when addressing an envelope, it is still expected that that the town, state, and ZIP code be written?

I thought the whole idea of the ZIP code was to streamline the process. Especially after the introduction of the ZIP+4 system.

This is a question that has been nibbling at the back of my brain for the longest time!
As a test, for the past several years have not written my town and state on the return address. Instead, I simply write:

P.O. Box XX
17XXX

I have no idea if this tactic has been effective as I have either a)never had mail returned for lack of a proper "to" address (or is otherwise undeliverable), or 2)I have had mail returned for being improperly addressed, but it never made it back to my PO box because I didn't write the town and state in the return address.

As often happens in the long, cold winter months, I have recently been losing sleep over questions just such as this.


Despite the hopefully obvious tongue-in-cheek nature of this post, I am sincere about the question and hope someone with USPS experience has an answer.

 

Some towns have multiple ZIP codes - for example: Pocatello Idaho has 6 ZIP codes - 83201, 83202, 83204, 83205, 83206, and 83209.

I believe when the address is read by the P.O. they start at the ZIP and work backward...

 

Plus the more info there is, the better the chance they can deliver it if they can't read the writing.

My 9 and 4 look similar, my 5 and 2. Some peoples 7 and 1 etc.

So if the zip fails the reader can go to the city and state and so on.

The plus 4 takes care of street address issues like above.

Jim Henderson

 

I'm a letter carrier in a city where we have 6 zip codes as well.

By not printing a full return address, your mail most likely will not and cannot be returned to you without your name and address / PO box. The clerk may place it in the PO box without your name or he/she may not.

Most clerks that fill PO boxes and most carriers that have thier own route like myself, deliver mail by name. I service just about 800 mail boxes everyday and I know each of my customers at a minimum by last thier names.

A full return address also helps those that want to correspond with you.

Tim

 

I have been told by my Postmaster that I can leave out City and State. And, if I use Zip +4 the street address also.

 

Exactly. The small city of Lancaster PA has 3 or 4 different zip codes. The zip code narrows down the location of the addressee. Writing "Lancaster" is redundant. Writing just the city name without the zip code would delay delivery.
My little town has a single zip code for the whole township.
I would think that the post office workers would put mail in the PO box without a name. What is the difference if it is addressed to "Boxholder" as junk mail is, or if it has no name?
I rarely ever get into my post office when the desk is open. I leave for work before 7 and rarely get home before 5. Office hours are 8 to 4.
So, I can't easily ask them.
It just bugs me. It seems to me that there is no valid reason to have to write the city and state in the address if the zip code is there.
I've seen big automated mail sorter operations on TV shows. Those letters are flying throfh the machines so cast there is no way OCR software is reading a city and state name written in cursive writing. It could easily read the zip code in block numerals. There are far fewer ways to write the various numerals than there are ways to mangle alphabetic characters.

It bugs me that I haven't been officially notified that town and state are really no longer necessary.

 

zip+4 delivers my mail to an abandoned house 5 miles from me.

and since Most computers automatically change address to zip+4, i don't get much mail any more, or it is 3-4 months old when i get it.

makes things nice in the winter when layoff comes, and i don't have to pay credit card bills because they send the bill to the wrong address.
all i do is call the CC company up, and complain about them changing my address and i am not going to pay any late fees. they agree with me.

 

OK, let me throw this at you then, if I may...

What if there is more than 1 town in the same ZIP code and both towns have a street with the same name? It happens around here...

 

Very good point sir. For instance, Pocahontas seems a very popular street name in tis very historic area. Almost every neighboring city has a Pocahontas St, Dr, Rd or something to that effect. I'm constantly getting Pocahontas mail for another city on my route.

I don't see why writing or affixing a pre-printed return address label is such a a big deal.

Tim

 

I'm not a USPS employee, but here are my thoughts on it. The more info you put into an address, the more the sorting machines can error check. For instance, one of West Lafayette's ZIP codes is 47906. Maybe someone writes a sloppy '0' and it comes out looking like 47966--which is the ZIP code for Newport, IN, almost 70 miles away. If the words "West Lafayette" are in the address, along with a street that is in WL and not Newport, the sorting machine could easily send it, correctly, to West Lafayette. If only the ZIP code were on the last line, it might go to Newport.

All that said, though, from what I've read, the handwriting recognition algorithms in the USPS scanners are incredible. I seem to recall that hearing that they are even more reliable and accurate than humans.

BTW, our homeschool group took a field trip a few years ago to either a USPS office or a sorting facility (I forget which), but "junk mail" is not a term used by the USPS--they call it "money mail", and it's something like 2/3 of their revenue. Food for thought.

Jason

 

Jason, you may have went over to Mail Code on McCarty lane. When I was laid off in 2003 I almost went to work for them; there were even a couple of guys there I worked with in a job past.

Anyhow, they build machines and write the software that do automated sorting. When I interviewed there I asked about the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) part of their software becuase that's what I did my doctoral work on. They said they used someone else's application, so I didn't get much insight.

The best I know is that the zip code is used for sure, but I don't know if it and other address items are cross referenced against a database. I do know such a database exists; however, I too have seen the rate at which items are sorted and don't *think* that could include full resolution of all address items with the zip code.

 

If your return addresss contains the correct Zip+4 you will be able to get the letter back should it be undeliverable. It IS possible to address an envelope to: James Smith
456 Busybody St.
19568-0978
and have it delivered. The Letter Sorting Machines (LSM) sorts by address/Zip Code and directs the letter to the proper delivery point in the DPS (Delivery Point Sequence) pre-sorted tray that goes directly to the carrier. Should be no trouble doing this as long as you have the correct Zip+4. ( Retired with over 30 yrs of service in the USPS)

 

I didn't go on the field trip--wife and kids did along with others, or I would remember. I probably also would have annoyed the snot out of them with questions. But I'm pretty sure it was to the USPS, not Mail Code

A good friend of mine went to HS with the guy who founded Mail Code, sold it for $100M+, then several years later bought it back because he needed something to do. Wish I had that problem.

Jason

 

The error rate on these machines is very low considering the thousands of letters that they process daily.

For instance, today I had about 3000 machine sorted letters and only 12 mis-sorted pieces.

Tim

 

I have more stories like that than I'd care to admit. I'd rather be lucky than good; unfortunately, I ended up good.