How can I use address verification to identify business versus residential addresses?

The costs of shipping can vary based on the type of address to which you’re sending. We incorporate three datasets into our address verification solutions to help businesses get a better idea of what kind of address they are shipping to (business or residential), and that helps them make more cost effective shipping decisions. To help you decide which dataset is best for you, we’ve outlined the differences between ATI, RDI, and RTI:

ATI (Address Type Indicator) data is an Experian Data Quality dataset that indicates whether an address is a residence or a business. ATI data is sourced by Experian, and comes from many of our consumer and business files compiled into one data set. Companies use ATI to make more cost effective decisions when choosing shipping options.

Private shippers may charge an address correction fee if an address has been wrongly identified as a residence or business. ATI data flags business addresses for direct mail segmentation to help organizations decide on the most economical shipping method or vendor.

Address Type Indicator Values:
• “B” = Business – Address is a business address.
• “R” = Residential – Address is a residential address. (Use USPS for the lowest cost shipping
   option.)
• “M” = Mixed – Address is mixed. Examples of mixed addresses include residences with home    
   offices, bed and breakfasts, apartment complexes with a business office, rectories and
   convents.

ATI also returns a Cottage Indicator that indicates whether there is a home office at the address. The Cottage Indicator values are below:
• “Yes” = There is a home office
• “Null” = No information is available

RDI (Residential Delivery Indicator) data is a dataset that also indicates whether an address is a residence or a business. It is able to identify address type without the name of the specific person who lives there or the business name, based on postal carrier feedback at the address level. RDI is sourced by the USPS and can only be used for the purpose of rate shopping or rate analysis. ATI can also be used for marketing purposes and contains Cottage Indicator and additional data from Experian.

RTI (Record Type Indicator) data is an Experian Data Quality dataset that indicates the record type of an address. This is a USPS field. RTI data provides an additional level of information to help businesses understand what kind of addresses they are shipping to.

Record Type Indicator Values:
• “F” = Firm or business
• “G” = General delivery
• “H” = High-rise
• “P” = PO Box
• “R” = Rural route or highway contract route
• “S” = Street

Using the ATI, RDI, and RTI codes helps you understand what kind of address you are sending to, and this can sometimes help you save on costs for shipping and mailing, while also giving you a sense of the mix of addresses where your business delivers its goods.

Our address verification solutions help you improve customer experience, reduce costs, and boost business performance.