What does address standardization do?
Address standardization does a few different things:
- It checks the address against the USPS to make sure it is valid.
- It fills in the county and congressional district on a record.
- It completes the +4 of the zip code.
- It homogenizes the addresses so all your address use the same capitalization.
- It extends abbreviations like “Rd.” are extend to “Road.”
- It adds the appropriate USPS recommended spacing.
So, what does all that mean?
It changes this address:
Abraham Lincoln
1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NORTHWEST
Wash, dc 20500
To this address:
Abraham Lincoln
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500-0003
How do you standardize addresses?
If you’re doing data entry, this automatically happens when the Auto-Correct check box is marked.
However, if you notice a lot of unstandardized addresses in your system, you may want to run address standardization system-wide.
To run address standardization on the entire database:
- Go to System > Standardize Addresses
- This will allow us to see the summary of our current address.
- Not Checked — The number of addresses in the system that have no been run through the standardization process.
- Failed — The number of addresses that have been run through the standardization process but have no been found in the USPS database.
- Certified— The number of addressed that have passed the standardization process and are standardized.
- Check your Standardization Option:
- Running the Standardization tool will automatically check the addresses in the Not Checked area. In the Standardization Options area you have three choices:
- Re-run Previously Failed — This allows for all the addresses that are not standardized to be checked for standardization.
- Re-run Previously Standardized — This allows for all addresses in the database to be checked for standardization. If you have recently changed your spacing options, this will need to be run.
- Limit to Addresses Added Today — This is a great option if you have a large database and you did an import today that you need to standardize.
- Running the Standardization tool will automatically check the addresses in the Not Checked area. In the Standardization Options area you have three choices:
- Finally, click on Standardize Addresses. This can take up to several hours to complete depending on the number of addresses the system is trying to standardize.
- You should receive a success message when the standardization is finished. The summary numbers should reflect the new standardized addresses:
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