The Move Update standard applies to commercial mailings of presorted and automation First-Class Mail, presorted First-Class Package Service, Parcel Select Lightweight, and all Standard Mail pieces. Mailers who present mixed mailings that pertain to at least one of these categories are subject to the Move Update standard, and can benefit as well from discounted automation rate or presort rates.
Further, there is a time limit: the mailing list matching (and correction, as necessary) is to take place no more than 95 days before the postage statement finalization date, using one or more USPS-approved address updating processes (see below), to help assure as much accuracy as possible.
Why is USPS Move Update Services Important to Me?
To minimize undeliverable and discarded mail, it’s critical that mailing address lists are kept up-to-date. Move Update processes help mailers keep their mailing addresses current, in particular of customers who have moved their physical addresses. The benefits are multiple, and extend beyond mailing discounts. Accurate mailing lists lead to greater customer retention and satisfaction. It’s also important for the Postal Service, which too often has to deal with the huge burden and expense of discarded and undeliverable mail. In sum, Move Update benefits both mailers and the Postal Service.
There also is a “negative” incentive: The USPS will assess penalties for non-compliance of the latest Move Update requirement. If a certain percentage of addresses from a mailing list sample is found to be inaccurate, a significant financial penalty may be levied against the portion of the mailing that does not meet the approved threshold.
What Are The Approved Move Update Standards?
The mailer or his mailing agent are required to undertake Move Update verification, and assert its findings. There are a number of alternatives, but here are two of the most common:
- NCOALink - Working with Melissa, your list will be analyzed, standardized, and validated, and new addresses of moved customers will be provided.
- ACS - The Postal Service’s ACS service 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.
Why Use Melissa’s Move Update Services?
Melissa updates the addresses of customers that have moved before your mail goes out. Melissa will match your list against the full USPS NCOALink dataset of approximately 160 million moves on file over the last 48 months, or alternately over the past 24 months. As a NCOALink Full-Service Provider, Melissa guarantees the lowest price for your service, while meeting the USPS Move Update requirement for First Class and Standard Mail discounts.
In addition, Melissa’s Address Verification Service verifies addresses in the U.S. and worldwide in real-time. This produces complete, standardized, and accurate USPS addresses while correcting errors and adding in missing components like postal codes.
And Melissa’s Personator product cleans, verifies, standardizes, and completes names and addresses (as well as phone numbers and emails), matching names to addresses to authenticate the identity of a customer.