What does the extra info at the end of the address mean?

Question

I have an address that you validated but I'm not sure what to make of it. The address is:

5600 Post Rd Unit 114 # 104 East Greenwich, RI 02818

In the response from the web service the local street is "5600 POST RD UNIT 114 # 104", and the local unit number is "UNIT 114".

Given this output I'm unsure what the # 104 at the end is. Do you know?

Answer

The non-technical answer is that the "# 104" is extra data. Our job is to provide you with accurate results based on the data you provide to us. In order to verify that address, the "# 104" is unnecessary as far as the US Postal Service is concerned, but since it might be helpful to the mail carrier or for internal delivery, we leave it on. Another example of "extra data" would be ℅ (Care Of). Consider the following addresses:

John Smith
℅ Apple Corp.
123 Main St
Anytown, TX 12345

or

John Smith
123 Main St (℅ Apple Corp.)
Anytown, TX 12345

In both of these instances, the address is fully complete and so the "extra data", (℅ Apple Corp) is not used in the address verification process but might still have value for final delivery purposes so we leave it in there. We try to never remove data that might aid in successful delivery.