I have an Address3 field.  What should I do with it?
FindAddress doesn’t currently support Address3 but FindAddressLines will be adept at picking up the relevant address information throughout various address lines.
The sample code is giving strange errors or is crashing!
Most likely, the sample code cannot connect to Service Objects. Many environments will not allow you to connect out on port 80, or will clip out XML data from these requests/responses.
Then test one of the operations with your trial key. If you get a browser error, or get no data back, then the sample code isn’t able to connect, either. Contact your systems administrator to resolve why you are not able to connect to Service Objects.
Address Detective says it can’t find my street!
DOTS Address Detective doesn’t know about every address, especially empty lots or new streets. Often, it won’t be able to validate these locations.
We are as good as the USPS at identifying addresses, and although AD uses additional non-USPS sources of address data, not every data set is complete.
If the USPS has an address we don’t, we will have it within 30 days after our monthly update is run.
Does Address Detective do delivery point validation?  I need to know if the USPS can deliver to this address.
Yes. Look at the “DPV” code returned in the “FixedAddress” object.
This is a 1-4 code describing the level of deliverability of this address. (See above for DPV codes and their meaning).
Is Address Detective CASS-certified?  Can I use it to get postal discounts?
Yes and No. Address Detective uses our DOTS Address Validation 3 service whose core address validation engine is
CASS certified. It meets and exceeds all requirements for address correction except bulk mail discounts.
However, AV3 does not have a mechanism to “presort” address lists and because of this we are not formally CASS certified.
You cannot use AD or AV3 for bulk-rate postal discounts.
What are the possible errors that AD will return if an address is invalid?
Please refer to “Error Codes”, above.
What does “Multiple Addresses Match” mean?  How do I get a single result?
“Multiple Addresses Match” means that AD found the address, but couldn’t resolve it from other addresses that were very similar, typically because of directional elements.
For example, if you validate “123 Main street, Anytown, CA”, but in Anytown, CA, there is both a “West Main street” and an “East Main street”, then this will result in a “Multiple Addresses Match”. You will need to specify either West Main or East Main as the street name to get a corrected, single address.
There are other cases in which “multiple addresses match” will occur, but are rare and often have to do with a difference in zip+4, or suite numbers.
I need to know exactly how long each of the output fields could be.  What is your standard field length?
Please email us at support@serviceobjects.com, and we’ll send you the exact field length specifications.  As a general rule, you won’t get a field longer than 80 characters.
Does AD validate suite or apartment numbers?
Yes. Just take a look at the DPV output code to determine if the given suite number is incorrect, or if you’re missing a suite number entirely.
Does AD validate PO Boxes/box numbers?
Yes. PO boxes are correctable and are indeed validated. Out of range PO Box numbers will yield the appropriate error.
Where do you get your address information?
We get our data primarily from the USPS, but Address Detective leverages various other proprietary sources to try and obtain an address through other clues.
How often do you update your address data?
We’ll update our information monthly, but in some special situations, we may update it more frequently.
I am not a programmer.  How do I use DOTS Address Detective?

References

  1. Delivery Point Validation Explained
  2. CASS and DPV: A Higher Standard for Address Accuracy
  3. Address Deduplication Using USPS Barcodes
  4. Address Detective – Why it is so cool!
  5. Connecting the DOTS between Address Validation and Address Detective
  6. Mailing Address vs Physical Address: What’s the Difference?
DOTS Address Detective doesn’t know about every address, especially empty lots or new streets. Often, it won’t be able to validate these locations. 
We are as good as the USPS at identifying addresses, and although AD uses additional non-USPS sources of address data, not every data set is complete.
If the USPS has an address we don’t, we will have it within 30 days after our monthly update is run.