Free Postal Exam 476 Practice Test Questions and Answers 2023
Gabriel

Gabriel, Specialist in Exam Preparation at JobTestPrep.

Have a question? Contact me at ask_gabriel@jobtestprep.com


Here you’ll find a free postal exam 476 practice test along with information about the USPS exam format, score, and hiring process. Let’s begin.

What is the Virtual Entry Assessment MP (476)?

The virtual entry assessment 476 (VEA) is an online exam administered by USPS to determine a candidate's suitability for a mail processing (MP) role. The 476 Postal Exam includes 7 sections: Work Scenarios (Behaviour), "Describe Your Approach," "Tell Us Your Story," and "What Drives You (Personality). "Move the Mail," "Verify Customer Information," and "Check for Errors." (Attention to detail).

Three of the sections are brand new and were added only in late 2021. JobTestPrep is the only site that offers accurate practice for these additional new sections.

Important Things to Know💡

  • If you’ve applied for a Mail Processing job (MP) and passed the initial screening, you’ll receive an e-mail inviting you to take the Postal Exam 476.
  • Once you receive this invitation, you will have only 72 hours to do the assessment (although it is advised to do it faster. More on that later).
  • The test is done online.
  • This test is one of the four new USPS exams, which replaced the old 473 test in April 2019. As of late 2021, three new sections were added to the assessment.

Below you’ll find a 476 USPS practice test along with tips and information. 

Postal Exam 476 Practice Test

This section includes USPS exam 476 practice test free questions along with detailed USPS 476 assessment answers. Let’s try to solve them to assess your overall level of readiness.

 

Work Scenarios

As a Mail Processor, you will likely come across numerous situations where you'll need to make decisions on how to act. The USPS uses this section to present you with typical workplace scenarios that you may encounter on a daily basis.

Note: This section can be challenging. You will be given four different answers, each representing a different approach to the situation. Your task will be to determine the best and worst approaches. However, it's not as straightforward as it seems. The answer choices can be confusing, and the correct choice may not be obvious.

Here's an example of a tricky Work Scenarios question.

1. You notice that your fellow employee has been taking many personal phone calls during work hours. Not only is this slowing down his work pace, but it is also in violation of policy.

Please select the action you would be most likely to take and the action you would be least likely to take, in response to the described situation.

  1. Report him to your supervisor.
  2. Do nothing as it's none of your business.
  3. Remind him of the work policy and explain how this is affecting work productivity.
  4. Politely ask him to stop taking personal calls during work hours.
Answer

Competency: Teamwork; Communication Skills; Attention to policies and procedures; Loyalty to the company
Most likely: 3
Least likely: 2


Response 1: This response shows poor teamwork and communication skills. You fail to communicate the problem to your fellow employee, alert him to the situation ,and give him a chance to adapt his recent behavior. Rather you immediately turn to your supervisor. In general, criticizing another worker without first doing so privately is considered inappropriate and not supportive of teamwork.


Response 2: This is a passive response. Although your co-worker’s behavior may not affect you directly, this situation negatively affects your team productivity as a whole and the organization you work in more generally. This response shows poor communication and teamwork skills- but also indicates a low level of organizational understanding as you don’t see the connection between the situation and the productivity of your team as a whole.


Response 3: Here you use a communication form that is direct and persuasive. You give a proper justification for your argument by reminding him of company policy. Communicating the problem directly with your colleague demonstrates good communication skills and teamwork.


Response 4: This response alerts your co-worker to the situation and gives him a chance to adapt his recent behavior. However, it may come across as condescending as you are not superior to him. Asking him to stop a behavior may seem like you are overstepping your authority. A better response would be to remind him of the policy and explain the impact of his behavior on work productivity, as suggested in response C.

 

Check for Errors

In this section, you will encounter pairs of 8-digit numbers, and you need to see if they match. This part tests how well you pay attention to details. As a Mail Processor, you'll work with packages that include lots of numbers in small print, and accuracy is important. This is how the USPS checks if you have these necessary skills.

2. For each item below, select Match or Error based on the location information.

USPS checking error question
Answer

The mistakes are bold and underlined in the table below.

checking for errors usps answer

Verify Customer Information

In this section, you'll be presented with information about people: their name, their old addresses, and their new address. In every question, you'll be required to compare 4 information details and decide whether they are identical or not.

Try the following question to see how attentive you are to details.

verify customer information q2

3. Go over each of the items below and check whether they match the information above. Which of them is correct and in accordance with the hand-written form?

First Name: Jenifer
Old City: Arlington
New City: Lake Buena Vista
New Zip: 32380

 

Answer

First Name: Mistake. Jennifer versus Jenifer
Old City: Correct.
New Street: Correct.
New Zip: Mistake. 32830 versus 32380

The Verify Customer Information section might seem easy at first, but it can actually be quite confusing, especially if you rush or lack practice. The questions can vary slightly, which completely changes the correct answer, making it crucial to pay close attention to each piece of information.

USPS 476 Assessment Score - Full Breakdown

The minimal score for passing the virtual entry assessment MP 476 for mail processors is 70. This means that any score below 70 will mark you as “ineligible”, and the USPS will NOT consider you for the role. If this happens, you’ll have to wait a full year before you can retake the exam.

But what is more important to know is that the postal service local branches rank the candidates that passed the test, based on their scores and they go through the list by order. 

This means that if there are only a few job openings in your local area, the USPS will hire only the top-ranked candidates and what’s worse applying again to improve your score will require a waiting period of 2 years.

Bottom line, if your goal is to secure a job quickly it’s important to not take any chances and make sure that your preparation for the assessment is flawless.

In the past 5 years, JobTestPrep prepared more than 4,500 candidates for their USPS exams. We constantly update our PrepPacks to provide you with the most accurate and updated study materials.

Tell Us Your Story

This section has questions designed to let the USPS get to know your work experience and background. 

At first glance, it seems like this section is purely subjective, and you have to just be honest. That is not the case. As strange as it may sound, there are right and wrong answers. Here is an example question that will illustrate that point.

This section has questions designed to let the USPS get to know your work experience and background.

If contacted, how would your recent supervisor at work describe your communication skills compared to other team members?

  1. The very best.
  2. Among the best.
  3. Above average.
  4. Average.
  5. Needing some development.
  6. Needing substantial development.
For now, here is a useful tip:

The phrase "nobody's perfect" isn't just a saying. Naturally, everyone has both strengths and weaknesses. Don't try to present yourself as a perfect person because you couldn't possibly possess every desirable characteristic. In fact, it's unlikely that anyone would receive a high score on all or most of the test's desirable characteristics. Your answers should be balanced. In general, try to avoid giving too many extreme scores, but avoid being too neutral as well. When you are asked about your skills, try to show that you are one s worth hiring and above average.

Describe Your Approach

In this section, you will be answering numerous questions about your personality. It's important to note that this section can be challenging. The statements may be unclear, and the questions can seem repetitive. The underlying objective is for the USPS to evaluate the consistency of your responses and identify dominant traits in your personality.

4. Please indicate to which extent you agree or disagree with the following statement:

a) It is clear to me what my goals are.
b) I don't usually feel driven to succeed.

  • Most like (b)
  • Somewhat like (b)
  • Somewhat like (a)
  • Most like (a)

This section of the assessment is designed to analyze particular traits and evaluate them against the professional profile favored by USPS. While it is strongly advised to provide truthful responses, comprehending the nature of the questions, the specific traits being assessed, and the overall scoring process can significantly increase the likelihood of achieving a favorable outcome.

The JobTestPrep preparation includes A full Describe Your Approach Personality test, 9 extra drill tests, and 2 detailed guides that will help you ace this section of the assessment.

Move the Mail

5. This 18-question section is designed to measure your ability to notice details and sort packages and letters correctly.

Sort the envelope or package into the correct mailbox or box.

Postal Exam 474 Sample Practice Question JobTestPrep

 

The Move the Mail section demands quick thinking and concentration. It is important to note that the transition between letters and parcel boxes is random, and the answer options are often very similar and confusing.

Similar to the previous sections, Move the Mail does not have a specified time limit, but it is advised to complete it promptly. Engaging in practice tests that simulate this section, with a tight time constraint, can aid in improving your speed.


USPS 476 Assessment Answers

The following table includes processing clerk virtual entry assessment answers.

  1. Most likely: 3, Least likely: 2.
  2. Match, Error, Match, Error.
  3. Mistake, Correct, Correct, Mistake.
  4. No clear answer.
  5. Answer D.

USPS Exam Registration Process

To register for the USPS Exam, you need to follow these easy steps:

  1. Go to the USPS careers page and create an account.
  2. Complete your Candidate Profile to highlight your skills and qualifications.
  3. Visit the USPS Search and Apply page to find job opportunities that match your interests.
  4. Submit your application and wait for USPS to review it.
  5. If you meet the requirements, you'll receive an email with the next steps, like taking an assessment or scheduling an interview.

FAQs

Where Can I Find a Free USPS Practice Test Covering Various Postal Exams (474,475,477)?

JobTestPrep created a dedicated page with practice questions for every type of USPS Postal exam. For more information visit the Free USPS Exam practice test page.


Where Can I Find a Postal Exam 473 Practice Test?

The Postal Exam 473 was an exam that was previously used by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to screen potential employees for various entry-level positions it was replaced by the Virtual Entry Assessment (VEA), which includes 4 new tests each built for a different position.

For more information about the 473, visit the 473 practice guide.


What Is a Good Score for USPS Test 476?

A good score for the postal exam 476 is 70, but achieving a "good" score means scoring considerably higher than this. Given that the USPS ranks candidates based on their scores, the higher your score, the higher your chances of being hired. Hence, a "good" score would be one that ranks you highly among all the test-takers. 


What Happens Once I Submit the Postal Exam 476 Answers?

Shortly after completion, you will see an updated status in your USPS candidate profile online:

  • “In Process” means that you have completed the test but still don’t have a score.
  • “Ineligible” means you haven’t passed the assessment (got a score below 70).
  • “Eligible” means that you passed the assessment and now waiting for more news.
  • “Pre-Hire” means that the USPS wants you and will send you an invitation for an interview.

The next step would be an interview (in some cases, if you get a really high score, they skip this step). Once you’ve passed that, you’re Hired!

Helpful Links

Are you applying for other jobs at the USPS? Learn more about their Postal Exams here:

 

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