To get a post office job, you’ll need to pass an exam like the 473 (or 473e) postal exam. Candidates for letter carriers, mail processing clerks, and postal clerks will need to score well on the 473 postal exam to find a job at the local post office.
preparing for the postal exam 473 consists of understanding what is on the exam, how it is scored, and practicing with the free postal exam questions. Our free Postal Exam 473 practice tests use real questions and answers to help you prepare, all updated for 2022!
updated postal exams
free postal exam questions
The best way to prepare for Exam 473 is to take practice tests, like these:
part to practice exams
postal exam 473 part a – free exam questions
postal exam 473 part a – practice exam 2
part b practice tests
Postal Exam 473 Part B – National Claim Form Questions
postal 473 part b – post office box application
postal 473 part b – non-profit mailing request
postal 473 part b – authorization form
postal 473 part b – mass mailing certificate
postal 473 part b – certified mail receipt
postcard 473 part b – cod
postal 473 part b – customs declaration
postal 473 part b – mailing permit application
postal 473 part b – insured mail receipt
part c practice tests
postal exam 473 part c – coding
postal exam 473 breakdown
the battery of postal exams 473 and 473-c are divided into the following categories:
part a: address verificationyou will be given 60 addresses to compare in 11 minutes. it is expected to determine if the addresses are identical, if the postal codes are different, or if the street/city addresses are different.
Part b: Completing forms You will be shown several forms and you are expected to answer 30 questions on how to correctly complete the forms in 15 minutes.
part c-1: coding you will be shown a “coding guide” and you will be expected to answer 36 questions in 6 minutes while viewing the guide. part c-2: memory Based on the same “coding guide” used in part c-1, you are expected to answer 36 questions in 7 minutes.
Part D: Personal Characteristics and Experience Inventory You will be asked 236 questions in 90 minutes about your personal characteristics, tendencies, or experiences related to performing effectively as a postal service employee.
The following is a summary of the exam:
part of a study guide
Part A of the exam will test your address verification skills by presenting you with 60 multiple-choice questions in 11 minutes. addresses are presented in two lists: a “correct list” and a “list to check”. addresses in both lists are always presented as a pair with an address and zip code.
The 60 multiple choice questions will always have the same answer options in the same order: a. no errors b. direction only c. zip code only d. both
answer a means both items are identical (both address and zip code) answer b means there is an error in the addresses (but zip codes are identical) answer c means there is an error in the zip codes (but the addresses are identical) the answer d means that both the addresses and the zip codes are different (have errors)
score
Your score on part a is the number of questions you answered correctly minus one-third of the questions you answered incorrectly. so if you answered 40 questions correctly, 12 questions incorrectly, and missed 8 questions, your score would be 36 (40 points for correct answers – 12/3 (=4) for incorrect answers). the key here is that in part a, you are penalized for wrong answers. your general strategy is to work as fast as possible but be precise.
part b study guide
part b of the exam will test your ability to understand various postal forms. You will be shown 5 different forms and you will be asked 6 multiple choice questions on each form, for a total of 30 questions. You will have a total of 15 minutes to answer all the questions.
score
Your score on part b is simply the number of items you answer correctly. there is no penalty for guessing. your general strategy is to make sure you work quickly and answer every question (even if you have to guess).
part c study guide
part c of the exam will test your ability to identify a code (for a delivery route) assigned to an address through a “coding guide”. the encoding guide (shown below) will have 8 address ranges assigned to 3 different delivery paths (a,b,c). a fourth delivery route (d) will cover all addresses that do not fall within one of the 8 listed address ranges. Part C of the exam has two sections: Encoding and Memory. the same coding guide will be used for both sections. In the coding section of the exam, you will have 6 minutes to assign the correct delivery routes to 36 addresses. during the coding section, you will be allowed to refer to the coding guide for reference.
In the memory section of the exam, you will have 7 minutes to assign 36 addresses to the correct delivery routes. you will use the same coding guide that was used in the first coding section, but you will not be able to refer to the coding guide; you will need to allocate delivery paths based on memory.
score
Your score on both sections of part c is the number of questions answered correctly minus one-third of the questions answered incorrectly. so if you answered 50 questions correctly, 15 questions incorrectly, and missed 7 questions, your score would be 45 (50 points for correct answers – 15/3 (=5) for incorrect answers). The key here is that in part c (as in part a), you are penalized for wrong answers. your general strategy is to work as fast as possible but be precise
general description of part d
Part D of the exam will attempt to assess your ability to perform effectively as an employee of the postal service. You will be asked 236 questions in 90 minutes that will assess your personal characteristics, tendencies, and experiences.
there are three separate sections of part d. the first section (agree/disagree section) will include questions that have four possible answers ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. the next section (frequency section) will also present questions with four answers, but the answers will vary from “very often” to “rarely or never”. the last section (experience section) will present questions that can have between four and no possible answer options.
part d of the exam is completely different from the first three sections: there are no “correct” answers in part d. Part D will try to see if you have certain personality traits, interests, and experiences that might indicate that you would be a good candidate for the postal service. With this in mind, it is important that you answer questions honestly and not try to “guess” what the postal service is looking for.
score
The postal service does not disclose how your answers to the questions in part d are “scored.” Your answers are analyzed, compared to the answers of other test takers, and how “fit” you will be for a job with the postal service is evaluated.
last update: 01/20/2022