[geocoding] The steps involved in translating an address entry, searching for the address in the reference data embedded in an address locator, and delivering the best candidate or candidates. These steps include parsing the address, standardizing abbreviated values, assigning each address element to a category known as a match key, indexing the needed categories, searching the reference data, assigning a score to each potential candidate, filtering the list of candidates based on the minimum match score, and delivering the best match. The process requires reference files, input address records, address locators, and software.