the second
(weight 4) and fourth (weight 1) positions. Adding 4 and 1
yields 5, which is the assigned value of this combination. The
only exception to this rule is combination 11000 which has a to-
tal weight of 11, but has been assigned a value of zero.
Locating POSTNET Barcode on the Mailpiece────────────────────────
When applied to outgoing letter mail by postal customers,
the POSTNET barcode may be printed in the lower right corner or
as part of the address block, either directly on the mailpiece or
on a label affixed in the OCR Address Read Area.
Address Block Option
─────────────────────
If the address block option is used, the preferred location
for the barcode is in the upper portion of the address, above the
recipient's name. The barcode may also be printed below the
city, state and ZIP Code line of the address. If a non-address
data line is present, the preferred location is above the
recipient's name, but below the optional non-address line. If
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--29
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
preferred, however, the barcode may be applied above that infor-
mation. The POSTNET code should not be applied in any location
between the name of the recipient and the city, state, ZIP Code
line of the address.
(Note: these are ASCII display characters for screen
viewing and are not valid as POSTNET bars.
Preferred─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
█ ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄ █ ▄ █ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ █
BONNIE A LEE
PO BOX 6789
ANYTOWN MD 12345-6789
Acceptable────────────────────────────────────────────────────
BONNIE A LEE
PO BOX 6789
ANYTOWN MD 12345-6789
█ ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄ █ ▄ █ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ █
Preferred─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
#JAN93 000 MD #125BL 02 02 80
█ ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄ █ ▄ █ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ █
BONNIE A LEE
PO BOX 6789
ANYTOWN MD 12345-6789
Acceptable─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
█ ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄ █ ▄ █ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ █
#JAN93 000 MD #125BL 02 02 80
BONNIE A LEE
PO BOX 6789
ANYTOWN MD 12345-6789
Conventional Lower Right Location
─────────────────────────────────
POSTNET codes may also be printed in the lower right corner
of the letter mailpiece. This is where the Postal Service always
prints barcodes from OCR scanning. POSTNET codes printed in the
lower right corner of letter mail should be positioned to begin
no more than 4-1/4" from the right side of the mailpiece and no
less than 3-1/2" from the right. The lower edge of the barcode
should be 3/16" from the lower edge of the mailpiece.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--30
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Sender's Return FIM Postage │
│ Address Area Area │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ BONNIE A LEE │
│ PO BOX 6789 │
│ ANYTOWN MD 12345-6789 │
│ ────────────│──5/8"
│ █ ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄ █ │
│ ───────────│──3/16"
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘── 0"
Position of left-most bar
├─────────4-1/4" MAXIMUM───────┤
├─────3-1/2" MINIMUM───────┤
Figure 2
FACING IDENTIFICATION MARK
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
A Facing Identification Mark (FIM) is a type of barcode used
by automated facer-canceler machines to identify, orient, and
separate BRM and CRM mail for direct OCR or BCS processing. An
FIM is necessary on preprinted BRM, and optional on other first-
class mail. Sorting equipment recognizes luminescent stamps and
meter imprints in the facing process, making a FIM unnecessary on
regular First-Class letter mail.
An FIM is essentially a 9 bit bar-no-bar code printed on the
upper edge of the mailpiece. Three codes are currently in use:
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ FIM MAIL TYPE BINARY CODE PREPRINTED BARCODE │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ A Courtesy Reply Mail 110010011 POSTNET Barcoded │
│ B Business Reply Mail 101101101 NOT Barcoded │
│ C Business Reply Mail 110101011 POSTNET Barcoded │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Layout, location and printing specifications for the FIM are
very specific, since facing-canceling equipment is not as sophis-
ticated as equipment later in the sorting process. The Postal
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--31
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Service Business Centers provide camera-ready BRM and CRM posi-
tives to business mailers. Technical specifications are con-
tained in Sections 6 and 7 of "Designing Business Letter Mail."
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
I bet you didn't know that the Postal Service uses two dif-
ferent "flavors" of glue for postage stamps--and neither has any-
thing to do with taste.
The first is used primarily on commerative stamps for lon-
gevity. It mainly consists of corn dextrin and water. The
second, used on regular stamps, is a mixture of polyvinyl acetate
and dextrin, with an added bonus of propylene glycol to reduce
paper curl.
Oh, just so you won't think there's a conspiracy to ruin our
lives with chemicals, polyvinyl acetate is the main ingredient in
bubble gum.
There is about 1/30 Calorie per postage stamp. Lick away.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
Postal Service Addressing Standards--32
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
REFERENCES
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
"Designing Business Letter Mail", United States Postal Service
Publication 25, August 1992, 54 pages
"Postal Addressing Standards", United States Postal Service
Publication 28, January 1992, 116 pages
"Domestic Mail Manual", United States Postal Service, Issue 44,
September 20, 1992
WonderBar v4.1 - a TSR (memory-resident) program which lets you
print POSTNET bar codes wherever you want them: on mailing
labels, letters, envelopes, etc. WonderBar works with
whatever word processor, mailing list, or database program
you already use. It allows side-by-side (2-up, 3-up, 4-up,
etc.) labels, and 5- to 50-digit ZIP Codes. WonderBar takes
up less than 2.3K of memory. NO CHARGE for personal use by
individuals.
UnderBar v2.2 - a TSR program which prints an 11-digit Delivery
Point Bar Code under any address which ends in a ZIP+4 code.
UnderBar is totally automatic and works with any existing
word processor, mailing list, or database program you al-
ready use. Works with Epson printers, IBM ProPrinters, and
LaserJets. Registration: none required for individuals;
$35.00 for Commercial and Government users.
Both WonderBar and UnderBar are copyright 1993 and are
available from Binary Systems, P. O. Box 1621, Brandon, FL
33509-1621.
ENVLJ, Version 7.42 ─ ENVLJ is a program which prints one or
more envelopes on laser printers compatible with the HP
LaserJet+, Series II(D,P) and Series III. It will also
print a 5-, 7-, or 11-digit POSTNET Barcode and Facing Iden-
tification Mark (FIM) automatically. A font cartridge or
soft fonts are not required. Standard envelope sizes are
already configured, and other sizes can be added. Both a
return address and mailing address can be printed as
desired.
ENVLJ is copyright 1990 and available from Steven Stern,
1213 Glencoe Avenue, Highland Park, IL 60035. The shareware
license is $25.00.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993