Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about sedamo
General questions
What does the traffic light behind the address mean?
This indicates the reliability of the address as a postal delivery address:
- green = The address has been verified. Letters to this address should arrive without problems.
- yellow = The address has been partially verified and corresponds to other addresses and is therefore most likely correct. Letters to this address should arrive without problems.
- red = The address is not a valid postal address. However, it may be a visitable address, e.g. a monument, a bus stop.
- yellow flashing: The address is still being checked. Parts of the address may still change. If you have been given the address code for this delivery address, you can assume that items will arrive there.
Why does the sedamo website require access to my location?
For your convenience, when you look up the sedamo address code, the system tries to fill-in the address based on your location.
How much does sedamo cost?
To use sedamo and eMail2address.com via http://sedamo.info/ and http://www.email2address.com/ is for free. We rely on and kindly ask for your financial support, so, please, send us money 
Do you sell e-mail addresses? (For example, as commercial “bulk lists”?)
No! We even do not store the e-mail addresses of participants of eMail2address.com, but only a digital hash of the e-mail address. The e-mail address cannot be recovered from a digital hash (see Wikipedia: Cryptographic hash function).
The parcel service I want to use to send a parcel abroad does not allow the address to be entered in the national language in its online form, only the letters A~Z are allowed. Can sedamo be useful?
Yes! Use the address in Latin script that appears on the first page of the address query to fill-in the online form. In addition, print out the address in the country's language on a label and stick this address on the parcel as well. The postman in the destination country will be grateful!
Why do I not receive a confirmation e-mail after registering with eMail2address?
When registering your e-mail address for eMail2address, you will receive an automated e-mail sent from robot@sedamo.info. Some “clever” providers conclude that an automated e-mail must be “Spam” and delete this e-mail for you. Explicitly, our message is not moved to the Spam folder, but deleted! To avoid that, add robot@sedamo.info to the list of permitted senders; here the instructions of some providers:
- Instructions for many providers (English) https://www.whitelist.guide/
- Apple (English) https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253192264
- T-Online (German) https://www.telekom-profis.de/hilfe/whitelisting.html
I lost/deleted my confirmation e-mail. Now I want to turn on/off the link between my address and my e-mail for eMail2address.com. How to do it?
Enter your address and e-mail at http://sedamo.info once again (or, if you know your sedamo address code, here only code and e-mail). You will receive a new confirmation e-mail.
I want to send a parcel to an island. However, I cannot find this island. The name of the island is not in the list of countries. What shall I do?
Select the country to which the island belongs. So: For the French Overseas Territories, please select France, and then in the list of provinces, select the island. For Madeira, select Portugal. Etc.
How do I use my navigation software with sedamo / eMail2address.com?
In short:
- Open http://sedamo.info and enter the address code -or- open http://www.email2address.com/ and enter the e-mail address.
- Enter the Turing number displayed.
- Tap on “Get the address”
- On the next screen, tap on the blue geo coordinates.
The navigation software of your smartphone will start and guide you to the desired address. Here is a detailed description on how to search and share places with sedamo.
The geo coordinates displayed for my address are inaccurate. Can I improve them?
Yes, you can! Please follow these instructions.
I am an “expat” living in a country whose language and writing I do not know. I want to link my e-mail address with my postal address (for eMail2address.com) so that my family can send me parcels from home. Can I enter the address in Latin transcription?
No, this will fail! Ask a local colleague to enter the address at http://sedamo.info/ and write down the sedamo address code for you. Then open the page for direct registration at eMail2address.com, https://sedamo.info/direct.
Enter the sedamo address code (8 letters), your e-mail address and (at least) your name. The name should exactly match the spelling in the passport to avoid difficulties with customs. Example:
In your passport:
Family name: Ewing
First name: John
Middle name: Ross
Entry at eMail2address.com: John Ross Ewing
(not J.R., not Mr John Ross Ewing, not Doctor John R. Ewing)
When I enter my e-mail address at eMail2address.com, I get a message that the e-mail is invalid: “ERROR: E-Mail is invalid!”. But my e-mail is correct! Why this error?
There are several possibilities here:
- You have (perhaps a long time ago) set your e-mail address to “Robinson me”. All personal data have been deleted and the hash of the e-mail address has been tagged as invalid.
- Your provider has asked us not to write to e-mail addresses belonging to them. We respect this, of course.
- Your provider is not offering mailboxes on a permanent basis.
- Your provider has rejected our e-mails as “Spam” and has not responded to our requests. Further sending of e-mails is not useful and only causes unnecessary traffic.
Can I register several e-mail addresses at once?
Yes, you can! Please submit a file for e-mail mass registration following these instructions.
How can I add my e-mail address to the quick selection list at http://www.email2address.com/?
We do not store e-mail addresses, but only the hash values. The quick selection list is manually maintained. Please tell us why we should add your e-mail address to that list. If you give us a good reason, we're happy to do so.
I am a contractor and would like to direct (foreign) lorry drivers to a construction site in a new development area. This new construction area does not have street names yet. How can I use sedamo without an address?
sedamo is a perfect fit for your problem!
- Go to the sedamo address input.
- Select country, province, city.
- Choose “other” as type of address
- Enter all address details as good as you can; e.g., use a descriptive way such as, “Path to the new development area near Example Street”
- In the address verification, choose the last entry.
- Note down the new sedamo address code.
- Go to the site where your drivers should arrive. Take your smartphone with you! Once there, set the geo coordinates as described here.
The new coordinates are usually available after 24 hours at the latest. To speed up the process, you can also send a short note to the sedamo team. Important: If the geo coordinates are not set within a week, the generated address code could become invalid. The sedamo code will be displayed with a “red light” when retrieved because the address is not a valid postal address. Your drivers can call up the sedamo page in their language, enter the sedamo address code and tap on the blue coordinates on the first page to start navigation to the saved coordinates.
About sedamo
What does sedamo stands for?
sedamo is a portmanteau word formed from service d’adresse mondial.
service d’adresse mondial is French for “world-wide address service”. French (not English) is the traditional international language of the Post Services.
How and where sedamo address codes are used?
Wherever a “normal” (that is, postal) address is used, the sedamo address code can be used.
It helps to address a postal item (letter, parcel) faster, error-free, and in the correct formatting.
The sedamo address code is used in a wide variety of applications, such as logistics, database applications (e.g. cleaning address duplicates), online shops (automatic retrieval of the delivery address via the e-mail address), international hotels (giving directions to the guests), emergency services (fast and precise localisation)…
sedamo address codes can added where addresses are given: on business cards, on stationary, in advertising brochures, in travel guides, in the footer of e-mails, etc.
Can I use sedamo address codes in foreign countries?
Yes, you can. (Actually, the service d’adresse mondial has been developed for this purpose.)
Intellectual property right
What procedure do I have to follow to use a sedamo address code? Do I have to file an application?
No application is necessary to use a sedamo address code. Simply look up your address code and share it with the world.
Is there a fee for using sedamo address codes?
No. The operation of sedamo is covered by donations.
Is there a fee for using the sedamo API?
Yes, because it generates costs. (And we do not sell advertisement.) We offer Pay-Per-Use, prepaid, because this is the most even-handed way. This does not apply for minor use: private users, small commercial use.
If I use sedamo address codes for commercial purposes, do I have to pay any usage fee?
No. Also, no licensing contract is required for its use.
Can I use sedamo address codes in my book?
Yes. And they are easy to use: Simply print the 8 letters, preferably formatted as AA-BB-CC-DD. No barcodes, no special fonts required.
Can I use sedamo address codes in my database?
Yes. A ‘8 char BINARY LATIN’ field is enough to store all addresses of the world in all languages. Using an UNIQUE index, you can easily avoid address doublets.
Are there any limitations in using sedamo address codes?
Yes: The sedamo address codes are for peaceful use only. Please see “Imprint, Legal Note and Privacy Policy” on http://sedamo.info/
Technical aspects
Is the sedamo address code the same for the identical address?
Yes.
Can I see the country (city, …) by looking at the code?
No. The sedamo address code is not an abbrv. (abbreviation )!
Good to know: Places sometimes change names (even entire countries: recently, “Macedonia” has been renamed to “North Macedonia”), but sedamo address codes stay the same. And always result in the correct(ed) (that means: maybe changed) address.