Data Layout

Data Layout#

Introduction#

The ZIP+4 files enable businesses with computer capabilities to add ZIP+4 Codes to their mailing list address files. The files contain approximately 45 million records in total.

The files are sorted according to the EBCDIC collating sequence in ascending order, on the data fields, ZIP CODE and UPDATE KEY NO.

List of Files#

Fixed length (ASCII)
CSV

Layout and Definitions#

ZIP+4 (zip4) and ZIP+4 Transaction (z4trans)#

Column Name

Type

Definition

Copyright Detail Code

char(1)

The Copyright Detail Code identifies the type of record in a USPS® product file.

ZIP Code

char(5)

5-digit ZIP code

Update Key Number

char(10)

The “Update Key Number” field uniquely identifies this record and can be used to replace the current zip+4 record

Action Code

char(1)

The zip4 folder contains the base files, which will always contain “A”

The zip4trans folder will contain “A” to add record to file, or “D” to delete base master record.

Record Type Code

char(1)

Record Type Code

Carrier Route ID

char(4)

Carrier Route

Street Pre-direction Abbreviation

char(2)

Street Pre-Directional Abbreviation.

N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SE, SW

Street Name

char(28)

Street Name

Street Suffix Abbreviation

char(4)

Street suffix Abbreviation.

ST, RD, DR, LN, etc.

Street Post-direction Abbreviation

char(2)

N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SE, SW

Primary Address Low number

char(10)

Low-end address in address range

Primary Address-High number

char(10)

High-end address in address range

Primary Address-Odd/Even/Both Code

char(1)

Address Primary Odd/Even/Both Code.

Building/Firm Name

char(40)

Primarily firm or high-rise name

Secondary Address Abbreviation

char(4)

Secondary Address Abbreviation.

APT, STE, BLDG, etc.

Secondary Address-Low Number

char(8)

Secondary Address - Low Number

Only record types F, H

Apartment or Suite Number or Low end of range.

Secondary Address-High Number

char(8)

Secondary Address - High Number

Only record types F, H

Apartment or Suite Number or High end of range.

Secondary Address-Odd/Even/Both Code

char(1)

Address Secondary Odd/Even/Both Code Only record types F, H

ZIP+4 add on low

char(4)

ZIP+4 add-on or low end of range

ZIP+4 add on high

char(4)

ZIP+4 repeated or high end of range

Base Alternate Code

char(1)

Base Alternate Code

LACS Status Indicator

char(1)

LACS Status Indicator

Government Building Indicator

char(1)

Government Building Indicator

Finance Number

char(6)

Postal Facility Finance Code

State Abbreviation

char(2)

State Abbreviation. (Example: CA, NY, etc.)

County FIPS Code

char(3)

Federal Information Processing Standard code

Congressional District Number

char(2)

Congressional District number

Municipality Key

char(6)

unused - ignore

Urbanization City State Key

char(6)

Urbanization City State Key that is an index to the City State File. (citystate.txt)

Preferred Last Line City State Key

char(6)

Preferred Last Line City State Key is the preferred city name record in the city-state file

Congressional Members - Crosswalk Files (cdlist)#

Column Name

Type

Definition

State Code

char(2)

The 2-character USPS State Abbreviation (“CA”, etc.)

State FIPS

char(2)

The State FIPS field is a 2-digit code assigned by the Federal Government to each of the 50 states and the various territories, such as Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and Washington DC.

District

char(2)

The District field is a 2-digit district number assigned to each member of the House of Representatives.

In states with only a single member of the House (such as Alaska, Delaware, etc.) the Congressional District code is set to “00”.

Such members are known as “members at large”. There are also six “delegates” to the House of Representatives from various territories and Washington DC. Their Congressional District code is also set to “00”.

Senators are represented in the file by setting their Congressional District code to S1, S2, or S3.

This code represents the class that the senator belongs to for elections.

Note that both senators represent the entire state; the geographic district for a senator is the entire state.

Code - Description

00 - Single member of the House “Member at Large” or Delegate.

S1 - Senator Class 1.

S2 - Senator Class 2.

S3 - Senator Class 3.

First Name

char(14)

First Name of Member

Middle Name

char(16)

Middle name of Member

Last Name

char(22)

Last Name of Member

Party

char(1)

Party Affiliation

Code - Description

R - Republican

D - Democrat

I - Independent

Address

char(41)

The office address is for one of the various congressional office buildings located near the Capitol.

For members of the House the last line of the address for mailing purposes is: Washington DC 20515.

For members of the Senate the last line of the address for mailing purposes is: Washington DC 20510.

Telephone

char(12)

The telephone number is for the Washington DC office of the representative or senator, including area code. Since the area code is always 202, this field can shortened to 7 digits.

Email

char(40)

This field is a link to the member’s contact web page or email form web page.

Web Site

char(30)

A link to the members official congressional website.

National ZIP+4 - City State File (ctystate)#

Column Name

Type

Definition

COPYRIGHT DETAIL CODE

char(1)

Alphabetic code that identifies the type of record in a USPS® product file.

A = Alias record

C = Copyright record

D = Detail record

N = Seasonal record

P = PO Box-only record

Z = Zone split record

ZIP CODE

char(5)

A 5-digit code that identifies a specific geographic delivery area. ZIP Codes can represent an area within a state, or a single building or company that has a very high mail volume.

Example:

12345 → ZIP CODE = 12345

CITY STATE KEY

char(6)

A value that uniquely identifies a city state name in the City State product.

ZIP CLASSIFICATION CODE

char(1)

A field that describes the type of ZIP area that a 5-digit ZIP Code serves, e.g., a single educational institution, post office boxes only, or a single address that has unusually high mail volume or many different addresses. ZIP Classification Codes include the following:

M = Military ZIP Code

P = ZIP Code having only Post Office Boxes

U = Unique ZIP Code (ZIP assigned to a single organization)

Blank = Standard ZIP with many addresses assigned to it

CITY STATE NAME

char(28)

May be the name of a city, USPS® entity (such as a Post Office or station), community, USPS-preferred last line, municipality, or urbanization (Puerto Rico only).

Note: An urbanization is an area, sector, or development within a city; it is an important part of the addressing format of Puerto Rico and aids in precisely matching an address.

CITY STATE NAME ABBREV

char(13)

A standard 13-character abbreviation for a city/state name. This field is only used for names that are greater than 13 characters in length and have a city/state mailing name indicator of “Y.” If the field is longer than 13 characters and the city/state mailing name indicator is “N,” the field will be blank.

CTYST NAME FACILITY CODE

char(1)

The type of locale identified in the city/state name. The facility may be a USPS facility, such as a post office, station, or branch, or it may be a non-postal place name. City/state name facility codes include the following:

B = Branch

C = Community post office (CPO)

N = Non-postal community name, former USPS facility, or place name

P = Post Office

S = Station

U = Urbanization

CTYST MAILING NAME IND

char(1)

Specifies whether or not the city state name can be used as a last line of address on a mail piece:

Y = City/state name is a USPS-approved mailing name.

N = City/state name is not approved for mailing purposes.

PREFD LAST LINE CTYST KEY

char(6)

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

In the City State product, the preferred last line city/state key contains the key value of a City State product record that has the default preferred or alternate preferred last-line key for a given ZIP Code.

PREFD LAST LINE CTYST NAM

char(28)

Field that contains the default preferred or alternate preferred last-line name for a ZIP Code.

CITY DELV IND

char(1)

Specifies whether or not a Post Office has city-delivery carrier routes:

Y = Office has city delivery carrier routes

N = Office does not have city-delivery carrier routes

CARR RTE RATE SORT IND

char(1)

Identifies where automation Carrier Route rates are available and where the commingling of automation and non-automation mail, including Enhanced Carrier Routes and 5-digit presort, on the same pallet or in the same container is allowed. The values are A, B, C or D and represent the following conditions:

A = Carrier Route rates are available (Y) and merging is permitted (Y).

B = Carrier Route rates are available (Y) and merging is not permitted (N).

C = Carrier Route rates are not available (N) and merging is permitted (Y).

D = Carrier Route rates are not available (N) and merging is not permitted (N).

UNIQUE ZIP NAME INC

char(1)

Field that specifies whether the City State Record contains the organization name for a unique ZIP Code. If this field equals “Y,” the organization name will appear in the City State Name field.

Y = Unique ZIP Name

Blank = Not applicable

FINANCE NO

char(6)

A code assigned to Postal Service™ facilities (primarily Post Offices) to collect cost and statistical data and compile revenue and expense data.

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 ZIP + 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 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 has more than one ZIP Code (i.e., it is a “multi-coded city”); However, the finance number for San Francisco can be obtained from the City State product. Then, 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 ZIP + 4 code.

Note: The Carrier Route product will match on both the correct 5-digit ZIP and the carrier ID.

STATE ABBREV

char(2)

A 2-character abbreviation for the name of a state, U.S. territory, or armed forces ZIP Code designation. If APO/FPO/DPO, then the state abbreviation will be “AA,” “AE,” or “AP.”

COUNTY NO

char(3)

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 is “S,” “H,” or “F,” the county number will be blank.

COUNTY NAME

char(25)

The name of the county or parish in which the 5-digit ZIP Code resides. If APO/FPO/DPO, then the county name will be blank. It is important to remember that many ZIP Codes serve more than one county.

Code and Definitions#

ZIP+4 (zip4) and ZIP+4 Transaction (z4trans)#

Column Name

Code

Definition

Copyright Detail Code

D

Detail record

Action Code

A

Add record to file

D

Delete record from base file

Record Type Code

G

General Delivery

H

High-rise

F

Firm

S

Street

P

PO Box

R

Rural Route/ Contract

Carrier Route ID

B###

PO Box

H###

Contract

R###

Rural Route

C###

City Delivery

G###

General Delivery

Primary Address - Odd/Even/Both code

O

Odd

E

Even

B

Both

Base Alternate Code

B

Base Record

A

Alternate Record

LACS Status Indicator

L

LACS Converted

Blank

Not Applicable

Government Building Indicator

A

City Government Building

B

Federal Government Building

C

State Government Building

D

Firm Only

E

City Government Building and Firm Only

F

Federal Government Building

G

State Government Building and Firm Only
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