Moving attention lines in address cleansing
Learn how attention lines like C/O are detected and moved during address cleansing to preserve the delivery address in the correct output field.
Why attention lines can cause data loss
Addresses that include attention lines such as C/O John Smith or Attn: Billing Department often appear in the first address line when loaded into the platform. Without proper configuration, these values may overwrite the actual street address during cleansing, resulting in incorrect output and failed matching, geocoding, or delivery validation.
What happens without configuration
When cleansing is applied without specific attention-handling options, values like C/O that appear in AddressLine1 remain in that position in the Output View. As a result, the actual delivery address may be lost or pushed to AddressLine2 , which is not recognized as the primary line for validation and matching.
How cleansing logic identifies attention lines
Some address cleansing providers can detect and classify attention line patterns such as C/O and Attn: . These lines are not considered part of the deliverable street address and can be routed to a separate output field if configured.
How to move attention lines to a separate address field
To move attention lines into a dedicated address field and preserve the delivery address, you must apply two changes to the entity configuration:
- Add an option to instruct the cleanser to move attention lines to
Address3. - Map the
Address3output from the cleansing provider to the desired attribute (such asAddressLine3) in your model.
Example cleanse configuration:
"cleanse": {
"provider": "Loqate",
"type": "Address",
"options": {
"process": "pre+c+g",
"addressline3": "attention",
"opts": {
"PreferPrimaryValidAlias": "Yes"
}
}
}
Example output mapping:
{
"attribute": "configuration/entityTypes/Location/attributes/AddressLine3",
"mandatory": false,
"allValues": false,
"cleanseAttribute": "Address3"
}
Output example: before and after cleansing
When configured correctly, the cleanser moves the attention line out of AddressLine1 and preserves the deliverable street address:
Input record:
| AddressLine1 | C/O John Smith |
| AddressLine2 | 123 Main St. |
Output View (after cleansing):
| AddressLine1 | 123 Main St. |
| AddressLine3 | C/O John Smith |
Benefits of preserving the delivery address
By moving attention lines out of the primary address field, you ensure that the delivery address remains valid and fully matched. This supports downstream cleansing, match rules, postal validation, and geocoding processes. It also improves consistency when merging records from multiple sources with different address formats.