CASS stands for Coding Accuracy Support System and is designed to improve the likelihood that your mail gets where it's supposed to go. According to the USPS, at least 10% of the mail going through their systems is undeliverable because of incorrect addresses. And another 15% takes longer to get to its destination than it should because addresses are not written according to USPS standards. As a mailer, it costs you just as much to mail something to the wrong address as it does to the correct one, so verifying your addresses can save you a lot of money in the long run.
Software that is "CASS-certified" compares the addresses in your list against a compressed version of the USPS National Database of addresses. This enormous file includes every US address and is updated regularly by the post office. The database includes street addresses and ZIP codes, but no names. So, you can find out if 1234 Cedar Street exists in Standpoint, but not whether or not Mary Jones is the person living there. To qualify for the highest postal discounts, you have to make sure that you receive and use the CD-ROM updates of the database.
CASS has certainly simplified the mailing process and the tedium and futility of incorrect or undeliverable addresses has been reduced to a large extent.
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