Unlock codes are unique 36-character alphanumeric keys that map to specific reference address databases. The single-line address validation has a separate unlock code even though it uses the fast completion reference database. Unlock codes are valid for a specific period of time. Unlock codes have a valid-from date and an expiry date.

You can view the status of the unlock codes in the

GetConfig.xml

. You can retrieve the

GetConfig.xml

file from Address Verification even if you do not have a valid unlock code. If an unlock code that you entered is not yet valid, Address Verification marks it as NOT_YET_VALID in

GetConfig.xml

. If the unlock code you entered is past its expiry date, Address Verification marks it as EXPIRED in

GetConfig.xml

.

You can get unlock codes from an Address Verification sales representative or you can buy the unlock codes online from the Address Verification Data Quality Center.

You must specify at least one valid unlock code of validation type in the

SetConfig.xml

file before you can process addresses using Address Verification. You can specify multiple unlock code elements in the

SetConfig.xml

file.

To access the reference address databases, you must enter the details of databases that are associated with the unlock codes you specified. You can set the attributes of the

Database

element to specify database details. The database settings include the country to which the database maps, type of database, the path to the location, and the preloading type. You must specify the attributes for at least one Database element if you want to use any functionality other than address parsing.

If you send process calls to Address Verification without a valid unlock code in

SetConfig.xml

, Address Verification goes into the expired state and returns the following critical error message:

AD_SC_CERR_EXPIRED = -1601 - “The engine usage period has expired or is not activated yet"

If you receive this error message, you must add a valid unlock code and reinitialize Address Verification before you can start processing addresses.

When there are conflicting database elements and attributes, Address Verification assigns precedence to the first one in the sequence of

Database

elements. If you have a

Database

element with the country attribute set to ALL, include that as the last of the

Database

elements you have in

SetConfig.xml

.