ARE YOU READY FOR MOVE UPDATE?

The Postal Service is stepping up its efforts to reduce undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA) mail. On Nov. 23, new Move Update standards take effect. To be ready, mailers must begin using addresses that were updated no earlier than Aug. 20. The Move Update standards provide options for customers to reduce the number of mailpieces that require forwarding, return or being treated as waste by periodically matching address records with customer-filed change-of-address orders.

Here are the changes related to Move Update processing:

• Increase the minimum frequency of Move Update processing from 185 calendar days to 95 days prior to the date of mailing.
• Extend the new Move Update standards to include all Standard Mail — letters, flats, parcels and Not Flat-Machinables — as well as automation-rate and presort-rate First-Class Mail.

The Postal Service and the mailing industry believe these revised standards are crucial to the business interests of mailers as well as the continued vitality of the postal system. In Fiscal Year 2004 the Postal Service handled 9.7 billion pieces of UAA mail at a cost of $1.8 billion. The new standards will result in better address quality by removing incorrectly addressed pieces from subsequent mailings, which in turn will reduce UAA mail.

In cooperation with the mailing industry, we are committed to reducing UAA mail volume in order to create and maintain a cost-efficient mailstream. An efficient automated mailstream works best when mailpieces have complete, correct and current addresses. The new Move Update standards are needed to improve the percentage of deliverable addresses for mailings entered at discounted rates. High-quality addressing, best possible depth of ZIP+4 Codes and accurate Intelligent Mail and POSTNET barcodes that result in the delivery of the mailpiece to the intended recipient in an efficient manner should be primary tools that mailers use to reduce UAA mail volume.

Move Update Requirement for All Standard Mail

A key reason for this extension is that one of the conclusions of an independent study of the cost, volume and characteristics of UAA mail pointed out that mail entered as Standard Mail accounted for 62.8 percent of all UAA mail volume.

For Standard Mail mailers, the new Move Update standard means that on Nov. 23, mailers must begin using addresses on their mailpieces that were updated within the previous 95 days. For example, a mailing entered on Nov. 23 must bear addresses that were updated no earlier than Aug. 20.??

Authorized methods for Standard Mail to qualify for the Move Update standards include:

• NCOALink processing.
  
• FASTforward MLOCR processing (letter mail only).??
  
• OneCode ACS (Address Change Service) in conjunction with an Intelligent Mail barcode and business entity ID.??
  
• Address Change Service used with an ACS participant code and an appropriate on-piece ancillary service endorsement.
  
• Use of an appropriate on-piece ancillary service endorsement without ACS.????????

Keep in mind, to complete the Move Update process, mailers who rely on ACS or on-piece ancillary service endorsements without ACS, must incorporate the address changes received prior to subsequent mailings. Also, if an address used on a mailpiece in a mailing at one class of mail is updated with an approved method, the same address may be used during the following 95 days in another mailing as well as another class of mail, and meets the Move Update standard.

Mailpieces using an alternative addressing format in Domestic Mail Manual 602.3.0, such as “John Doe or Current Resident,” “Occupant” or “Postal Customer,” are not subject to the Move Update standards. Alternative address formats, however, may not be used on mailpieces with any extra service (for example, Delivery Confirmation) with any ancillary service endorsement or mail addressed to an overseas military post office.

Customers with questions should contact the Post Office where they enter their mailings. For additional information, go to Postal Explorer at pe.usps.com and click Address Quality.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

For Standard Mail mailers, does updating have to begin on Nov. 23?

Mailers do not begin their updating process on Nov. 23, but rather, on this date mailers must begin using addresses that were updated within the previous 95 days. For example, a mailing entered on Nov. 23, must bear addresses that were updated no earlier than Aug. 20.??????

My business does not maintain a mailing list with an address-update cycle. How does the Move Update standard apply when my customer provides an address?

In most instances, a mailpiece sent shortly after the address was provided by the addressee will not require forwarding, and the mailpiece will be delivered as addressed. If you send a mailpiece to the address within 95 days of the date the address was provided, the address complies with the Move Update requirement. If you use the address 95 or more days after it was provided, you must, at a minimum, use an on-piece ancillary service endorsement for address correction or other authorized method.??

In addition to the address list, what documentation must a list owner furnish to a mailer obtaining an address list?

The list owner is obligated to prove it is aware of the Move Update standards and that the addresses on the list comply. The list owner should keep the following for two years:

• Move Update output reports documenting that the address list went through an authorized Move Update process within 95 days before the mailing was submitted to the Postal Service.
  
• Proof that names on the list added since the last update came directly from customers (if applicable).

I am a mailing agent (for example, presort bureau). When I accept mail, if my clients cannot prove that they have updated their addresses within 95 days of the scheduled mailing date, can I still include those mailpieces in automation rate or presort rate First-Class Mail or Standard Mail mailings?

No, unless you are a FASTforward licensed multi-line optical character reader (MLOCR) user using FASTforward to update the addresses. Otherwise those mailpieces must be mailed at the First-Class Mail single-piece rate.

If my mail is processed for Move Update using FASTforward MLOCR, which mailpiece design issues, other than general automation compatibility, do I need to be concerned about?

The name and address must be in the optical character reader (OCR) read area, and all mailpieces must have a lower-right barcode clear zone so the MLOCR can spray the appropriate barcode and the new address in the barcode clear zone if a move is identified. Mailpieces with exceptional address formats (for example, “Or Current Resident”) are not eligible for FASTforward processing.

If I use an exceptional address format (for example, “Jane Doe or Current Occupant”) on my mailings, must the recipient name have been updated within the previous 95 days?

No. Each mailpiece will be delivered to the address appearing on the mailpiece whether or not the named recipient resides at that address. The physical elements of the addresses, however, must have been updated using an appropriate process for the rates claimed.

I have Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS)-certified address-matching software that ensures I have good addresses. Does this meet the standards for new names and addresses?

No. Address-matching software looks up addresses to standardize, correct and validate the physical address elements and append ZIP+4 Codes. It does not perform a name lookup to determine whether the addressee is still at that address and, therefore, does not meet the Move Update standard.

How do I meet Move Update requirements when mailing to an address recently added to my address list?

The Move Update process is individual name-and-address-based, not “list-based.” When a customer contacts a business and as a result is added to the list, the newly added address can “ride” with the list until the next cycle for update. The address can be added to the list only if the customer has requested services or literature or has purchased merchandise.

I am a Standard Mail mailer and rent solicitation lists for mailing. Since these addresses are newly acquired, do they have the same 95 day grace period as addresses received directly from customers?

No. Only addresses received directly from customers have the initial 95-day grace period until the next scheduled update cycle. Addresses obtained from other sources (for example, list brokers) must have undergone processing using NCOA^Link or FASTforward MLOCR prior to mailing. If one of the customers from the solicitation list responds to your mailing by requesting services or literature or purchasing merchandise and is added to your house list, then that address can be mailed to for the next 95 days without any Move Update processing. After 95 days, any one of the approved methods — NCOA^Link, ACS/OneCodeACS, FASTforward, Ancillary Service Endorsements or alternative methods — can be used for that address.

Does a list or an address have to be updated every 95 days?

An address can be updated any time, provided it is within 95 days before the address is actually used for a mailing. For example, if a mailer mails using a list once every two years, that list would have to be updated using one of the authorized Move Update methods no more than 95 days before the mailing.

I am a preparing my very first direct mail campaign under Standard Mail. I bought a mailing list. The broker said I need to do Move Update processing before I mail and I can???t use either an ancillary service endorsement, ACS or OneCode ACS on my mailpieces to meet the Move Update requirement. Is this true?

Your broker is correct. An ancillary service endorsement or ACS/OneCode ACS cannot be used for the first mailing to an address, unless you received that address directly from your customer within 95 days of your mailing. You must use a pre-mailing Move Update method, such as NCOA^Link or FASTforward MLOCR, to catch potentially UAA addresses due to customer moves before you mail. For all of your subsequent mailings to that address, you can use a post-mailing Move Update method, such as ancillary service endorsement or ACS/OneCode ACS, as long as no more than 95 days has transpired until your next mailing. When you receive a change of address notification from your ancillary service endorsement or ACS/OneCode ACS, simply update your customer???s record within your mailing list and use that new address for future mailings.

OK. Once I use a pre-mailing Move Update method for all addresses I am mailing to for the first time, then I can use ancillary service endorsements or ACS/OneCode ACS for subsequent mailings. Can I use any ancillary service endorsement on my mailpieces to meet the Move Update requirement for those mailings?

No. There are certain endorsements that can be used as a “stand-alone” method for meeting the Move Update requirement. Only the endorsements: “Address Service Requested,” “Return Service Requested,” “Temp-Return Service Requested” (First-Class Mail only), and “Change Service Requested” (Standard Mail only) meet the requirement as a “stand-alone” method. “Electronic Service Requested” must be used in conjunction with ACS/OneCode ACS. “Forwarding Service Requested” does not meet the Move Update requirement. For more information about the use of each endorsement, see DMM 507 at pe.usps.com.??

Must entire lists be updated each time updating is done?

Entire lists do not have to be updated at once. The update requirement applies to individual addresses, not to entire lists. Only those addresses that will be used in a mailing need to meet the Move Update standard. If a portion of a list used for a mailing was not updated within 95 days of mailing, the list could not be used with an ancillary service endorsement as the method to comply with the Move Update standard, because some of the addresses would not have been updated within 95 days prior to the mailing. However, the list could be used if processed using NCOA^Link or FASTforward MLOCR prior to mailing.

Will a mailpiece that bears the ancillary service endorsement “Change Service Requested” meet the standard?

Printing an appropriate ancillary service endorsement on a mailpiece does not, by itself, satisfy the standard. A Standard Mail piece being mailed on or after Nov. 23, does not meet the standard if an approved Move Update process was not used in the prior 95 days.

Is any Move Update documentation required at the time of mailing?

No, the mailer???s signature on postage statements submitted in hard copy or in electronic format, such as PostalOne! or Mail.dat, certifies that the mailing complies with all relevant standards, including Move Update, and that the mailing qualifies for the prices and fees claimed. Mailers are encouraged to check the “Move Update Method” boxes on the postage statement.