CU*BASE Standards for Names and Addresses for Metro 2 Credit Reporting

With the implementation of new Metro 2 standards for reporting member credit data to the national credit bureaus, following are some tips for entering names and addresses properly into CU*BASE.

How do I format a military address?

The bureaus have given notice that any names or addresses not adhering to these standards will be rejected and not posted to the bureau's database. (Keep in mind that for online credit unions, a high number of rejected records will prevent the entire file from being posted for all online credit unions.)

Member Names

No punctuation of ANY kind is allowed in a member name. This includes hyphens (dashes), periods, commas, or any non-alphabetic character.

Here are some common name formats that cause a record to be rejected by the credit bureaus, with an alternative, correct format you should use:

Incorrect Format

Correct Format

SMITH, JR.

SMITH JR

JONES-DEWITT

JONES DEWITT

O'DONNELL

O DONNELL

Remember that only Membership Type MI (individual) records are reported to credit bureaus, so punctuation is allowed in corporation names (membership type MO - organizational).

Street Addresses

No punctuation of ANY kind is allowed in the Address1, Address2, or City fields, except for hyphens (-) and forward slashes (/). Periods, commas, ampersands (&), number signs (#), or any other non-numeric or alphabetic character are NOT allowed.

Here are some common name formats that cause a record to be rejected by the credit bureaus, with an alternative, correct format you should use:

Incorrect Format

Correct Format

4321 1/2 FRONT ST.

4321 1/2 FRONT ST

0-1929 CAPITAL AVE., N

0-1929 CAPITAL AVE N

3222 ELM STREET, #123

3222 ELM ST APT 123

4321 LONGSTREETNAME S.W.
APT# 1

4321 LONGSTREETNAME SW
APT 1

 

Military Addresses

Military addresses should be entered as domestic address (not foreign, since the mail still is directed from the US, even when the soldier is overseas), using Address 1, City, State, and Zip as indicated in the examples below.  (Available on the US Postal Website.)