May 26, 2006

If you’ve read my columns or attended any of the half-dozen PCC (http://www.usps.com/nationalpcc/welcome.htm) events I speak at each year, you’ve probably learned that I am pretty passionate about reducing undeliverable as addressed mail (UAA). UAA mail is not only costing the USPS $1.8 billion each year, it’s a significant contributor to the industry’s costs and mail pieces that never reach their intended recipients. In fact, it’s such a pervasive problem that the Postmaster General Jack Potter specifically called for a reduction of UAA mail by 50% by the year 2010.

To meet this aggressive goal, the USPS has recently proposed not only rate changes in the recent rate case filing on May 3, but also a significant change to the CASS certified software. Effective August 1, 2007, all CASS certified software will have to verify that the primary address number is truly deliverable in order to qualify for postage automation discounts. In effect, the USPS is cracking down on UAA mail by making a key part of the currently optional Delivery Point Validation (DPV) mandatory.

What does this mean to you? Well, for example the address of 123 Elm Street. Today, CASS certified software will look into the range-based data provided by the USPS and see that Elm Street runs from 100 to 200. Therefore, 123 should exist. A ZIP+4 code is, therefore, applied and you may receive an automation discount.

However, when we apply DPV data, we find that 123 Elm Street is actually an empty lot and thus, really not a deliverable address. Again, in today’s environment you might look at that information and say, “Hmm, nice to know but I’m still mailing this piece at automation rate anyway.” In fact, many mailers do just that, which is why the USPS is taking such an aggressive approach to UAA.

Starting with CASS cycle L, effective August 1, 2007, you will not be able to mail that piece at automation rate. This is because CASS certified software will have to suppress the ZIP+4 information from the address if the DPV data shows that the address is not deliverable at the primary address. I say primary address, because you may have a high-rise address that is missing or has invalid secondary address data (apt #, suite #), but the base address is still correct. The USPS still calls this mail UAA, but is not going to impose the expanded address quality rules to this level of detail, yet. They may still do something later with business related addresses in a future CASS cycle, though.

If you don’t already use DPV data now to cleanse your addresses, I highly encourage you to look into it. Do not take a “wait and see” approach or you may be hit with an additional rate shock come August 1, 2007. Either look into investing in DPV or, at the very least, send your list out to an NCOA^Link™ provider who can tell you just how “bad” your addresses are. Stay proactive, stay informed, and keep your addresses complete, correct, and current.