We’ll be honest: there are some rare, creative, and oddly inspiring scenarios in which traditional address validation tools—like Smarty—might not be top of mind.
Take Gary, for instance. He runs a mail-order sourdough bakery and believes address typos give his shipping process a “personal touch.” His customers now expect their loaves to go on postal pilgrimages, complete with handwritten notes and breadcrumb trails. Literally.
Or Eleanor, who’s lived in the same town for 62 years, ships packages with descriptions like “the blue house with the tire swing near the old Peterson farm.” Her mail carrier, Dave, runs unofficial training sessions for rookies called “Eleanor Navigation.” It’s charming. It’s local. It’s absolutely not scalable.
And then there’s Mikael, who intentionally scrambles addresses for his scavenger hunt business. He gamifies misdeliveries. It’s a feature, not a bug.
All of this is delightful. But also? They’re the exceptions, not the rule.
For the rest of us, MOST of us, incorrect addresses aren’t quirky—they’re costly.
When address data goes sideways
Most businesses don’t have the luxury of relying on the local mail carrier’s memory to guide packages to their respective homes. That level of precision isn't an option if your operations depend on accurate shipping, clean data, efficient logistics, or personalized customer experiences.
Missed deliveries, duplicate records, wasted postage, failed fraud checks, and missed installation appointments from poor location data can all be traced back to bad addresses.
Look, if you’ve handcrafted your own address validation system that works flawlessly every time, detects every typo, flags every false positive, and validates down to the rooftop—then hats off to you. You probably already work at Smarty. (Unless you’re one of our competitors… in which case, maybe double-check your coverage on secondary address validation, access to non-USPS addresses, and false positives rate before you rule us out.)
Smarty can fix most address-related problems
Smarty validates addresses down to the building and secondary unit level (that’s apartments, suites, PO boxes, and more). Our tech doesn’t just take a “close enough” guess—it checks if the address is real, deliverable, and standardized. We even tell you when something’s missing, unnecessary, or suspicious (depending on how you configure your end of the deal).
Furthermore, if we change any component of an address, we’ll tell you what we changed and why.
What does that mean for you?
- Clean customer data at the point of entry
- Fewer shipping errors and lost packages
- Reliable insights from accurate geocodes
- Real-time feedback if something looks off
- No surprise delivery surcharges from carriers
- Property data points surrounding an address
- Address component analysis to fine-tune your operations
We also serve up rooftop-level geocoding, persistent unique identifiers (shoutout to SmartyKey®) that make data blending super easy, and ultra-fast APIs that can validate millions of addresses in the blink of a pixel.
Things Smarty doesn’t currently handle
We don’t boil the ocean. We focus on address data, so there are some things that we simply don’t do. We’ll give you a list of those things (and why we don’t do them) and send you to a resource that might help you instead.
National Change of Address (NCOA) data
We aren’t in the business of tracking people and couldn’t tell you where someone lives now based on where they lived 17 years ago. That’s because we’re HIPAA certified, and our address data isn’t attached to patient information for our healthcare users out there. If you’re looking for NCOA data, you might try partnering with licensed service providers who have access to this data. Simply search it up (as the youngsters say). All you have to do is type “Service providers for NCOA database.”
Email addresses, phone numbers, credit cards, or social security numbers
Yeah. Smarty doesn’t validate any of those things because address data is our focus. Addresses are highly complex and fluid, and we’re the best in the biz, because this is where we concentrate our efforts. We validate addresses without attaching data like email addresses, phone numbers, credit cards, or social security numbers to them.
However, other companies might be able to provide you with that info after we validate the address for you. Simply search “phone number validating service,” “email address validation,” “credit card validators,” or “social security number validation” to see which business or organization might be able to help you with the non-address-related stuff.
Mapping and Routing
While our geocoding products are very good at identifying the right place (whether it’s a rooftop geocode or a location found using reverse geocodes), we don’t put a pin on a map or route you there. That’s the mapping and routing applications’ jobs. Smarty’s geocoding APIs embolden your mapping apps with precision so you can create efficient, optimized routes. Make sure that the mapping service you’re using is bolstered by the most robust and valid address database you can find (that’s us).
If you’re looking for a mapping app, try QGIS. Smarty’s QGIS plugin works seamlessly with QGIS. By the way, we’re actually mapping agnostic—with Smarty, you can use any mapping application you like. If you’re looking for a routing service, consider typing “mapping apps that route” or “routing addresses service” into your search bar.
Emotional validation
Sadly, our APIs can’t provide you with personal validation for your life choices or emotional support. Maybe you just need some relaxation.
Reassurance about your goals and direction in life should come from yourself and be hyped up by trusted friends, family, and/or a licensed therapist. There are plenty of online therapy portals that are a search away. With your location sharing turned on, search “therapists near me” and check for those 5-star ratings, buddy! (If you really need and want it from Smarty, call our support team. They’ll at least listen.)
Address validation isn’t boring or skippable
Honestly, address data has more drama than a reality TV finale. One character is off in an address, and suddenly, your analytics dashboard lies to you, your packages ghost customers, and your support team fields calls from angry teens wondering where their new pair of pants went.
Why risk it?
Sure, if your business is built on deliberately misplacing items for the thrill of the chase (hi, “Surprise Me” subscription box company), then carry on.
But for everyone else: ecommerce, fintech, insurance, healthcare, telecom, real estate, you name it—clean address data is the hidden lever that makes everything run a lot smoother.
The final word
Address validation might not make headlines, but it WILL make your systems smarter, your customers happier, and your ops team wonder how they ever lived without it. Plus, your C-suite will be happy enough with the boost in ROI to maybe even give you a healthy raise.
So whether you're shipping something important, onboarding customers, enriching property data, or just tired of playing whack-a-mole with bad records—make address chaos a thing of the past.
Try Smarty. Validate smarter. Deliver better. Operate smoother.
