
Show HN: REST API for Global Address Verification - bavidar
https://www.lob.com/services/verify
======
RossP
What's the source of your Australian data? The AusPost data is rather
expensive, and most providers have somewhat awkward APIs and/or enterprise
sales models that get tricky to navigate. Having somebody to abstract that out
to would be fantastic.

~~~
harryzhang
It's AusPost

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pinaceae
erm, how exactly does this work globally?

state and zip are required fields. Ireland, for example, does _not_ have zip
codes...

full list of such countries: [http://hellowahab.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/list-
of-countries...](http://hellowahab.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/list-of-countries-
without-postal-codes/)

and here is an example from Drupal where it failed the state requirements:
[https://drupal.org/node/636464](https://drupal.org/node/636464)

Lebanon, Serbia, Singapore for example do not have state information.

~~~
harryzhang
Ireland is one of the few countries that is not covered due to that reason

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daigoba66
If you're just dealing with US Postal Addresses, personally I would just go
straight to the source: [https://www.usps.com/business/web-tools-apis/address-
informa...](https://www.usps.com/business/web-tools-apis/address-
information.htm) (also free).

~~~
harryzhang
The USPS is where we get our data from...we have a layer of abstraction in
case you don't want to deal with SOAP and XML and want something simple via
REST.

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alex_h
I created a small sqlite database for US zip code lookup and verification, for
embedding in mobile apps etc. [https://github.com/alex-
hofsteede/zipcode_db](https://github.com/alex-hofsteede/zipcode_db)

~~~
tstactplsignore
Isn't it best to rely on a cloud service for this kind of thing? Addresses are
being created and being changed every day, a local database would quickly
become outdated.

~~~
erichurkman
His was only ZIP Codes. USPS only publishes ZIP Code updates once monthly, if
I recall right. Technically they are copyrighted by the USPS and you are
supposed to obtain a reseller license to publish official ZIP Code data.

The rate of change is very low, maybe a dozen changes per month at most. It
wouldn't be unreasonable, depending on the app, to keep it reasonably up to
date.

~~~
daigoba66
You could also have the app phone home every few days asking for up-to-date
data, or diffs, and storing it locally (it shouldn't be that big). Then
release a new version every now and then with roll-ups.

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erichurkman
SmartyStreets [1] is another provider, not free though. It seems they can do a
lot more than verify, like their autocomplete (client side) -- pretty slick.
[2]

[1] [http://smartystreets.com/products/liveaddress-
api/pricing#qu...](http://smartystreets.com/products/liveaddress-
api/pricing#questions)

[2] [http://smartystreets.com/products/liveaddress-
api/demo](http://smartystreets.com/products/liveaddress-api/demo)

Have not had a chance yet to use this in a project.

~~~
harryzhang
Looks like SmartyStreets is limited to just the US and charges $1000 for
unlimited lookups. Lob also autocompletes addresses if not entered fully as
well and is FREE for unlimited lookups. I'll also add their data set from the
USPS is the same that everyone uses (including Lob) for the US. The real
challenge with address verification is international which Lob is able to
provide.

~~~
erichurkman
I'll have to sign up for Lob's API to try it out. That price point is quite
different.

I didn't mean completing missing info, I meant a real time client-side
autocomplete widget as you type the address akin to what you'll find on Google
Maps. I don't see that on Lob's demos -- I don't think they expose enough data
for it through the API.

I understand they are all using the same data -- are they using the same
tool/algorithm for it?

------
icybass
StrikeIron is another provider. They have separate products for North American
and Global address verification. Tiered monthly pricing.

[http://www.strikeiron.com/product-list/address/north-
america...](http://www.strikeiron.com/product-list/address/north-american-
address-verification-2/)

[http://www.strikeiron.com/product-
list/address/international...](http://www.strikeiron.com/product-
list/address/international-address-verification/)

------
xoail
I am curious to know how do you verify these addresses? what methods you use?
I recently built one for a client using Google maps api and it was not as easy
and accurate as I thought.

~~~
bavidar
We use data provided by local post offices from the country you specify. It
was really hard to build, aggregate the data, and than standardize the input
and output. Would appreciate any feedback you have on it.

~~~
drgreiner
I have been researching this topic and it seems to me that many countries use
varying depths of administrative division levels in their postal systems. Your
api seems to stick to a single "state". Do you just assume that the first
major division under country, and will you ever support more granular
divisions?

~~~
bavidar
We have the ability and might open the api more but right now we wanted to
make it _simple_. PM and we can talk about your specific use case.

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toretore
It would be nice if we could try before we buy (globally). Also, $0.15 per
lookup is really expensive.

Address verification is a pain; if I could get someone else to do that for me
that would be nice.

~~~
bavidar
You can. Email me...leore@lob.com and ill give you some credits. Happy to talk
about pricing too.

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srinivasanv
How do you verify the data for Middle Eastern countries which don't really
have street address systems or zipcodes, and only use PO Boxes? Just check
that the PO Box exists?

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gfodor
This would be awesome if it delivers on its promises. How can we know your
global address verification works? Can you publish some more information to
boost confidence?

Also, I would love to integrate this with my app, but $0.15 is pretty steep
when you consider the use-case, where margins can be pretty tight and prices
are low. A tiered pricing structure would be much more attractive where once
volume ramps up you're paying closer to $0.05 per lookup.

~~~
bavidar
Would happy to give you some test credits to validate our data source. Also we
do offer tiered pricing, please feel free to contact me directly for more
details.

------
yellowbkpk
Are you simply proxying the USPS API or are you making queries against data
you purchased from them? If so, which data did you purchase?

~~~
harryzhang
For the US, yes we are using USPS data as it is the most accurate and up to
date.

~~~
yellowbkpk
Right, but are you proxying the API or do you have a database locally you're
querying?

~~~
harryzhang
Querying their API and we have a backup source as well when USPS goes down (ie
last week)

------
vyrotek
Looks good. Free for the United States is pretty attractive. Although the only
thing I have to compare it to is Melissa Data.

[http://www.windowsazure.com/en-
us/store/service/?id=59a168b8...](http://www.windowsazure.com/en-
us/store/service/?id=59a168b8-6d66-4f85-b000-38abcad310a2)

------
rtkwe
I wonder how well it really works because addresses are really hard, see:
[http://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-
programmers-b...](http://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-
believe-about-names/)

~~~
bavidar
Only way to judge is to test it out. Our data comes from the local post office
of every country. We have street level address verification. Happy to give you
some free credits to try it yourself just email me.

~~~
harryzhang
We don't claim to be perfect and nobody is. Some countries have greater detail
in their postal system than others do which affects accuracy. We have an
internal grading system for each country we support detailing exactly how much
information we have (larger/developed countries we typically have 98% coverage
for street or building level). For those interested, feel free to email me
harry@lob.com for additional details about a specific country.

------
wanderingstan
I've done some jobs that needed address verification and it was a pain. If
they've really solved it, it's a huge accomplishment.

The rest of their tools look good too. Snail-mailing is sadly still essential
to business and needs a workable API.

~~~
ksutariya
I agree snail-mailing needs a revamp. Their service would be interesting if I
could use their API to send mail to an international country from the US and
their edge centers sent it from within that international country. That way
the mail would get there much faster than the traditional route.

------
jjohn
I made a site that did something like it a while ago:
[http://www.scrubmyaddress.com](http://www.scrubmyaddress.com)

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a2d9s22
$0.15 is completely ridiculous - also, can you tell us how you're doing this
globally? Zip is required and some countries don't have ZIPs.

------
francoisfeugeas
State is a required field ? And we have no details on which data files you use
?

I'm very interested in such a service, but this does not look serious at
all...

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frankdenbow
I use EasyPost for this and verifications are free. Is there a major reason to
switch?

~~~
harryzhang
Verifications are free for Lob for US addresses as well, but we have support
for INTERNATIONAL verification...Easypost only has US.

~~~
kevingibbon
My bet is they will offer it for free very soon. Beta testing for UPS / Fedex
international [http://blog.easypost.com/post/50350200681/ups-
international-...](http://blog.easypost.com/post/50350200681/ups-
international-api)

~~~
harryzhang
Neither Fedex or UPS offer street level international address verification
like we do. UPS only covers USA and Puerto Rico for street level and Fedex
only covers USA.

[http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/bussol/browse/addressvalida...](http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/bussol/browse/addressvalidationstreetlevel.html)

[http://www.fedex.com/us/developer/product/basics.html](http://www.fedex.com/us/developer/product/basics.html)

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aranw
Where are you getting the UK data from?

Also how do you handle, UK Postcodes, and Counties?

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gschammah
is it possible to get a demo account to test how it works outside the US?

~~~
harryzhang
We can give you some credits. Please make an account and email me
harry(at)lob.com

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adrr
Is the US data from USPS?

~~~
bavidar
Yes

