NCOA
National Change of Address — a USPS database containing 48 months of address change records, used to update mailing lists with current addresses.
NCOA (National Change of Address) is a USPS database of approximately 160 million change-of-address records filed by individuals and businesses over the previous 48 months. When someone submits a change-of-address form (PS Form 3575), the old and new addresses are recorded in the NCOA database.
Mailers are required to process their address lists through NCOA-certified software (called NCOALink) within 95 days of a mailing to qualify for USPS automation discounts. NCOALink compares each address in the list against the NCOA database and returns updated addresses for matches.
NCOA processing reduces undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA) mail, which costs the USPS billions of dollars annually in return and forwarding costs. It also helps businesses maintain accurate customer databases. Access to NCOA data is restricted to licensed service providers to protect mover privacy.