First run the address through the USPS ZIP Code Lookup Tool exactly as your local government assigned it, including any apartment or suite number. If there is no match and the address is new, allow 5-7 business days after it was assigned and check again. If it is still missing, report it at your local Post Office or through USPS's online Growth Management Assistance Request form.
The USPS FAQ on reporting new addresses lists no documentation requirement for residents, so you should not need a utility bill or proof of residence. What USPS needs is the address as your local government assigned it: street number and name, apartment or suite number if there is one, city, state and ZIP Code. The local government reports new addresses to USPS Address Management. You report it directly only if it is still missing after 5-7 business days.
USPS says to allow 5-7 business days after the local government assigns the address, then check the ZIP Code Lookup Tool. Companies that use the USPS address database, such as online retailers and shipping software, may need additional time to update their own systems after USPS completes verification, so a checkout can lag behind USPS.
An address that is missing from USPS records has not yet been included in a delivery route, and it will fail validation at retailers and shipping tools that check against the USPS database. Getting the address reported to USPS, either by your local government or by you through the steps above, is the fix.
The most common cause is a new address that the local government has not yet reported to USPS, or that USPS has not yet processed. Otherwise the address you entered does not match USPS records because of a typo, a wrong street suffix or directional, or a missing apartment or suite number.
Once the ZIP Code Lookup Tool returns a match with your 9-digit ZIP Code, USPS has the address on file. USPS notes that businesses relying on its address database may take additional time to update their own systems, so a checkout or label tool can still reject the address for a while after USPS accepts it.
USPS FAQ article 000006804, the article that describes how to report a new address, does not mention an expedited option or a response time. The two things you control are confirming that your local government actually assigned and reported the address, and reporting it yourself at your local Post Office or through the Growth Management Assistance Request form if the ZIP Code Lookup still shows no match after 5-7 business days.
