Open Source USPS Address Validation?
I’ve been looking for open source address validation code for an application I’m working on. I’ve learned a bit about how the data is structured, including that there are a set of companies which are ‘CASS Certified’ to offer these services.
For $35, you get a script designed to work with the USPS WebTools API. Unfortunately, you can only use the API if you are actively involved in shipping packages, which is not my application. If you are going this route, I found this apparently free script to use as well.
At around $100, this database and Windows software package is attractively priced, especially when you consider the licensing costs of the source data, but again, not the kind of thing I can use.
The best place to start if you’re really digging deep is definitely the Rapid Information Bulletin Board System (RIBBS), based in the USPS’ Memphis office. The RIBBS name might be some kind of ancient throwback to how they used to distribute the data, which in some cases is still available on tape drives.
