USPS Omission and Insertion Errors 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Original: '4821 Westbrook Lane, Denver, CO 80203'. Copy: '4821 Westbrook Lane, Denver, CO 8023'. What error exists in the copy?
- An extra digit was inserted in the ZIP code
- A digit was omitted from the ZIP code (Correct answer)
- A letter was omitted from the city name
- The street number has an extra digit
Correct answer: A digit was omitted from the ZIP code
The ZIP code '8023' is missing the zero, making it only 4 digits instead of the correct 5-digit '80203'.
Question 2: Original: 'Mr. James Holloway'. Copy: 'Mr. James Hollloway'. Which type of error appears in the copy?
- Omission of a letter
- Insertion of an extra letter (Correct answer)
- Transposition of letters
- Substitution of a letter
Correct answer: Insertion of an extra letter
The copy has 'Hollloway' with three l's, meaning an extra 'l' was inserted into the last name.
Question 3: Original: '319 Elm Street Apt 7B, Atlanta, GA 30301'. Copy: '319 Elm Street, Atlanta, GA 30301'. What is missing from the copy?
- The state abbreviation
- The ZIP code
- The apartment number (Correct answer)
- The street type
Correct answer: The apartment number
The apartment designation 'Apt 7B' was omitted entirely from the copy, which could cause delivery failure.
Question 4: A clerk copies '7702 Pine Ave' as '77702 Pine Ave'. This is an example of:
- Omission error — a digit was dropped
- Insertion error — an extra digit was added (Correct answer)
- Transposition error — digits were swapped
- Substitution error — a digit was replaced
Correct answer: Insertion error — an extra digit was added
The copy '77702' has five digits instead of four, meaning an extra '7' was inserted into the street number.
Question 5: Original: 'Sacramento, CA 95814-3201'. Copy: 'Sacramento, CA 95814-321'. The copy contains:
- An extra digit in the ZIP+4 extension
- A missing digit in the ZIP+4 extension (Correct answer)
- A missing digit in the base ZIP code
- An extra hyphen
Correct answer: A missing digit in the ZIP+4 extension
The ZIP+4 extension should have four digits ('3201') but the copy shows only three ('321'), omitting the final digit.
Question 6: Original: 'Ms. Patricia Ann Torres'. Copy: 'Ms. Patricia Ann Torress'. What error is present?
- A letter was omitted from the first name
- An extra letter was inserted into the last name (Correct answer)
- The middle name is missing
- A letter was substituted in the last name
Correct answer: An extra letter was inserted into the last name
The last name 'Torres' in the copy became 'Torress' with a double 's', indicating an insertion error.
Question 7: Original address line: '2250 N. Harbor Blvd Suite 400'. Copy: '250 N. Harbor Blvd Suite 400'. The error type is:
- Insertion — an extra digit was added to the suite number
- Omission — a leading digit was dropped from the street number (Correct answer)
- Substitution — a digit was replaced
- Transposition — digits were rearranged
Correct answer: Omission — a leading digit was dropped from the street number
The street number '2250' lost its leading '2' in the copy, becoming '250', which is an omission of a digit.
USPS Omission and Insertion Errors 2
Original: '4821 Westbrook Lane, Denver, CO 80203'.
Copy: '4821 Westbrook Lane, Denver, CO 8023'.
What error exists in the copy?