Patent ID: 6977353

Claim:
A method of identifying and processing a mailpiece with destination information, comprising: determining if the mailpiece includes a code on the front of the mailpiece and if the mailpiece includes a code on the back of the mailpiece, the mailpiece also having a textual destination address on the front of the mailpiece; sorting the mailpiece using a code on the front of the mailpiece, if it was determined that the mailpiece includes a code on the front of the mailpiece; identifying the mailpiece using a code on the back of the mailpiece, if it was determined that the mailpiece includes a code on the back of the mailpiece only; and processing the mailpiece in an identification code system if it was determined that the mailpiece includes neither a code on the front of the mailpiece nor a code on the back of the mailpiece, processing the mailpiece in the identification code system comprising: applying an identification code to the back of the mailpiece, applying a postal code to the front of the mailpiece in accordance with the destination information on the mailpiece, and creating an identification file corresponding to the identification code, wherein the identification file is accessible by a plurality of nodes in the identification code system.