CASS Certification — Spelled Out

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Address Quality Important?
Address quality has a positive effect on the ability of
your mail to reach valued customers. Cost efficient and
timely delivery of every mailpiece depends on an accurate
delivery address containing complete and correct address
elements. Every accurate address allows the USPS to
provide more efficient mail processing and helps the mailer
avoid the added expense of undeliverable-as-addressed
mail. CASS Certified™ address-matching software is the
first step in resolving addressing problems and keeping
mailing costs affordable.

How does CASS certification help Address Quality?
The USPS, in cooperation with the mailing industry,
developed the CASS™ certification process to test the
accuracy of address-matching software. By testing and
certifying each commercial address matching software
product, the USPS can better assure that when used
by mailers it will meet the address-matching quality
expectations necessary to be eligible for certain postage
discounts. The CASS certification process is maintained
by the USPS and defines the minimum, acceptable rules
and guidelines to improve address matching software
accuracy. CASS certification testing includes many
different addressing attributes but cannot test for every
possible addressing situation. Each software employs
different logic, so results may vary. The USPS continues
to raise the bar of quality performance by increasing the
score required to achieve CASS certification. Effective
August 2005, the required minimum score for software
vendor CASS certification is 98.5 percent.

What can CASS Certified address-matching software
do for my mailings?
By utilizing CASS Certified software you can standardize
addresses and obtain the correct ZIP + 4® assignments
and associated delivery point codes (DPC). CASS
Certified software that incorporates DPV™ logic can also
determine if the ZIP + 4 coded address is recognized as
a valid delivery within the USPS delivery network, further
strengthening the quality and deliverability of your address
list. Additionally, CASS Certified address-matching
software is necessary for mail to be eligible for certain
discounted rates.

CASS Certified software does:

• Provide standardization for addresses
• Use USPS-provided data and assigns the appropriate postal codes for carrier route ID, 5-digit ZIP Code™
• Assign ZIP + 4 and delivery point code when the primary number is validated through DPV
• Indicate if the ZIP Code contains only Post Office Box
  deliveries

CASS Certified software does not:

• Ensure that barcodes applied to mailpieces meet USPS specifications
• Guarantee that the mail will pass Mail Evaluation Readability Lookup Instrument (MERLIN) verification at the time of acceptance
• Validate presort accuracy
• Provide Move Update compliance
• Provide optical character reader capabilities