Over 40 million Americans change
addresses annually, which 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 (COA) information available to mailers to help
reduce undeliverable or duplicate mailpieces. NCOA service is a comprehensive program that aids mailers in identifying changes
of addresses before mail enters the mailstream.
The NCOA service is provided by private sector companies that are certified and licensed by the Postal
Service™. Updated, computerized COA information is provided on a regularly scheduled basis to the NCOA licensees by
the USPS® (United States Postal Service®). The licensees improve mail deliverability by providing mailers with current, standardized
5-digit ZIP Codes, 4-digit add-on codes, and 2-digit delivery point coded addresses for individual, family, and business moves.
Input address information provided by a mailer to the NCOA licensee is first standardized to conform to
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, which contains approximately 156 million records or 48 months of permanent
address changes. Address change information is derived from the PS Form 3575, Change-of-Address Order, filed by relocating
postal customers. If an exact match is made with the old address information in the NCOA File, then the NCOA licensee is permitted
to provide the move information (new address) to the mailer.
NCOA helps reduce undeliverable-as-addressed mail by correcting input addresses prior to mailing. Since
1986, this service has saved mailers millions of dollars that otherwise would have been wasted in materials and postage.
NCOA provides the following benefits to mailers:
▪ Reduces undeliverable mail by providing the most current address
information for matches made to the NCOA file.
▪ Prevents duplicate mailpieces or re-mailings after address
corrections are received because the address correction is applied prior to the mailing.
▪ Reduces mailer costs by reducing the number of undeliverable
and duplicate mailpieces by using most current address information.
▪ Provides the opportunity for faster product/service marketing
through accurate mail delivery.
The Nixie Option
is used by mailers to cleanse their mailing lists 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, and a mailer can investigate the address record and provide necessary corrections. A no-match to the NCOA file
does not return the new address - the Nixie Option indicates why.
Over 40 million Americans change addresses annually, which 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
(COA) information available to mailers to help reduce undeliverable or duplicate mailpieces. NCOA service is a comprehensive
program that aids mailers in identifying changes of addresses before mail enters the mailstream.
The NCOA service is provided by private sector companies that are certified and licensed by the Postal
Service™. Updated, computerized COA information is provided on a regularly scheduled basis to the NCOA licensees by
the USPS® (United States Postal Service®). The licensees improve mail deliverability by providing mailers with current, standardized
5-digit ZIP Codes, 4-digit add-on codes, and 2-digit delivery point coded addresses for individual, family, and business moves.
Input address information provided by a mailer to the NCOA licensee is first standardized to conform to
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, which contains approximately 156 million records or 48 months of permanent
address changes. Address change information is derived from the PS Form 3575, Change-of-Address Order, filed by relocating
postal customers. If an exact match is made with the old address information in the NCOA File, then the NCOA licensee is permitted
to provide the move information (new address) to the mailer.
NCOA helps reduce undeliverable-as-addressed mail by correcting input addresses prior to mailing. Since
1986, this service has saved mailers millions of dollars that otherwise would have been wasted in materials and postage.
NCOA provides the following benefits to mailers:
▪ Reduces undeliverable mail by providing the most current address
information for matches made to the NCOA file.
▪ Prevents duplicate mailpieces or re-mailings after address
corrections are received because the address correction is applied prior to the mailing.
▪ Reduces mailer costs by reducing the number of undeliverable
and duplicate mailpieces by using most current address information.
▪ Provides the opportunity for faster product/service marketing
through accurate mail delivery.
The Nixie Option
is used by mailers to cleanse their mailing lists 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, and a mailer can investigate the address record and provide necessary corrections. A no-match to the NCOA file
does not return the new address - the Nixie Option indicates why
