Austrian Post Address Validation

Human errors account for at least 4%, which means your employees might make four mistakes for every 100 data entries. On the other hand, automated data entry has an accuracy rate of between 99.96% and 99.99% (DocuClipper. 

You might have hundreds of thousands of customers in your database, and checking for address accuracy and validity might be impossible. Hence, Austrian Post address validation comes in! Businesses can use it to confirm whether specific delivery addresses are available in the postal service database and whether they are correct. If not, it helps you make the necessary changes. 

You no longer need to send mailpieces to random mailing locations because your customers have provided you with the details. They can sometimes make errors while entering their delivery addresses into your website. It is always better to ensure address precision, completeness, and deliverability before mailing anything. 

Below, we discuss how Austrian Post address validation resolves these problems. We also cover its limitations and whether you can find another alternative. Let us begin!

Key Takeaways:

• Austrian Post address validation allows you to check whether your delivery addresses are valid and deliverable according to the postal official database. You can also check for updates, as this tool provides information about relocation and deceased people. 
• Businesses can use the address check tool to verify all elements, like the street name, town, postcode, etc., and standardize the records. They can also find duplicate records within their database.
• Mailing checks works differently from address checks because you only get an address file for one-time use. After that, you must delete the file. 
• Austrian Post address validation has many limitations, such as high expenses, few integration options, and non-identification of some addresses. If you want to cleanse your mailing records regularly, it is better to look for an alternative.
• Businesses can switch to PostGrid address verification API to check addresses in bulk. They can also validate national and international addresses with accurate geocoding and standardization.

Austrian Post states that nearly 20,000 addresses are outdated annually because of changes in street names, house numbers, postcodes, etc. Also, some buildings only have up to five accurate mailing addresses, while some residential addresses become non-existent year after year. It is hard for businesses to stay updated on these details. Hence, using Austrian Post address validation is necessary to update your databases regularly. 

You can integrate the address data feature into your customer data files to confirm how many mailing addresses need to be updated. It saves time and resources while continuously providing address change information. 

Address data records all Austrian mailing addresses collected with the help of 9,000 delivery agents. They build on this file daily, ensuring they don’t miss any updates. Hence, you can automatically cleanse and verify outdated addresses or those that need corrections. The best part is that this Austrian Post authoritative database complies with all data security regulations. 

1. The “Address Data” postal service database includes precise geographical coordinates for all mailing addresses. You can also obtain geocodes for the property structure’s entrance, which can help you identify and map all locations for proper delivery route planning. 
2. It lets you quickly recognize changes in postcodes, streets, and other address elements, keeping your database always cleansed. 
3. It can standardize all addresses to make your records ready for shipping. 

Austria follows a standardized mailing address format that ensures efficient mail processing and delivery within the country. The Austrian Post enforces these address formatting guidelines to minimize errors, reduce undeliverable mail, and streamline logistics. Properly formatted addresses improve the success rate of direct mail campaigns and official correspondence.

Structure of an Austrian Mailing Address

A typical Austrian address follows a structured format that includes:

1. Recipient Name (Person or Company)
2. Street Name and House Number (or P.O. Box)
3. Postcode and City Name
4. Country Name (for international mail)

Here is an example of a properly formatted Austrian address:

Lily Eder  

Maria Theresien 5/11  

6072 Innsbruck  

Let’s break down each component in detail:

1. Recipient Name

The first line should contain the recipient’s full name or company name. If mailing to a business, the company name should be listed first, followed by the department or contact person, if applicable.

Example for a company:

ABC Company  

1. Hd. Matthew Pichler  

(“z. Hd.” stands for zu Händen, meaning “attn.” or “for the attention of.”)

2. Street Name and House Number

Following Austrian conventions, the street name appears before the house number. If applicable, additional address components like building numbers, staircases, and apartment numbers should be included,. You can separate them by a slash (/).

Example:

Maria Theresien 5/11/7  

It indicates:

• House number: 5
• Staircase: 11
• Apartment number: 7

If sending mail to a P.O. Box, replace the street address with “Postfach” followed by the box number:

Julie Huber

Postfach 29

6911 Bregenz

AUSTRIA

3. Postcode and City Name

The postcode (Postleitzahl, PLZ) is four digits long and precedes the city name. Correctly pairing postcodes and cities is crucial for successful mail delivery.

Example:

9585 Villach 

• 9585 = Postcode
• Villach = City name

The postcode system covers different regions. Vienna uses postcodes ranging from 1010 to 1230, while other cities and towns have unique codes.

4. Country Name (For International Mail)

When sending mail to Austria from abroad, “AUSTRIA” should be written in uppercase English letters on the last line.

Example from the USA or UK:

Harry Schneider  

Kärntner Strasse 17/9

5020 Salzburg 

AUSTRIA

Only Checks and Provides Geocoding for Austrian Addresses

This service is limited to Austria, so you must use a different system to verify addresses outside the country. If your business operates internationally, this limitation can be frustrating. Even if you work primarily within Austria, any expansion plans might require switching to another provider. It also means you cannot use Austrian Post address validation for cross-border shipments, forcing you to juggle multiple systems. 

Ambiguous Address Formatting

Address formats in Austria can sometimes be unclear, especially when dealing with exceptional cases like buildings with multiple entrances, apartment numbers, or street names that look similar. Austrian Post’s system may not always format addresses consistently, which can lead to confusion. 

Different databases or postal services might use slightly different address structures, making it harder to match records. Automated systems may reject an otherwise valid address or cause misdelivery if the format is unclear. You must manually review some addresses, slowing down processes.

Bulk Address Validation Might Be Difficult

Austrian Post’s system may not be the best solution if you check thousands of addresses simultaneously. Some services limit how many addresses you can validate at a time. Hence, you might have to split large lists into smaller batches. The process could be slow, especially if there are manual steps involved. Companies handling high volumes of data, like retail stores or logistics companies, may find it inefficient. 

High Expenses

Austrian Post’s address validation service can be pretty expensive, especially for businesses that need to verify large amounts of addresses regularly. The cost adds up quickly because you often pay per lookup, per batch, or through a subscription. Small businesses or startups may find it too costly to justify, mainly when cheaper or free alternatives exist. The pricing structure might not always be clear upfront, making budgeting difficult. 

Not Reliable for Rural, Non-Registered Addresses

If an address is in a remote or rural area, the system might struggle to verify it correctly. Austrian Post mainly relies on official address databases, which may not always include every farmhouse, cabin, or small village. Some locations might not be officially registered, leading to missing or inaccurate results. 

Businesses that serve rural customers could face problems if addresses aren’t recognized, causing delivery failures. It is a significant issue for ecommerce, logistics, and anyone sending physical mail to less populated areas.

Cannot Identify All Misspellings, Typos, etc.

While Austrian Post’s validation system can catch some mistakes, it isn’t perfect at detecting all typos, misspellings, or incorrect formatting. If a customer accidentally enters the wrong street name or house number, the system might not correct it; instead, it might reject the address entirely. It means minor human errors could prevent a valid address from being accepted. Sometimes, it might even validate an incorrect but existing address, leading to misdelivery. Businesses relying on accurate data might need additional tools to clean up addresses manually.

Austrian Post address validation is helpful to businesses that want to send shipments via the postal service. It can also identify and update outdated customer records and filter duplicate addresses. However, as discussed above, it comes with several complications and challenges. Hence, you must look for an alternative with better results and lower costs, like the PostGrid Address Verification API. 

PostGrid offers many deployment options to add its address validation capabilities to your existing workflows, like

1. API Integrations: Integrate the PostGrid API into your CRM, website, or popular platforms, such as HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier, etc. This helps you automatically fetch customer addresses for cleansing, standardization, geocoding, and more. You do not need to upload and download heavy files to use it. 
2. Dashboard: You can create a PostGrid account and log in whenever you need to verify mailing addresses. Upload your mailing list to see the results on your screen. 
3. Software: If you prefer an on-premise approach to your needs, you can install our address verification software on your device. It provides the same results and checks addresses at the same speed as the other two options. 

PostGrid offers an Address Verification API, dashboard, and software to help businesses access accurate and updated records at all times. They can check any local, national, or international address without relying on manual inputs or updates. 

To conduct large-scale verification without hassles, you can check up to one million addresses in less than two hours. Similarly, you can check for individual delivery addresses on demand and get accurate, real-time results. PostGrid offers several features, like

1. Compliance with data protection laws: PostGrid prioritizes data safety and follows national and international data security regulations. Hence, you can check customer records without worrying about data breaches or penalties.
2. Address autocomplete: You can incorporate our autocomplete functionality into your website or platform to give users a list of suggestions as they start typing. You can also provide users with up to 100 suggested addresses, allowing them to choose the correct one. 
3. Reverse geocoding: Aside from geocoding, you can also use reverse geocoding to get a list of mailing addresses from your geographical coordinates. It helps you conduct location-based marketing and more.

Sign up here for more details on how PostGrid address verification can help you update, cleanse, and verify your mailing lists!