What is CASS Processing?

CASS is a certification system from the United States Postal Service (USPS) for software that processes mailing lists. When mailers process their address lists using software that is CASS Certified, they are able to obtain bulk mail discounts from the USPS. CASS Software will standardize your mailing list, update outdated addresses, and verify that addresses are valid and complete. It will also provide you with a form that you can submit with your mail to obtain a discount.

Qualified Address's CASS Certified Address Scrubbing Software does the following:

Address Standardization – With CASS Certified Scrubbing, the addresses in your list are modified so that they meet the format the USPS expects. For example, 'Avenue' will be abbreviated to 'AVE' and '#' may be replaced by 'STE' or 'APT'

Address Correction – If an address is misspelled or missing address information it cannot be approved for a mailing discount. CASS Certified software will attempt to correct misspellings in your address list and add required information, such as the ZIP Code, +4 Code, Carrier Route, or Delivery Point Bar Code, that may be missing.

Address Updating – Every now and then an address will change. CASS Certified Scrubbing will compare the standardized addresses in your list with a list of addresses that have changed. For example, many rural route addresses have been updated to standard city-street style addresses. These addresses will be updated by CASS Software using LACS^Link (Locatable Address Correction System).

Address Verification – After the addresses have been standardized, corrected, and updated, they are compared with a list of addresses that the USPS considers valid and complete. This verification ensures that your mailpiece can be delivered with the information you've provided. This Delivery Point Verification (DPV) will also indicate whether or not the address is missing an apartment or suite number. CASS processing does not validate the person or business that is at the address, but it does validate whether mail can be delivered to an address.

Postal Report – After you process a list with CASS Certified software, you will received CASS Form 3553. This form is given to the post office when you deliver your mail so that they can verify that your list is qualified for a discount.

If you want a bulk mail discount, you are required to process your address list on CASS Certified software such as the software offered by Qualified Address. Even if you don't need a discount, cleaning your address list and including the delivery point barcode and a complete, standardized address on the mailpiece will speed up delivery of your mail.