Industry Alert - October 2008

In this Issue

USPS Adopts New "Move Update" Rules to Improve Address Quality; Fines for Those Who Do Not Comply

Starting November 23, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) expects us to do a better job of updating our mailing lists. Specifically, a new rule goes into effect that day requiring mailers to verify that the addressee listed indeed lives at the address on the mail piece. All Standard (including Nonprofit) mailings dropped on or after that date must be checked against the USPS's National Change of Address (NCOALink) database (or put through an alternative, approved validation process) within 95 days prior to the mailing—or face steep postage penalties, possibly as much at 7 cents per piece.

What exactly is NCOALink? It's a database maintained by the USPS of people who have filed a change-of-address notice in the last 48 months. This database is then used by data service providers to update the information you have in your own database. More
information about NCOALink is available at http://www.usps.com/ncsc/addressservices/moveupdate/
changeaddress.htm

NCOALink is sometimes confused with the Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS), but they're actually two different things. CASS validates or corrects the address itself but NCOA verifies the actual individuals living at a given address. CASS is still required for automation discounts, of course. But the good news is that CASS is a by-product of the NCOALink validation process, so you'll get both at the same time.

None of this is news for those already mailing at the First Class Automated or Presorted rates. Similar change-of-address update requirements have applied to such mailings for quite some time. However, the recency requirement for "move updates" for both First and Standard classes has been tightened from 185 to 95 days.

So what does this mean to you? Simply put, any mailing dropped on or after November 23 must be "move updated" within 95 days of the drop date. If you have any campaigns in progress that have already missed that cutoff, you can comply by using one of the
alternative methods mentioned below.

There is one exception to the new rule (though it probably does not apply to most nonprofit mailers!): Mail pieces using an alternative address format such as "Jane Doe or Current Resident" or simply "Occupant" are fine because it doesn't matter who currently lives there.

What's Prompting These New Regulations?

Each year, the postal service is presented with over 9.7 billion pieces of mail that are undeliverable as addressed. The cost of forwarding, returning or disposing of all of that incorrectly addressed mail is a staggering $1.8 billion annually!

There are lots of reasons why a piece might be deemed undeliverable, but move-related bad addresses account for nearly 80%, or about $1.2 billion of the total. Furthermore, Standard mail (including Nonprofit mail) accounts for almost 63% of all "undeliverable as addressed" mail. And even though it isn't forwarded or returned, the USPS is still burdened with the expense of disposing of about 6.1 billion pieces of Standard mail at a cost of 4.4 cents each (that's over $268 million!).

It doesn't take a mathematician to figure out the USPS sees the new regulations as a way to cut millions of dollars from its operating budget. Mailers stand to benefit, too—by not having to pay the cost to produce those 6.1 billion pieces that never get delivered.

The Alternatives to NCOA Validation

The USPS has also approved several alternative verification processes, including FASTforward® MLOCR Processing, Address Change Service (ACS™), OneCode ACS® with Intelligent Mail® Barcode, and Ancillary Service Endorsements. This sounds like enough acronyms to make a pot of alphabet soup. But when you boil it down, NCOA validation is generally considered the simplest and most cost effective way to update a mailing list with change-of-address information. The other options typically entail additional markings on the carrier—something many fundraisers find less desirable because they make mail look less personalized. But if you'd like to explore any of the other options, contact us or go to: http://www.usps.com/ncsc/addressservices/
moveupdate/moveupdatemenu.htm

Postal Service Fun Facts

  • The USPS processes and delivers an average of 8,000 pieces of mail per second.
  • It purchases the most rubber bands and pressure sensitive adhesive in the world.
  • USPS.com has a million visitors per day.
  • Mail is moved using planes, trains, trucks, cars, boats, ferries, helicopters, bicycles, hovercrafts, subways and even mules.
  • A postal inspector created the credit card activation "sticker" process that is widely used to prevent credit card fraud.

For more postal facts go to: http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/postalfacts.htm