Carrier Route

Our USPS carrier route API can easily group mailing addresses to ensure efficient mail and package delivery by lookup, zip codes, delivery times, maps, & more.


What is a Carrier Route?

Postal carrier routes are a group of mailing addresses that receive the same USPS code to ensure efficient mail and package delivery. For example, neighborhoods have the same carrier route USPS. USPS carrier routes can include almost any type of dwelling or building, from offices to houses to condos to P.O. boxes. Every location that can receive mail is in a carrier routes map.

What Do Carrier Routes Look Like?

Carrier routes are composed of nine characters and includes both numbers and letters. The first five characters are digits that represent the ZIP code, the sixth character is a letter that defines the route type, and the last three characters are digits that represent the USPS carrier route codes.

How Can I Use USPS Carrier Route Data?

To access USPS carrier routes and see how they can help optimize your business’s mailing campaigns, simply sign up for an address verification service like Esendex’s PAV API. Our address API includes USPS carrier route data as part of its postal address verification solution.

How to Get USPS Carrier Route Data for Your Business?

To start incorporating carrier USPS route data into your mailing campaigns, sign up for an address verification service like Esendex’s PAV API. Our API returns USPS carrier route data along with address standardization and address validation information.

What Does Our PAV API Do?

Postal Address Verification (PAV) standardizescorrects, and verifies addresses for deliverability before mail and packages are sent out. We help businesses ensure they have accurate, top-quality data and successful mailing campaigns. Click the button below to read about our trusted three-step address verification process.

Businesses benefit from using a postal address verification service and carrier route in a variety of ways.

Increases ROI

Reach customers the first time and improve your mail campaign results.

Reduces Fraud

Identify invalid or fake addresses before you send mail and packages.

Improves Data

Keep your contact lists up to date and your data accurate 24/7.

Saves Time

Standardize and validate bulk addresses in a fraction of a second.

Simplifies Mailing

Never worry about undeliverable mail or postal returns again.

Includes Discounts

Qualify for additional barcoding, presorting, and discounts.

Carrier routes are prime marketing tools for mailing campaigns. There are several different types of marketing that are most successful when paired with USPS carrier route data.

Saturation Mailing

Saturation mailing is a type of targeted marketing campaign that sends mail to the majority of addresses in a mail carrier route. This type of marketing allows businesses to focus on specific demographics or geographic areas more easily.

Every Door Direct Mail

Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) is a USPS mailing program that prioritizes simplicity. Businesses just choose mail carrier routes off the USPS website and their marketing materials will be delivered to all the addresses in the chosen carrier route.

Targeted Mailing Lists

Targeted mailing lists are even more specific than saturation mailing and allow businesses to segment their contacts based on a number of criteria. These criteria can include almost anything, from age to career to (you guessed it) USPS mail carrier routes.

The Perfect Fit for Your Company

You can use an address verification service like PAV to efficiently validate and send out all of the carrier route mailings listed below and more.

  • Product Catalogues
  • Industry Magazines
  • Company Newsletters
  • Upcoming Event Flyers
  • Program Brochures
  • Appointment Reminders
  • Membership Renewal Forms
  • Event Registrations or RSVPs

Imagine with us for a second. You’ve just opened an animal grooming business and want to get the word out to all of the local pet parents. There’s even a self-service bathing and blow-dry station for dogs, and every new customer who signs up for the loyalty program will get the first two baths free.

To let people, know about your grand opening and loyalty offer, you decide to take advantage of mail marketing and send out a targeted mailing list. You know the local area is pretty pet-heavy but need more specific information.

What Next?

You know what a carrier route is, but what about how to effectively use it? There are two key tools to sending out successful campaigns.

To start incorporating carrier route data into your mailing campaigns, sign up for an address verification service like Esendex’s PAV API. Our API returns carrier route data along with address standardization and address validation information. Click here for a full list of all PAV return values.

PAV API and How it Works

PAV uses an efficient three-step process to ensure your mail and packages are deliverable. We standardizecorrect, and validate bulk addresses in a fraction of a second.

1. Standardize

Standardization formats addresses to meet USPS standards. How does correction differ from standardization? Read this to find out.

2. Correct

Correction identifies and corrects wrong address information. How does correction differ from standardization? Read this to find out.

3. Validate

Validation uses the USPS databases to ensure address deliverability. Want to learn more about address validation? We’ve got you covered.

Get all of your carrier route questions, answered here.

1. What is a Carrier Route?

A postal carrier route is a group of mailing addresses that receive the same USPS code to ensure efficient mail and package delivery. For example, neighborhoods have the same carrier route. Carrier routes can include almost any type of dwelling or building, from offices to houses to condos to P.O. boxes. Every location that can receive mail is in a carrier route.

2. What Do Carrier Routes Look Like?

Carrier routes are composed of nine characters and includes both numbers and letters. The first five characters are digits that represent the ZIP code, the sixth character is a letter that defines the route type, and the last three characters are digits that represent the USPS carrier route codes.

3. How Can I Use USPS Carrier Route Data?

To access USPS carrier routes and see how they can help optimize your business’s mailing campaigns, simply sign up for an address verification service like Esendex’s PAV API. Our address API includes USPS carrier route data as part of its postal address verification solution.

4. How to Get USPS Carrier Route Data for Your Business?

To start incorporating carrier USPS route data into your mailing campaigns, sign up for an address verification service like Esendex’s PAV API. Our API returns USPS carrier route data along with address standardization and address validation information.

5. Why are Carrier Routes important?

Carrier routes ensure efficient and correct mail delivery. They are just as important as the other elements in an address, such as the ZIP code and state.

6. What are USPS carrier routes by zip code?

USPS carrier routes by zip code are postal routes established by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to deliver mail. These routes are assigned to postal carriers and cover a specific geographic area. The carrier routes for a particular zip code can be found on the USPS website.

7. How do I find my carrier route?

There are a few different ways that you can find your carrier route. The first way is to look up the information online through the USPS website. You will need to enter your address and then select the option for “carrier route” from the drop-down menu. This will give you a list of all carrier routes in your area. You can also find your carrier route by contacting your local post office.

They should be able to give you the information that you need. Another way to find out what carrier route you are on is to look at your mail. Your carrier route should be listed on the bottom left-hand side of the envelope. If it is not, you can always call the 1-800-ASK-USPS customer service number, and they will be able to help you out.

8. What are USPS carrier route delivery times?

The USPS delivery time for carrier route deliveries can vary depending on the service being used. For example, USPS Priority Mail Express offers a guaranteed 1-2 day delivery time, while USPS First Class Package Service only has an estimated 2-3 day delivery time. Delivery times may also be affected by weather conditions and the volume of mail being processed by the USPS.

9. What are USPS carrier routes map?

USPS carrier routes maps depict the delivery route of USPS carriers. The maps show the streets and addresses that carriers will deliver to and any landmarks or other points of interest along the way. Carriers can use the USPS carrier routes map to plan their daily routes and customers to see where their mail is delivered. USPS carrier routes maps are available for all areas serviced by USPS.

10. What is mail carrier route lookup?

If you’ve ever wondered how mail carriers determine which route to take when delivering mail, the answer is mail carrier route lookup. This process involves looking up an address in a database of mail carrier routes. The mail carrier then follows the route to ensure all the mail is delivered to the correct addresses.

Mail carrier route lookup is a critical part of the mail delivery process, and it helps to ensure that mail carriers can deliver mail effectively and efficiently. By understanding how mail carrier route lookup works, you can help to make sure your mail is delivered on time and without any problems.

11. What are carrier route codes?

Carrier route codes are postal codes used by the United States Postal Service (USPS). They are typically used to sort and route mail within the USPS network.

There are three types of carrier route codes:

Primary carrier routes: These are the most common and cover most of the US population. They consist of five digits, with the first three corresponding to the area’s ZIP Code and the last two identifying the specific carrier route within that area.

Secondary carrier routes: Are less common than primary carrier routes and cover a smaller population. They consist of nine digits, with the first five corresponding to the area’s ZIP Code and the last four identifying the specific carrier route within that area.

City carrier routes: These are the minor standard carrier route code and are used only in areas with a population of 5,000 or less. They consist of nine digits, with the first five corresponding to the area’s ZIP Code and the last four identifying the specific carrier route within that area.

Carrier route codes can be helpful when trying to target a specific group of people with your marketing materials. For example, suppose you want to target businesses in a particular area. In that case, you could use a carrier route code to ensure your materials are only sent to businesses on that particular carrier route. Or, if you’re sending out a direct mail campaign, you could use carrier route codes to target specific demographics within a particular area.

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Let’s start sending, together.