ZIP Plus 4 Database field descriptions - Latest

1. ZIP Code

A five-digit code that identifies a specific geographic delivery area. ZIP Codes can represent an area within a state, a single building, or a company that has a high mail volume.

2. Plus4Code

The four-digit number that follows 5-digit ZIP Code, further subdividing the area.

3. Update Key

A field provided by the USPS, containing “a number that uniquely identifies a record; used to identify the base record to which an add or delete transaction is being directed. The field is alphanumeric and consists of the database segment code (V1, V2, W1, W2, X1, X2, Y1, Y2, Z1, or Z2) and eight characters containing an alphanumeric code ranging from 00000001 to AAAAAAAA.”

4. Record Type

A value identifying the type of data in the record:

• F – Firm
• G – General delivery
• H – High-rise
• P – PO Box
• R – Rural route/contract
• S – Street

5. Carrier Route ID

A four-character alphanumeric code assigned to a mail delivery or collection route within a 5-digit ZIP Code. The code consists of a letter followed by three digits:

• B#### – PO Box
• C#### – City delivery
• G#### – General delivery
• H#### – Contract
• R#### – Rural route

6. Street Pre-Directional Abbreviation

A geographical direction preceding the street name:

• E – East
• N – North
• NE – Northeast
• NW – Northwest
• Blank – No pre-direction

Example: 123 N MAIN ST – street pre-directional = N

7. Street Name

The official name of a street, as assigned by a local governing authority. This field contains only the street name; it does not include directionals or suffixes (ST, DR, BLVD, etc.). This element may also contain literals such as PO BOX, GENERAL DELIVERY, USS, PSC, or UNIT.

8. Street Suffix Abbreviation

The standard USPS abbreviation for the trailing designator (street type) in a street address. Refer to USPS Publication 28, Postal Addressing Standards, for values.

Examples: Central Street or Valley Circle

9. Street Post-Directional Abbreviation

Geographic direction that follows the street name:

Example: 123 MAIN ST N – street post-directional = N

10. Address Primary Low Number

The lowest address in a range of addresses.

Examples:

100 – 198 Main Ave

101 – 120 PO Box

1A – 1G Rural Route 1

11. Address Primary High Number

The highest address in a range of addresses.

Examples:

100 – 198 Main Ave

101 – 120 PO Box

22A – 22B Rural Route 2

12. Address Primary Odd/Even Code

A code that identifies the side or sides of a street for which a given address range is applicable. For street, high-rise, firm, and multi-carrier records, O = odd side of a street (odd-numbered addresses in range), E = even side of a street (even-numbered addresses in range), and B = both sides of a street. For general delivery, PO Box, and rural route/contract records, this code will always be B.

Examples:

Address Range

100 – 198 Main Ave E – Even addresses in range

100 – 199 Main Ave O – Odd addresses in range

100 – 199 Main Ave B – Both even and odd addresses in range

13. Building or Firm Name

The name of a company, building, apartment complex, shopping center, or other distinguishing secondary address information. This field is normally used with firm and high-rise records but may also contain literals such as “Postmaster” or “United States Postal Service.”

14. Address Secondary Abbreviation

Code identifying the type of address secondary range information in the Address Secondary Range field. This code may be useful in address matching as the secondary address numbers may indicate apartment, suite, or trailer numbers. Refer to USPS Publication 28, Postal Addressing Standards, for values.

15. Address Secondary Low Number

he low value of a range of apartment, room, suite, space, floor, or other secondary addresses.

Examples:

00000001 – 00000009

A – F

55A – 55E

16. Address Secondary High Number

The high value of a range of apartment, room, suite, space, floor, or other secondary addresses.

Examples:

00000001 – 00000009

A – F

55A – 55E

17. Address Secondary Odd/Even Code

Code identifying a secondary address within a range of secondary addresses as being odd (O), even (E), or both (B).

18. ZIP Sector Low Number

A ZIP Sector represents a subdivision of a ZIP Code and is denoted by the first two digits of the ZIP+4 extension.

Example:

12345-1289 ZIP Sector = 12

The value in this field represents the low value in a range of possible sector numbers.

19. ZIP Segment Low Number

A ZIP Segment is a subdivision of a ZIP Sector, representing areas such as:

• One side of a city block between intersections
• Both sides of a street, including cul-de-sacs
• A company or building
• A cluster of mailboxes
• Sections of PO Boxes
• Other similar delivery groups

ZIP segments do not cross state or county lines.

This field represents the low value in a range of possible ZIP segment numbers.

Example:

12345-6734 ZIP Segment = 34

20. ZIP Sector High Number

The value in this field represents the high value in a range of possible sector numbers.

21. ZIP Segment High Number

The value in this field represents the high value in a range of possible segment numbers.

22. Base Alternate Code

A code specifying whether the record is a base (preferred) or alternate record. Base records (indicated by a B) can represent a range of addresses or an individual address, such as a firm record. Alternate records (indicated by A) are individual delivery points. Base records are generally preferred over alternate records. One exception is the ZIP+4 product; in this file, government deliveries are only listed on alternate records with the government building indicator (federal, state, or city) set.

23. LACS Status Indicator

The Locatable Address Conversion Service (LACS) indicator describes records that have been converted to the LACS system, which is a product/services in a different USPS product line that allows mailers to identify and convert a rural route address to a city-style address. Rural route addresses (and some city addresses) are being modified to city-style addresses so that emergency services can find these locations more efficiently.

• L – LACS address – The old (usually rural route) address has been converted to the LACS system
• Blank – Not applicable

24. Government Building Indicator

A value identifying the type of government agency at a delivery point and whether/or a firm is the only delivery at that address. For this purpose, “address” is defined as the complete delivery line (complete street address and, if included as part of the firm record, the secondary abbreviation and/or secondary address number). The field may be blank or may contain one of the following values:

• A – City government building – Alternates only
• B – Federal government building – Alternates only
• C – State government building – Alternates only
• D – Firm only – Base and Alternates
• E – City government building and firm only – Alternates only
• F – Federal government building and firm only – Alternates only
• G – State government building and firm only – Alternates only

25. Finance Number

A code assigned to USPS facilities (primarily post offices) to collect cost and statistical data for compiling revenue and expenses.

The finance number can be used to match to records in other USPS files. By sorting these files by finance number, sequence matches can be made to use other street-level address information. For example, to use the USPS ZIP Plus 4 product to obtain ZIP+4 codes for street addresses, a 5-digit ZIP code, last-line number, or finance number for the street address must be known. The finance number can be obtained from the USPS City State product.

For a street address such as 123 MAIN ST, SAN FRANCISCO CA, matching to the City State product will not provide a single 5-digit ZIP Code because San Francisco is a “multi-coded city” that has more than one ZIP Code. However, the finance number for San Francisco can be obtained from the City State product. By sorting the ZIP+4 product into finance number and street name sequence, a match can be found to provide both the correct 5-digit ZIP Code and the ZIP+4 code.

26. State Abbreviation

A two-character abbreviation for the name of a state, US territory, or armed forces ZIP Code designation. If Army/Air Force (APO), Fleet Post Office (FPO), or Diplomatic/Defense Post Office (DPO), the state abbreviation will be AA, AE, or AP.

27. County Number

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code assigned to a given county or parish within a state. In Alaska, it identifies a region within the state. If APO/FPO/DPO and the record type (see above) is F, S, or H, the county number will be blank.

28. Congressional District Number

A standard value identifying a geographic area within the United States that is served by a member of the US House of Representatives. If APO/FPO/DPO, this field will be blank. If there is only one member of Congress within a state, the code will be AL (at large).

29. Urbanization City State Key

An index to the USPS City State file that provides the urbanization name for this delivery range.

30. Preferred Last Line City State Key

In the USPS Carrier Route, Five-Digit ZIP Code, Delivery Statistics, and ZIP Plus 4 products, an index to the City State product record that provides the preferred last-line name for an address range.

31. Census Block Group Code

A census block group is a cluster of census blocks represented by a code that includes state, county, and tract codes according to the following structure:

32. Centroid Latitude

Latitude of the ZIP+4 address range centroid.

33. Centroid Longitude

Longitude of the ZIP+4 address range centroid.