What is NCOALink, and how will it affect me as a Mail Manager/Full Service/LE user?

NCOALink is a method of address updating developed by the United States Postal Service® (USPS®). As a USPS-certified NCOALink interface developer, distributor licensee and limited service provider, BCC uses NCOALink technology in its MOVE Manager premium options for Mail Manager and Full Service and as a BCC Data Service available to all users of Mail Manager 2010, Full Service or LE.

BCC's development of NCOALink took place over several years.

The USPS maintains a site with and official details about the product.

What does NCOALink processing through BCC Data Services do for me?

Every year, approximately 18 to 20 percent of the population changes addresses. NCOALink meets Postal Service™ requirements for Move Update (and allows mailers to avoid hefty non-compliance fines), while helping keep mailing list records up to date. NCOALink processing improves deliverability, because you get a forwarding address before you put your piece in the mail. Without it you risk losing contact with customers and prospects. Move updating your lists can help increase cash flow, decrease mailing costs, and enhance the overall effectiveness of your mailings.

NCOALink provided me with new addresses for several of my customers. Does this mean the rest of my list is accurate?

Not necessarily. NCOALink processing can help to update your lists, reduce returned mail, improve deliverability, and even help you determine which records belong to people who have moved without a forwarding address. For all that, however, it cannot identify everyone in a list who has moved, or identify particular addresses. Some reasons for this include:

• The postal customer did not file a change of address. These represent about 12 percent of the moves in the NCOALink database.
• PO Box closed -- no forwarding address is available.
• Moved outside the United States. The USPS does not forward to foreign countries.
• The move is a temporary move or one in a series of moves.
• The move happened more than 48 months ago and is no longer on file.
• The move happened after the master NCOALink file was updated.
• The new address can't be ZIP + 4® encoded and is therefore not on file.
• Every data element on the NCOALink record (first and last names, initials, street, number, apartment number, building, floor, suite, etc.) must be a match or no forwarding address can be given.

Does a list or name have to be updated literally every 95 days?

It is not necessary to update a list or name every 95 days. An address can be updated anytime, so long as it is updated within 95 days or 6 months before the address is actually used for discount-rate First-Class Mail® and Standard Mail®. If you send out a list once every 2 years, that list would not need to be updated until 95 days, or less, before the mailing date.

Must whole lists be updated every time?

Entire lists do not have to be updated at once. The standard applies to individual addresses, not to entire lists. Only those addresses that will be used on discount-rate First-Class Mail and Standard Mail need to meet the update standard. Inactive addresses or those mailed in classes other than First-Class™ and Standard Mail are not required to meet this standard.

If I am mailing a promotional piece and I use the exceptional address format (e.g. "Current Occupant"), must the addresses be updated within the last six months?

No, because each piece will be delivered to the address appearing on the piece whether or not the named addressee still resides at that address.