National Change of Address (NCOA) is a service that is provided by companies licensed through the the United States Postal Service (USPS).  The sole purpose of this service is to provide a mailing list correction service for lists that will be used for the preparation of mailings.  

Each year over 40 million Americans change addresses.  This creates formidable obstacles in maintaining a high quality mailing list that tracks customers who move.  The National Change of Address (NCOA) program makes change of address information available to help reduce undeliverable mail pieces. The NCOA service is a comprehensive program that aids mailers in identifying changes of addresses before mail enters the mail stream.

Input address information provided by a mailer to the NCOA licensee is first standardized to conform with USPS requirements including the Zip+4 code.  Once the address has been standardized and the Zip+4 code applied, an attempt is made to match the address against the NCOA file.  This file contains approximately 106 million records or 36 months of address changes filed by relocating postal customers derived from change of address cars.  The NCOA file is updated every two weeks.  If an exact match is made with the old address information in the NCOA, then the NCOA licensee is permitted to provide the move information (new address) to the mailer.  If an exact match is not made, but a similar match is found, then no new address can be returned, but Nixie Elimination Footnotes (NES) will be returned.  The Nixie service will provide valuable information in helping you determine why an exact match was not made.

Benefits of NCOA:

• Reduces undeliverable mail by providing the most current address information for matches made to the NCOA file.
• Since the address correction is applied prior to the mailing, NCOA prevents the need for duplicate mail pieces. or re-mailings after address corrections are received.
• Address changes are received electronically rather than costly manual data entry.
• Using the most current address information reduces mailer costs by reducing the number of undeliverable and duplicate mail pieces.
• Provides the opportunity for faster product/service marketing through accurate mail delivery.

Financial Benefits of Using NCOA:
NCOA reduces the amount of mail that may be undeliverable, returned, or delayed.  This helps ensure that your mailing is delivered in a prompt and efficient manner.  It also saves you money by reducing your cost of printing, mail processing, postage, and address correction changes.  Since new addresses are provided to you electronically, it saves you time and money typically associated with updating and maintaining an accurate mailing list.  Additionally, you will be provided with a standardized address including Zip+4, carrier route, and delivery point barcode.  When used with the proper presort schemes, NCOA will enable you to take advantage of lower postage rates and faster delivery.

How a NCOA Match is Made:

• The provision of Change of Address information is controlled by strict name and address matching logic.  To make the best use of the information returned to them from the NCOA process, potential customers should understand NCOA matching logic.  All matches made to the NCOA file require complete address matching logic.  Name matching logic is determined by the move type in the data record on the NCOA file that is a candidate for a match.

  Move Types and Associated Name Logic are:

  1. Individual  Match on first name, middle name or initial, surname, and title required.  (The NCOA customer can elect to have only individual match logic utilized regardless of the move type in the NCOA record when their file is processed.)
  2. Family   Match to surname only.
  3. Business   Match on entire business name - contact/individual names not used.

• The NCOA file is comprised of approximately 47% family moves, 47% individual moves, and 6% business moves.
• When possible, postal customers who move multiple times within the three-year period are linked or chained to ensure that the latest address is furnished when an NCOA match is attained.  This is not always possible if subsequent COA's are not filed in exactly the same manner as a COA filed previously (for example, if move types differ - family versus individual then they will not be chained).
• The Nixie matching process provides footnotes indicating why an authorized NCOA match could NOT be made to the input address (example - Nixie code 'U' = Apartment Number Missing).  Nixie processing is included with the NCOA service from ACT ONE.

What You Will Receive When a NCOA Match is Made:

• The original input address as submitted.
• The standardized version of the input address with Zip+4, carrier route, and delivery point barcode - if possible.
• A standardized new address when the standardized input address matched the old address on the NCOA file that includes a five-digit Zip code, Zip+4, carrier route, and delivery point barcode.
• PS From 3553, Automation Discount Qualification (CASS report)
• National Deliverability Index (NDI) report (breakdown of deliverable address information)
• The typical profile of the new address information contained in the NCOA file is as follows:
  • 84.30% are forwardable moves (contain address information)
  • 12.85% are moved-left-no-address
  • 2.65% are PO Box closed
  • 0.20% are foreign moves

What is Nixie Elimination Service (NES):
Nixie footnote codes can be used by mailers to cleanse their mailing list further.  Nixie returns a code indicating a match was close but not good enough to meet the strict USPS matching guidelines.  The Nixie code indicates the reason a match could not be made with the NCOA file.  A mailer can investigate the address record and provide necessary corrections.  A no-match to the NCOA file does not return the new address, however the Nixie footnotes give a clue as to why.

Nixie codes provide information that can be used to determine if further action is necessary.  Such actions may include:

• A "special mailing" (or phone call) to determine the true quality of the record
• Special treatment of mail pieces sent to these records
• Purging the record from the list

A "special mailing" example may be to mail these names using "Address Service Requested" (this service typically uses a much looser matching logic than NCOA).

ACT ONE has developed proprietary matching logic that can help you determine which nixies are more or less likely to be undeliverable.  This process is called TrueNixie™ and is available as an additional service.

NCOA Processing Options and Guidelines:
The standard NCOA processing matches a customer list against the 36 month NCOA database.  This process uses both family (last name only) and individual (first name, middle name/initial, and surname) matching logic - depending on the type of move on the change of address card filed with the USPS.  The following additional processing options are also available and should be selected based on an understanding of the customer's list, list usage, and NCOA requirements.

• Depending on the known accuracy and currency of the addresses on the customer file, a customer may opt to process against less than the entire 36 month NCOA database (ex. 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, etc.).
• A customer may opt to use individual match logic for all match attempts, even if the move filed was a family move.
• A customer has the right to override an NCOA provided address when they know it is not correct.  If the NCOA move effective date is older than a more recent customer supplied address, the customer may choose to retain the address on their input list.

The NCOA processing provides the following match information to the customer:  NCOA move address, move type (family, individual, or business), and move effective date.  A customer's decision to update an address record with the NCOA move information supplied, should be based on a combination of the NCOA move information and the customer's own knowledge of the address records within their file.

Limitations of NCOA:
NCOA will not make your list 100% deliverable.  While many factors determine the overall quality of your mailing lists, NCOA will help you in reducing the amount of undeliverable or delayed mail.  Since the NCOA database contains 36 months of move data, you can receive new addresses from NCOA that are not available from other methods (Address Correction Service - available for only 12 months after a move).

The accuracy of your mailing list very important.  Incorrect spellings and missing information both play a key role in determining NCOA match.  For example, the NCOA database contains "John Doe" at "123 First ST Apt 101" and your Database contains "J Doe" at "123 First St".  In this example no match would be made for several reasons.  1. The name is not complete, 2. The address is missing the apartment number.  This is a good example of an address that would not be updated by NCOA, however Nixie footnotes would be returned explaining why a match was not made.

What is the NCOA Processing Acknowledgment Form:
The United States Postal Service requires that all NCOA customers sign a NCOA Processing Acknowledgment Form (NCOA PAF).  A new form is required each USPS fiscal year.  Receipt of this form is required by all NCOA licensees.  The NCOA PAF must be signed by an officer of the company.  An original NCOA PAF (the actual form must be an original) must be sent with NCOA orders.  Original signatures must be received, faxed or copied signatures are not acceptable.  We are required to get one copy of this form per customer each year (USPS fiscal year starts in October).