How do I verify the shipping address on Chit Chats? : Chit Chats

When you create a shipment, our platform will review the address you've entered to detect a potential issue. Our system may suggest an alternative address but this does not necessarily mean that the address you've entered is incorrect or invalid.

You have the option to choose between:

the suggested address or
the original address entered.

Extended U.S. ZIP+4 codes, for example 90210-XXXX, may be printed for some postage labels but are not required for delivery.

Note: Extended zip codes will sometimes appear in our autocomplete feature when manually entering an address. Our address verification system may give a different ending for the second portion (-XXXX). If this occurs, use the suggested ending.

Important: RR, PO boxes and apartment numbers may have to be manually added. Sometimes an apartment number or subunit will autocomplete; however, there is no guarantee. Ensure that you always verify the address with the recipient if you are unsure.

In some cases, you may receive a suggested address different from what you had entered and you have the option to select which address to proceed with. For example, New York City addresses may use the borough instead of the city (EX: Manhattan instead of NYC). This largely depends on the address selected. If you are ever unsure, we recommend that you confirm the address with your customer before sending the package. This is especially important for international addresses, as formats can vary widely from country to country.

A shipper is responsible for ensuring that all information including delivery addresses are accurate before dropping off shipments to Chit Chats.

In the event that a package is undeliverable due to an incorrect address, you are responsible for any applicable return fees.

Troubleshooting Address Verification Errors

It is a shipper’s responsibility to verify the correct address information for your shipment, even if the Chit Chats platform suggests an alternate address.

You have the option to accept or reject an address that we suggest for your shipment. Our suggested address is our best guess match for the address you’ve provided for your shipment. It is not a confirmation of your recipient’s address. Our system may not catch all address errors and you could run into issues when purchasing postage as a result.

You may see error messages like the following after selecting the suggested address:

Unable to complete shipment purchase: Check if address is valid.
Suggested City: XXXX

To resolve these issues, please go back to edit the address information for your shipment with the suggested changes once you’ve confirmed the address with your customer.

Address Verification Checklist

Before you create your shipment, verify with your customer that the delivery address is accurate and complete. Be sure to check that:

You are using the correct address format

Our platform is able to detect address formatting but it isn’t fool-proof. It recognizes specific abbreviations as outlined for the destination country. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the proper addressing formats for shipments destined for the U.S. and Canada by checking out our guidelines.

International addresses can be particularly tricky. We suggest checking the format with the Universal Postal Union's guide on postal addressing systems (see drop-down menu under “Postal addressing systems in member countries”).

Important: The autocomplete feature for international addresses will complete in the local language version of the address; however the address verification will correct it to English. For example: The German address "30 HUMBOLDTSTRASSE KÖLN, NRW 50676 " will result in our address verification will suggesting "30 HUMBOLDTSTRASSE COLOGNE, NW 50676 Germany"

Your address uses only Latin characters

Invalid characters in the name, street and city fields can cause your postage purchase to fail. Only include Latin characters in the address as our partner carriers may not support other alphabets and symbols. Recipient and return addresses that contain non-Latin characters (i.e. Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Hangul, Kanji, Russian, etc.) are not supported on our platform.

Addresses must be provided in English as accented characters can produce an error. This is because English is the designated language for our international shipping partners which also includes U.S. bound shipments. You should confirm with your recipient or use a translator program to ensure you have the correct address information in English.

If you are getting an invalid character error, it might be a character that you cannot easily see. Sometimes copying and pasting addresses can carry over invalid space characters without your knowledge. If you suspect that this may have happened, please try recreating your shipment by typing in the address information manually instead or pasting as plain text.

In some cases, invalid characters can even appear in your custom sender/return address. If this happens you may need to update your return address.

Examples of errors include:

Recipient street contains invalid characters: \
Recipient city contains invalid characters: |
Return name contains invalid characters: |
Sender street 2 contains invalid characters.

All key address information is included

One of the most common causes of an unrecognized address is because key details were omitted. Remember to include unit or apartment numbers, floor or suite numbers or buzzer codes if applicable for the delivery address.

Double-check that you have an accurate zip code or postal code for your shipment as they are subject to change. You can search for the correct zip code for a U.S. address here or find a Canadian postal code here.

Examples of errors include:

The postal code XXXXX is invalid for State, United States.
The postal code is not valid for the selected Province. Please correct the postal code or select a different province.
Recipient address postal code is invalid for selected province.
Sender postal code is invalid.

Your information is within the character limits

There is a limited amount of space available for the address on a postage label. This is true for both the delivery and the return address.

To avoid information being left off of the postage label, make sure that all important details are within the character limits. Refrain from including additional details in the address information that are not required for delivery.

Examples of errors include:

Recipient street is too long
Recipient city is too long

If you’ve resolved all the address errors for your shipment but you are still having issues with purchasing postage, you can read about other common issues with purchasing postage in our troubleshooting tips.