Shipping & PostageAddress verification and what to do when it fails
Octoship validates every address before you buy — US addresses against the USPS database, international addresses against postal data for the destination. Here's what the warnings mean and how to fix them.
On this page
When you create a shipment, Octoship compares the recipient's address against the official USPS address database. A verified address is standardized — abbreviations fixed, ZIP+4 added — which helps your package sort faster and avoids costly address correction fees from UPS, FedEx and DHL Express. International addresses are checked against postal reference data for the destination country, so a missing postcode or a city in the wrong field gets flagged before the label prints. For a deeper look, see address validation at home and abroad.
What the statuses mean
- Verified — the address matches a real delivery point. You're good to go.
- Missing unit — the building exists but has multiple units. Ask your customer for an apartment or suite number.
- Not found — the street or number doesn't exist in the database. Check for typos, swapped digits or a wrong ZIP.
Shipping anyway
New construction and some rural routes aren't in the database yet. If you've confirmed the address with your customer, click Use address as entered. Just know that UPS, FedEx and DHL Express charge an address correction fee if their driver has to fix it, and postal services like USPS may return undeliverable packages to sender.
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