Frequently Asked Questions

The Sample Code is Giving Strange Errors or is Crashing!

Most likely, the sample code cannot connect to Service Object…

Many environments will not allow you to connect out on port 80, or will clip out XML data from these requests/responses. The easiest way to check for this is to open a browser on the machine running the sample code. In your browser, navigate to:

https://trial.serviceobjects.com/avca2/

AVCA2- Service Reference

Then try to run 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.

I have an Address 3 element. What should I do with it?

We currently don't support any handling of the Address3 field…

Passing it in as part of either the Address1 or Address2 fields is not recommended, as it may inhibit validation.

Does Address Validation Canada 2 provide support for French addresses?

Yes, this service will accept French addresses…

However, all output fields will be standardized to their English versions. This service is primarily for correcting, validating and standardizing Canadian addresses. The current Canadian standard is English, and we convert the addresses to English to provide the most accurately standardized addresses possible. It is likely that we will add more support in the future for outputting addresses in standardized French formats as well in the future, however the rules for doing so are not as clear potentially leading to more inaccuracies in the result.

Address Validation Canada 2 says it can’t find my street!

DOTS Address Validation Canada doesn't know about every address, especially empty lots or new streets. Often, it won't be able to validate these locations. In general, we are as good as the CPC at identifying addresses.

Does Address Validation Canada 2 do delivery point validation? I need to know if CPC can deliver to this address.

Not at this time…

This feature is not implemented within our system. Our system contains over 2 million Canadian addresses which are validated to CPC standards.

What are the possible errors that AVCA2 will return if an address is invalid?

Please refer to Error Codes page…

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.

I’m not a programmer. How do I use DOTS Address Validation Canada 2

Service Objects runs batches for you!

A free batch trial is available at https://www.serviceobjects.com/upload-center/.

References

  1. Canada’s New PIPEDA Law: What It Means for You
  2. Canadian Address Validation – In a Nutshell
  3. Moving to Canada – Mail Subscriber Guide