NCOALink®

NCOA is a system of record for all COA requests and is used to produce the NCOA^Link product. The NCOA^Link Product is a secure dataset of approximately 160 million permanent change-of-address (COA) records constructed from names and addresses of individuals, families, and businesses who have filed a change-of-address with the Postal Service™. Developed with secure data store technology to increase security of postal customer data and protect the privacy of this information, the NCOA^Link Product enables mailers to process mailing lists and update lists with new addresses prior to mailing. The NCOA^Link data is provided on a regular basis to companies that have been licensed by the Postal Service.

Who is NCOALink for?

First Class Mail

Parcels

Periodicals

Standard Mail

Software Developer

Quick Links

Latest Updates

11/14/2024 MPE (Mail Processing Equipment) Service Provider Licensees

11/05/2024 NCOALink® Licensed Interface Distributors

Benefits

Reduces undeliverable mail by providing the most current address information, including standardized and delivery point coded addresses, for matches made to the NCOA^Link file for individual, family, and business moves
Prevents 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 mailpieces
Provides faster product/service marketing through accurate mail delivery
Increases security of postal customer data

The NCOA^Link Product can be integrated into mailers’ in-house computer systems to provide services or use internally.

Each NCOA^Link licensee must successfully complete the certification process prior to NCOA^Linkprocessing. All licensees must use CASS Certified™ address matching software with the NCOA^Linkprocess.

There are six (6) licensing categories.

Interface Developer
- The NCOA^Link Software Developer License grants the right to develop an NCOA^Link interface for internal purposes and third parties.
- Initial License Fee: $10,100.00
- Annual License Fee: $2,110.00

Interface Distributor
- The NCOA^Link Interface Distributor License grants Developers the right to distribute the NCOA^Link interface.
- Annual License Fee: $48,200.00*

Full Service Provider (FSP)
- FSPs can provide services to unrelated third parties, which must be at least 51% of their NCOA^Link processing, and process no more than 49% of records internally. FSPs receive 48 months of COA data on a weekly basis from the USPS via Electronic Product Fulfillment.
- Annual License Fee: $336,000.00*

Limited Service Provider (LSP)
- LSPs can both provide services to third parties and use the product internally. LSPs receive 18 months of COA data on a weekly basis from the USPS via Electronic Product Fulfillment.
- Annual License Fee: $28,000.00*

End User Mailer (EUM)
- EUMs may only use the NCOA^Link Product for processing internal house files. EUMs cannot process for any parent, subsidiary, affiliate or any related companies. Third party processing is prohibited. EUMs receive 18 months of COA data on a monthly basis from the USPS via Electronic Product Fulfillment.
- Annual License Fee: $14,000.00*

NCOA^Link® MPE Solution
- The NCOA^Link MPE solution is available to allow the use of NCOA^Link data on multiline optical character readers (MLOCR) to update and spray change-of-address information on mailpieces prior to submission to the USPS. The NCOA^Link MPE solution, which is similar to the FASTforward^® system, can also be used on delivery point barcode sorters to identify, sort, and remove undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA) mail prior to submission to the USPS.

* The initial licensing year is prorated.

What's Next?

Once you have selected the appropriate licensing category, the next step is to complete the certification process. The process includes the completion of the following documentation:

Application
Confidentiality Statement
Self-Certification Statement
Key Personnel Listing
Web Access Request Form
Security Documentation

Featured Resources

NCOALink® Full Service Provider Documents

NCOALink® Limited Service Provider Documents

NCOALink® Service Providers

NCOALink® Mail Processing Equipment (MPE) Documents

NCOALink® Developer Documents

NCOALink® Distributor Documents

NCOALink® End User Documents

NCOALink®/ANKLink® Archived Announcements

Related Products

OneCode ACS®

OneCode ACS allows customers mailing First-Class Mail^®, Standard Mail^®, and Periodical flats or letters to receive electronic or automated address corrections using the Intelligent Mail^® barcode.

Traditional ACS™

Traditional ACS is one of the four ways to participate in ACS, where mailers receive notifications of undeliverable mail (UAA) and change-of-address (COA) electronically. The Intelligent Mail^® barcode is not required to receive Traditional ACS.

ANKLink®

The ANK^Link® Product is an enhancement to the existing 18-month NCOA^Link® Product. It allows mailers to make informed decisions regarding a specific customer.

DPV®

The DPV^® Product identifies whether a ZIP + 4^® coded address is currently represented in the USPS^® delivery file as a known address record. It also allows users to confirm known USPS addresses, as well as, identify potential addressing issues that may hinder delivery.

LACSLink®

The LACS^Link® product offers an automated method of obtaining new addresses after a 911 emergency system has been implemented.

DSF2®

DSF^2® is an approved method outlined in the Domestic Mail Manual for sequencing mail pieces in walk-sequence when not using a simplified address.

Contact

For more information on NCOA^Link, contact us at 800-589-5766 or ncoalink@usps.gov.

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