You’ve pre-processed your list through NCOA^Link, updated your addresses with the data you got back from ACS, and still get return mail? This may be due to the almost 20% of moves that aren’t reported to USPS each year. These “lost” moves can prevent your message from getting to the right target.

Why USPS NCOA^Link processing isn’t enough

Each year, 17% of the United States moves to a new address. Many of these individuals, families and businesses file their move with USPS, allowing their mail to be forwarded. This information is accessible for mailers through NCOA^Link processing, or through ACS. However, not all people file their move with the Post Office. Whether by forgetfulness or other reasons, around 20% of moves aren’t reported. Additionally, USPS databases have an expiration date. ACS and other forwarding services only return the last 18 months of moves, while NCOA^Link can return up to the last 48 months (when using a Full Service NCOA^Link vendor like Satori Software). If you are working with a list that hasn’t been updated in the last four years, some of the move data will be past its expiration. With these limitations, you may not be getting all the data you need to keep your list updated.

How to get those missing moves

Many contacts will update their addresses with their bank, magazine subscription or other entities they do business with. Some vendors keep this information in a database to keep their own lists updated. Because the data isn’t licensed by the USPS, access and use is less restrictive. No PAF forms are required, moves don’t “expire” after 18 or 48 months, and the complicated matching algorithms used by NCOA^Link are not required. This results in a more flexible, and longer lasting, database. Some vendors allow mailers to update their addresses using this service, commonly known as Enhanced Change of Address, or ECOA.

Getting the most out of ECOA

Because ECOA is not a USPS service, it does not meet the Move Update requirement for First Class and Standard Mail. You will still need to process through NCOA^Link or another approved method to satisfy the USPS requirement. It’s a good idea to use NCOA^Link in tandem with ECOA as ECOA is an entirely separate database. While some moves will exist in both systems, running your list with each service will result in the most moves found, resulting in a cleaner, more current address list. In our tests, ECOA found up to an additional 20% of moves on certain lists. Depending on the content of your list, your results may vary.

Want to learn more?

Curious whether your list is really up to date? Contact us at 800-553-6477 option 1, and get a free list assessment. We’ll analyze your list and let you know how many moves you may be missing.

address quality · data enhancement · data services · ECOA · move update · NCOALink