What are Scribble's address requirements?
US addresses only. Each one needs a name, a street line, a city, a two-letter state code and a five-digit ZIP (optionally ZIP+4). Scribble validates the shape of the address, not whether anybody can receive post there — there is no CASS-certified deliverability check, and every address is marked unverified.
On this page
#The rules, exactly
| Field | Rule | Rejected example |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Non-empty. | (blank) |
| Line 1 | Non-empty street line. | (blank) |
| Line 2 | Optional. | — |
| City | Non-empty. | (blank) |
| State | Exactly two characters, a US state or territory code. | New York, Calif. |
| ZIP | 12345 or 12345-6789. | 1000, NW1 6XE |
| Country | US (default). Anything else is not mailed. | GB |
#What happens to a bad address
At import
The row is flagged in triage with a message that says what to do — Add a street address, Use the two-letter code — and offers to fix what it can.
At the API boundary
POST /api/v1/cardsreturns422 invalid_recipientand names the missing fields. Nothing is created and nothing is charged.At production
Anything that gets past both lands as Held with a plain-language reason, and is never written. A held card costs no credit.
You’ll know it worked when The card appears under Sent cards → Needs you with a reason like No street address. or "1000" is not a US ZIP code.
| Reason | Meaning |
|---|---|
| No recipient name. | The name field was empty. |
| No street address. | Line 1 was empty. |
| No city. | City was empty. |
| No state. | State was empty. |
| No ZIP code. | ZIP was empty. |
| "…" is not a US ZIP code. | ZIP was present but not five digits or ZIP+4. |
| There is nothing to write on this card. | The message and the inside layout were both empty, so the pen would have had nothing to do. |
#The return address
Your organisation's return address goes on the back of every envelope, and a campaign cannot go out until one is on file. This is not a formality: US mail that cannot be delivered and carries no return address is destroyed rather than returned. Without it, undeliverable cards simply vanish and nobody finds out which ones.
#Common questions
- Can Scribble mail internationally?
- No. Every address is validated as a US address, and a non-US country code is not accepted through campaigns, automations or the API.
- Can Scribble mail to a PO box?
- A PO box passes validation as a street line, and USPS delivers to PO boxes, so it works. It is not separately validated.
- Will Scribble tell me if an address is undeliverable?
- Not before mailing, because nothing verifies deliverability today. A card is only marked delivered on a carrier scan, so a card that never gets scanned as delivered is the signal you have.
- What about apartment numbers?
- Put them in line 2 if you have a separate column, or on the end of line 1. Both are written on the envelope.
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