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DSF

Address Characteristics
DSF will identify addresses that are complete and correct, and tell you which addresses are not. This process can identify characteristics that can influence marketing strategies by distinguishing between residential and business deliveries and identifying seasonal addresses, vacant locations, commercial mail receiving agencies, “drops” and other address delivery information.

Walk Sequence

DSF2 also provides walk sequence numbers and the documentation required by the USPS® to justify postage discounts for walk sequence mailings.

Differences Between DSF and DSF2:
DSF2 will not make corrections to address elements (The previous version of DSF could, in limited circumstances, find corrections for some address problems).

A module called DPVTM now determines address accuracy with the DSF2. DPV does two things:
1.) It tells you if the address is complete and accurate.
2.) It identifies addresses that are commercial mail receiving agencies (CMRA’s)

The layout and footnotes below address the four segments of DSF2:
ZIP + 4, DPV, DSF2 and a Mailing Address Section.


DSF2 Layout

These are the fields we append to your list  
Field Name Length Description
PRIMNUM 10 Primary Number
PREDIR 2 Prefix Direction
PRIMNAME 28 Street Name
STRSUFF 4 Street Suffix
POSTDIR 2 Post Direction
UNITTYPE 4 Unit Type (see appendix A)
UNITNUM 8 Unit Number
DSFCITY 13 City Name
DSFSTATE 2 State Abbreviation
DSFZIP 5 5 Digit Zip
DSFZIP4 4 ZIP + 4 Code
BCCKDIG 3 Advanced Bar Code and Check Digit
DSFCART 4 Carrier Code
ZIP4MATCH 1 ZIP + 4 Match Level (see appendix B)
DSFISBOX 1 Primary Number Is A Box (Yes or No Indicator)
ZIPSTAT 1 ZIP Code Status (see appendix C)
CITYCHNG 1 City Name Has Changed (Yes or No Indicator)
DSFLOT 5 Line Of Travel
DSFLOTOR 2 LOT Sort Number
STATECD 2 State Code
COUNTCD 3 County Code
LACSIND 1 LACSLINK Indicator (L or Blank)
DSFURB 28 Urbanization Code for Puerto Rico
RETRNCD 3 Unit Return Code
VENDSRC 1 Vendor Source
CITYIND 1 City Indicator (see appendix D)
ADDRIND 1 Address Indicator (see appendix E)
ZIP4FTNT 49 ZIP + 4 Footnotes (see appendix F)
EWSFLAG 1 Early Warning System (see appendix G)
DPVSEG 30 DPV Footnotes (see appendix H)
DSFMLEV 1 Match Level (see appendix I)
ADDRSEQ 5 Address Sort Order Sequence Number
DSFFIL1 5 Filler
VACIND 1 Vacant Indicator (see appendix J)
SNLIND 1 Seasonal Indicator (see appendix K)
RESBUS 1 Residential/Business Indicator (see appendix L)
TRBCKIND 1 Throwback Indicator (see appendix M)
DELTYPE 1 Delivery Type Indicator (see appendix N)
DROPIND 1 Delivery Drop Indicator (see appendix O)
DROPCNT 3 Number of Deliveries at the Drop (see appendix P)
LACSSTAT 1 LACSLINK Status Indicators (see appendix Q)
NOSTAT 1 No Statistics (Yes or No Indicator)
DSFEXP 48 DSF Expansion
ADDRSRC 1 Address Source Code (see appendix R & S)
ADDRDELCD 1 Address Delivery Code (see appendix R & S)
PANDRCD 1 Pander Code (P or Blank)
DSFADDR1 40 Local Address Line 1
DSFUNIT 13 Unit Information Line
DSFADDR2 40 Local Address Line 2
DSFLSTLN 43 City/State/ZIP/ZIP + 4
SHTCITY 13 Short City Name
DSFZPCD 5 ZIP Code
DSFEXP2 5 Expansion
MAILSCOR 2 Mail Score (see appendix T)
DSFEXP3 2 Expansion
MILTZIP 1 Military ZIP Code (A=Active, N=None Active, Blank)
DPVSMTCH 1 DPVS Match Indicator (see appendix U)
NDIAPT 1 NDI Affirmed Apt. Indicator (see Appendix V)
SECADDR 1 Secondary Address Indicator (U=Urbanization)
MLSTATE 2 State Code
MLCNTYCD 3 County Code
LNGCITY 1 Long City Indicator (Yes or No)
MLCART 4 Carrier Route Code
MLLOT 5 Line of Travel Information
MLLOTORD 2 LOT Sortation Number
PRESCITY 1 Prestige City Name (Yes or No)
ZIPDLPT 12 ZIP/Add-On/Delivery Point
INPRECNO 10 Input sort order code (assigned by Mailnet)
DSFSEQ 10 Output sort order code (assigned by Mailnet)

 

Appendix A (Unit Code)
---------------------------
APT – Apartment
BLDG – Building
BSMT – Basement
DEPT – Department
FL – Floor
FRNT – Front
HNGR – Hanger
KEY – Key
LBBY – Lobby
LOT – Lot
LOWR – Lower
OFC – Office
PH – Penthouse
PIER – Pier
REAR – Rear
RM – Room
SIDE – Side
SLIP – Slip
SPC – Space
STE – Suite
STOP – Stop
TRLR – Trailer
UNIT – Unit
UPPR – Upper
# – Unknown

Appendix B (ZIP + 4 Match Level)
------------------
A - Secondary Address match failed
B - PO Box
C - Highway Contract with Box Number
D - Rural Route Default
E - Primary Number match in Range
F - Firm Name
G - General Delivery
H - High-Rise or Building
I - Alphanumeric match in numeric range, building/high-rise secondary number
J - Alphanumeric match in numeric range, Highway Contract Box Number
K - Highway Contract Default
L - Building Default
M - Military Default
N - No Delivery
O - Alphanumeric match in numeric range, PO Box Number
P - Postmaster
Q - Alphanumeric match in numeric range, Rural Route Box Number
R - Rural Route
S - Street Name
T - Small Town Default
U - Unique ZIP Default
V - Alphanumeric match in numeric range, Firm record Secondary Number
W - High-Rise Default Alternate
X - No match
Y - Ambiguous Dual, No Match

Appendix C (ZIP Code Status)
------------------
1 - ZIP Code Verified
2 - ZIP Code Corrected
3 - ZIP Code Not Verified

Appendix D (City Type Indicator)
------------------
0 - Single ZIP City
1 - Multi-ZIP City
Blank - City Type Not Determined

Appendix E (Address Type Indicator)
------------------
Blank - No Match to ZIP + 4
S - Street Record
P - PO Box Record
R - Rural Route or Highway Contract Record
H - High-Rise Record
F - Firm Record
G - General Delivery Record

Appendix F (ZIP + 4 Footnotes)
------------------
AA - Matched to the ZIP + 4 File
A1 - Not Matched to the ZIP + 4 File
A2 - Alias Street matched ZIP + 4 Base Street
A3 - Matched to the ZIP + 4 Alternate
D  - Corrected City Name and/or State Information
E  - Corrected Primary Address
      Corrected one or more Primary Address Data Fields such as:
      Street Address -
         1. Added or corrected directional
         2. Corrected street name spelling
         3. Added or corrected suffix
             Rural Route or Highway Contract -
       Added or corrected Route or Box indicators (e.g. "RR NN", "BOX NN", or "HC NN BOX NN").
          PO Box -
               Corrected Post Office Box indicators (i.e. "PO BOX NN")
       General Delivery -
               Corrected General Delivery Indicators (i.e. "GENERAL DELIVERY")
F  - Corrected Secondary Address Data
      Corrected and/or abbreviated the secondary address descriptor (e.g. "SUITE", "APARTMENT", "ROOM",       etc.) and/or corrected the apartment number. (e.g. transposed alphanumeric conditions such as, "J7"       is "7J").
H  - ZIP Code changed
      Corrected or added the 5-digit ZIP code.
J  - Failure to match last line of address
     Could not validate the city name, state and ZIP code on this address. This address cannot be correctly
     processed by automated equipment and may be undeliverable.
K  - Multiple match in primary address field
      Address matched to more than one address record
K1 - Multiple match due to missing or incorrect direction(s).
K2 - Multiple match due to missing or incorrect suffix
L  - Multiple match in secondary address field
      Possible reason is missing or incorrect secondary descriptor (e.g. "SUITE", "APARTMENT", "ROOM",       etc).
      Note: Apartment buildings can have deliveries to Suite 1 and Apartment 1.
M1 - Missing Street Number
M2 - Address not found
       1) No such address exists
       2) Transposed or incorrect address number
       3) Incorrectly spelled street name
       This address cannot be processed correctly on automated equipment and may be undeliverable.
M3 - No such Primary Number
M4 - Firm Name Not Matched
N1 - Missing Secondary Address Number
       Missing Secondary Address Number in a multiple-ZIP + 4-coded building.
N2 - Secondary Number not found
       1) No such address exists
       2) Transposed or incorrect number
P1 - Missing Rural Route or Highway Contract Box Number
       Address was identified as a Rural or Highway Contract delivery but it did not contain a box number.
       This address cannot be processed correctly on automated equipment and may be undeliverable.
P2 - Rural Route or Highway Contract Box Number not on file
       1) No such address exists
       2) Transposed or incorrect box number
Q1 - Missing PO Box Number
Q2 - PO Box Number not found
       1) No such address exists
       2) Transposed or incorrect box number

Appendix G (Early Warning System)
------------------
Identifies new addresses (new construction or renovated buildings) that are not yet incorporated into postal databases. These are valid addresses, but they won't match to ZIP + 4 or DPV files. EWS identifies these records, and prevents ZIP + 4 software from trying to "fix" the addresses. These records don't qualify for any postage discount, but the EWS flag tells you not to delete them from your database. ZIP + 4 processing should be able to assign carrier route codes and ZIP + 4 codes within 30-45 days.

Appendix H (DPV/DSF2 Footnotes)
------------------
AA - Matched to the ZIP + 4 File
A1 - No match to ZIP + 4 File
BB - Matched to DPV
CC - Input (client) address primary number matched to DPV but the secondary number did not match.
       Secondary number present but invalid.
M1 - Input (client) address is missing Primary or Street Number (ex. house number).
M3 - Input (client) address has invalid Primary or Street Number (ex. house number).
N1 - Input (client) address primary number matched to DPV but the highrise address is missing the        secondary number.
P1 - Input (client) address missing PO, Rural Route, or Highway Contract Box Number.
       Address was identified as a Rural or Highway Contract delivery but it did not contain a box number.
       This address cannot be processed correctly on automated equipment and may be undeliverable.
RR - Input address matched to a CMRA
R1 - Input address matched to a CMRA, but PMB or # not present

Appendix I (Match Level)
------------------
See ZIP + 4 Match Level

Appendix J (Vacant Indicator)
------------------
Y - Location has been vacant for 90+ days
N - Not a vacant address
Blank - Not matched to DPV

Appendix K (Seasonal Indicator)
------------------
Y - Seasonal address
N - Not a seasonal address
Blank - Not matched to DPV

Appendix L (Residential/Business Indicator)
------------------
B - Business Delivery
R - Residential Delivery
G - General Delivery
U - Not Determined


Blank - Not matched to DSF2

Appendix M (Throwback Indicator)
------------------
Y - PO Box Delivery: The address associated with this delivery point is a street address, but delivery is      made to the customer's PO Box address. Note: The carrier does not deliver mail to the street or rural      route / highway contract box address. The U.S.P.S. may not deliver mail addressed for the street      delivery point to the PO Box unless the PO Box is included in the address. DSF2 will not cross-reference      the street address to the appropriate PO Box.
N - Not a throwback address
Blank - Not matched to DSF2

Appendix N (Delivery Type Code)
------------------
1 - Curb - a delivery with a mail receptacle located at the curb.
2 - NDCBU - a delivery point that is serviced by cluster boxes, also known as Neighborhood
     Delivery and Collection Box Units (NDCBU).
3 - Central - a delivery within a building that has two or more ZIP + 4 codes assigned to a
     blank of boxes or floors
4 - Door-slot - a delivery point serviced by something other than Curb, NDCBU or Central

Appendix O (Delivery Point Drop Indicator)
------------------
The Delivery Point Drop Indicator specifies whether or not a delivery point is a “drop” site. A drop is a single delivery point or receptacle that services multiple families and/or business. Mail for a drop site is distributed internally by the site. Commercial “mailbox” companies or Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies (CMRA's) are also classified as drop sites because the carrier delivers the mail to one point, and mail is distributed to specific boxes by the company.
Y = Delivery Point a drop
N = Delivery Point is not a drop

Appendix P (Drop Count)
------------------
This field contains the number of potential deliveries for a drop site. If the Delivery Point Drop Indicator equals “Y”, then this field contains the number of businesses or families served at that drop site. This number will be greater than one except for General Delivery records, where it can equal Zero.

Appendix Q (LACSLINK Status Indicator)
------------------
The Locatable Address Conversion Service (LACSLINK) Indicator describes records that have been converted to the LACSLINK system. Rural route addresses are being converted and some city-style addresses are being modified so emergency vehicles can find these locations.

Appendix R (Mailing Code)
------------------
Mailing Codes consist of two components- Address Source and Address Status/ Delivery Code.
Taken in combination, they provide a way to determine the most mailable address.

    Address Source (Refer to the Mailing Code Recommendations)
    O - Original Client Information (after ZIP + 4 Standardization; standardization process may alter           original information)
     L - LACS Match
     N - NCOA Match
     D - DMCOA Match
     X - True Nixie Match
     Y - False Nixie Match

     Address Status/Delivery Code (Refer to Mailing Code Recommendations)
     K - DPV Matched and DSF2 Matched
     G - DPV Matched; DSF2 Matched to Vacant Address
     V - DPV Matched, verified address
     H - DPV Matched to CMRA, with Unit (PMB or #) information present
     M - DPV Matched to CMRA, but no Unit (PMB or #) information present
     C - ZIP + 4 Verified local address
     B - No forwarding address (should not be mailed)
     Z - Verified or corrected ZIP Code, non-ZIP + 4
     D - Verified or corrected ZIP code and no local address information in a non carrier delivery service ZIP           code
     E - Verified or corrected ZIP code and no local address information in a carrier delivery service ZIP           code *
     F - Non-verified ZIP code *

* Note: Codes E and F may not be deliverable.

Appendix S (Mailing Code Recomendations)
------------------
Original Address (ZIP + 4 Coded Records will be Standardized)

OK - ZIP + 4 Coded; DPV Matched; DSF2 Matched
        Recommendation: MAIL
OG - ZIP + 4 Coded; DPV Matched; DSF2 Matched to Vacant Address
        Recommendation: Questionable Deliverability
OV - ZIP + 4 Coded; DPV Matched; Verified Address
        Recommendation: MAIL
OH - ZIP + 4 Coded; DPV Matched to CMRA with Unit (PMB or #) information present
        Recommendation: MAIL
OM - ZIP + 4 Coded; DPV Matched to CMRA but no Unit (PMB or #) information present
        Recommendation: Requires PMB* for Delivery
OC - ZIP + 4 Coded; DPV Not Matched
        Recommendation: Questionable Deliverability
OZ - Not ZIP + 4 Coded; Corrected or verified City/State/ZIP, local address information not verified
        Recommendation: Questionable Deliverability (Address contains errors)
OD - Not ZIP + 4 Coded; Corrected or verified City/State/ZIP, no local address information (non carrier         delivery service area - small town)
        Recommendation: Questionable Deliverability
OE - Not ZIP + 4 Coded; Corrected or verified City/State/ZIP, no local address information (carrier delivery         service area)
        Recommendation: DO NOT MAIL
OF - Not ZIP + 4 Coded; ZIP not verified
        Recommendation: DO NOT MAIL

Appendix T (Mailability Score)
------------------
Score=1 This is an accurate, mailable address
Score=2 This record is probably deliverable
Score=3 This record might be deliverable
Score=4 This record is probably undeliverable
Score=5 This record is undeliverable. Do Not Mail.

Each of these scores is divided into smaller subsets to allow for fine tuning, if desired. The subsets,
indicated by an alpha character (e.g. 1a,1b, etc) may be helpful in eliminating specific segments of a mailing,
or salvaging segments of a group that would otherwise be suppressed.

The following is an explanation of these scores:


1. Accurate, Mailable Address
1a. - An accurate address, as verified by DSF2/DPV . Deliverable as long as the name of the addressee is        correct. May include addresses that have been provided by LACSLINK processing.
1b. - Also an accurate address, as verified by DSF2/DPV, but this is a seasonal address. Vacant at least        one season out of the year. Vacant at least one season out of the year. The season (or seasons)        aren't identified by the Postal Service, so time of year will determine mailability (e.g. in Sun Belt        states, seasonal addresses are usually occupied in the winter and vacant in the summer).
1c. - Also an accurate address, as verified by DSF2/DPV, but this address is a commercial mail receiving        agency (CMRA). A secondary address (suite or PMB or apartment, etc.) is present. Some marketers        may chose to modify credit offers made to CMRA addresses.
1d. - This is new construction or renovation that is "new to file." Postal files do not yet contain delivery        point information (ZIP + 4, carrier route, etc.) for this address, so it won't qualify for postage        discounts. But it is an accurate address that will get the proper coding within the next 30 days.

2. Probably Deliverable

2a. - Record has a verified ZIP + 4 code, but some element of the address did not match with DSF2.
2b. - This is a business delivery, with a street-and-number address. However, the number is either        missing or is not a valid postal delivery point. But the community in which the business is located is        not densely populated, and therefore mail to this business may still be deliverable.

3. Might be Deliverable
Some percentage of these records won't get delivered. If cost control is a priority, or if your message is personal or confidential, then you should bypass these records. But some records will be deliverable, so if you want to expand your mailing universe and can tolerate some risk, you may decide to mail some portion of these records.

3a. - This is a street-and-number address, but a PO Box address is necessary for delivery. This address        is not located within a delivery area for any postal carrier. The addressee must receive all mail at a        PO Box. Mailpieces that do not carry the PO Box address will not, in many case, get delivered even        though the street address is accurate.

4. Probably Undeliverable
Unless you have confirmation that this address is deliverable (e.g. from the addressee or from prior mailings), you should bypass these records.

4a. - This is an accurate address, as verified by DSF2/DPV, but this address is a commercial mail        receiving agency (CMRA). There is no secondary address (suite or PMB or apartment, etc.), and so        the Postal Service may not deliver the mailpiece.
4b. - The correct ZIP + 4 Code for the address could not be determined, but the 5-digit ZIP Code is correct.        The address is not in a densely populated area, and so there is a chance the mail may get        delivered.

5. Undeliverable. Do Not Mail
Suppress these records from mailings and suspend or delete from databases.

5a. - The addressee has moved and the address has been vacant for 90 days or more.
5b. - The ZIP Code is missing or invalid. Address errors or deficiencies prevent it from getting a correct        digit ZIP Code.

Appendix U (DPVS Match Indicator)
------------------
C - Confirmed address
I - Improved address
N - No match made
Blank - No match attempted

Appendix V (NDI Affirmed Apartment)
------------------
2 - Affirmed Apartment
1 - Non-affirmed Apartment
Blank - Not a high-rise

 

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