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The Address Verification Code (AVC) provides information about the completeness of the input data, the level of verification that could be achieved, and the amount of change that was needed to reach that level of verification. It is made up of the following values:
  • The verification status
  • The post-processed verification match level
  • The pre-processed verification match level
  • The parsing status
  • The lexicon identification match level
  • The context identification match level
  • The postcode status
  • The matchscore
e.g. V44-I44-P3-100 implies: Verification Status = V (Verified) Post-Processed Verification Match Level = 4 (Premise) Pre-Processed Verification Match Level = 4 (Premise) Parsing Status = I (Identified and Parsed) Lexicon Identification Match Level = 4 (Premise) Context Identification Match Level = 4 (Premise) Postcode Status = P3 (Added) Matchscore = 100 (Complete similarity)

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Verification Status

  • V: Verified - a complete match was made between the input data and a single record from the available reference data
  • P: Partially Verified - a partial match was made between the input data and a single record from the available reference data
  • U: Unverified - unable to verify
  • A: Ambiguous - more than one close reference data match
  • R: Reverted - record could not be verified to an acceptable level

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Post-Processed Verification Match Level

The post-processed verification match level gives the level to which the input data matches the available reference data once all changes and additions performed during the verification process have been taken into account.
  • 5: Delivery Point (PostBox or SubBuilding)
  • 4: Premise (Premise or Building)
  • 3: Thoroughfare
  • 2: Locality
  • 1: AdministrativeArea
  • 0: None

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Pre-Processed Verification Match Level

The pre-processed verification match level gives the level to which the input data matches the available reference data prior to any changes or additions performed during the verification process.
  • 5: Delivery Point (PostBox or SubBuilding)
  • 4: Premise (Premise or Building)
  • 3: Thoroughfare
  • 2: Locality
  • 1: AdministrativeArea
  • 0: None

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Parsing Status

  • I: Identified and Parsed - all input data has been able to be identified and placed into components
  • U: Unable to parse - not all input data has been able to be identified and parsed

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Lexicon Identification Match Level

The lexicon identification match level gives the level to which the output data has some recognized form, through the use of pattern matching (e.g. a numeric value could be a premise number) and lexicon matching (e.g. ‘rd’ could be a ThoroughfareType, ‘Road’; ‘London’ could be a Locality)
  • 5: Delivery Point (PostBox or SubBuilding)
  • 4: Premise (Premise or Building)
  • 3: Thoroughfare
  • 2: Locality
  • 1: AdministrativeArea
  • 0: None

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Context Identification Match Level

The context identification match level gives the level to which the output data can be recognized based on the context in which it appears. This is the least accurate form of matching and is based on identifying a word as, for instance, a Thoroughfare based on it being preceded by something that could be a Premise, and followed by something that could be a Locality, the latter items being identified through a match against the reference data or the lexicon.
  • 5: Delivery Point (PostBox or SubBuilding)
  • 4: Premise (Premise or Building)
  • 3: Thoroughfare
  • 2: Locality
  • 1: AdministrativeArea
  • 0: None

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Postcode Status

  • P8: PostalCodePrimary and PostalCodeSecondary verified
  • P7: PostalCodePrimary verified, PostalCodeSecondary added or changed
  • P6: PostalCodePrimary verified
  • P5: PostalCodePrimary verified with small change
  • P4: PostalCodePrimary verified with large change
  • P3: PostalCodePrimary added
  • P2: PostalCodePrimary identified by lexicon
  • P1: PostalCodePrimary identified by context
  • P0: PostalCodePrimary empty

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Matchscore

The matchscore indicates how much the input data has been changed during the verification process in order to achieve the post-processed verification match level. 100% means no changes have been made. Data additions are not measured by the matchscore, only changes. Generally a matchscore of 95 or above indicates only a character or two have been changed during the process. If the input data is less clean a threshold of 80 might be considered, since significantly larger changes to the input data will then be allowed. Please note that this value gives no indication of the level of verification, that is given by the post-processed verification match level.