Output Data Options

The following table lists the options that control the type of information returned by ValidateAddress. Some of these options can be overridden for Canadian addresses. For more information, see Canadian Address Options.

Table 1. Output Data Options

Parameter

Description

Option.OutputRecordType

Type of output record. For more than one, provide a list.

A
Returns 1 to 4 lines of address data plus city, state, postal code, firm name, and urbanization name information. Each address line represents an actual line of the address as it would appear on an envelope. For more information, see Standard Address Output. If the address is validated, the address lines contain the standardized address. When addresses are standardized, punctuation is removed, directionals are abbreviated, street suffixes are abbreviated, and address elements are corrected. If the address is not validated, the address lines contain the address as it appeared in the input ("pass through" data). Non-validated addresses are always included as pass through data in the address line fields even if you do not specify OutputRecordType=A.
E
Parsed address elements. Each part of the address, such as house number, street name, street suffix, directionals, and so on is returned in a separate field. For more information, see Parsed Address Elements Output. Note that if you specify "E" and specify OutputFormattedOnFail=Y, the parsed address elements will contain the input address for addresses that could not be validated.
I
Parsed input. This option returns the input address in parsed form regardless of whether the address is validated. Each part of the input address, such as house number, street name, street suffix, directionals, and so on is returned in a separate field. Parsed input (value "I") differs from the combination of OutputRecordType=E and OutputFormattedOnFail=Y in that "I" returns all input address in parsed form, not just input that could not be validated. For more information, see Parsed Input.
P
Postal data. Output addresses contain additional data for each validated address. For more information, see Postal Data Output.
Blank
Do not return any address data or postal data.

Option.OutputFieldLevelReturnCodes

Specifies whether to include field-level result indicators. Field-level result indicators describe how each address element was handled. Field-level result indicators are returned in the qualifier "Result". For example, the field-level result indicator for HouseNumber is contained in HouseNumber.Result. For a complete listing of result indicator output fields, see Field-Level Result Indicators.

N
No, do not output field-level return codes (default).
Y
Yes, output field-level return codes.

Option.OutputFormattedOnFail

Specifies whether to return a formatted address when an address cannot be validated. The address is formatted using the preferred address format for the address's country. If this option is not selected, the output address fields are blank when the address cannot be validated.

Note: This option applies only to U.S. and Canadian addresses. Formatted data will not be returned for any other address.
N
No, do not format failed addresses (default).
Y
Yes, format failed addresses.

Formatted addresses are returned using the format specified by the OutputRecordType option. Note that if you specify OutputRecordType=E, the parsed address elements will contain the parsed, validated address for addresses that could be validated. If the address could not be validated the parsed address elements will contain the input address in parsed form. If you always want the output to contain the input address in parsed form, regardless of whether or not ValidateAddress could validate the address, specify OutputRecordType=I.

Formatted addresses are returned using the format specified by the Option.OutputRecordType option. Note that if you specify Option.OutputRecordType=E, the parsed address elements will contain the parsed, validated address for addresses that could be validated. If the address could not be validated the parsed address elements will contain the input address in parsed form. If you always want the output to contain the input address in parsed form, regardless of whether or not ValidateAddress could validate the address, specify Option.OutputRecordType=I.

Formatted addresses are returned using the format specified by the Include a standard address, Include address line elements, and Include postal information check boxes. Note that if you select Include address line elements, the parsed address elements will contain the parsed, validated address for addresses that could be validated. If the address could not be validated the parsed address elements will contain the input address in parsed form. If you always want the output to contain the input address in parsed form, regardless of whether or not ValidateAddress could validate the address, select Include standardized input address elements.

If you specify Y, you must specify "A" and/or "E" for OutputRecordType.

If you specify Y, you must specify "A" and/or "E" for Option.OutputRecordType.

If you check this option, you must select Include a standard address and/or Include address line elements.

Option.OutputStreetNameAlias

For U.S. addresses only, specifies how to handle street name aliases used in the input. A street alias is an alternate name for a street and applies only to a specific range of addresses on the street.

If you enable this option, street name aliases used in the input will appear in the output. If you do not enable this option, street name aliases in the input will be converted to the base street name in the output, with the following exceptions:

  • If a preferred alias is used in input the preferred alias will always be used in output.
  • Changed aliases used in input are always converted to the base street name in output.

This is one of three options that control how ValidateAddress handles street name aliases. The other two are Option.OutputPreferredAlias and Option.OutputAbbreviatedAlias.

Note: If Option.OutputAbbreviatedAlias is enabled, the abbreviated alias will always appear in the output even if you have Option.OutputStreetNameAlias disabled.
N
No, do not return street name aliases in the output.
Y
Yes, return street name aliases in the output if the input street name is an alias (default).

Option.OutputAddressBlocks

Specifies whether to return a formatted version of the address as it would be printed on a physical mailpiece. Each line of the address is returned in a separate address block field. There can be up to nine address block output fields: AddressBlock1 through AddressBlock9.

For example, this input address:

AddressLine1: 4200 Parliament Place
AddressLine2: Suite 600
City: Lanham
StateProvince: MD
PostalCode: 20706

Results in this address block output:

AddressBlock1: 4200 PARLIAMENT PL STE 600
AddressBlock2: LANHAM MD 20706-1882
AddressBlock3: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ValidateAddress formats the address into address blocks using postal authority standards. The country name is returned using the Universal Postal Union country name. Note that the option Option.OutputCountryFormat does not affect the country name in the address block, it only affects the name returned in the Country output field.

For addresses outside the U.S. and Canada, if ValidateAddress is unable to validate the address, no address blocks are returned. For addresses in the U.S. and Canada, address blocks are returned even if validation fails.

N
No, do not return address blocks. Default.
Y
Yes, return address blocks.

Option.OutputAMAS

Specifies whether to return a formatted version of the address as it would be printed on a physical mailpiece. Each line of the address is returned in a separate address block field. There can be up to nine address block output fields: AddressBlock1 through AddressBlock9.

For example, this input address:

AddressLine1: 4200 Parliament Place
AddressLine2: Suite 600
City: Lanham
StateProvince: MD
PostalCode: 20706

Results in this address block output:

AddressBlock1: 4200 PARLIAMENT PL STE 600
AddressBlock2: LANHAM MD 20706-1882
AddressBlock3: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ValidateAddress formats the address into address blocks using postal authority standards. The country name is returned using the Universal Postal Union country name. Note that the option Option.OutputCountryFormat does not affect the country name in the address block, it only affects the name returned in the Country output field.

For addresses outside the U.S. and Canada, if ValidateAddress is unable to validate the address, no address blocks are returned. For addresses in the U.S. and Canada, address blocks are returned even if validation fails.

N
No, do not return address blocks. Default.
Y
Yes, return address blocks.