CASS, DPV, NCOA, PCOA, and name and address verification

What’s the difference between CASS, DPV, NCOA, PCOA, and name and address verification?

We get asked this question a lot and it was most recently highlighted on [PRSPCT-L] (thanks Michael!)

Unfortunately we couldn’t find a single definitive source for how all of these processes/products/technologies stack up against each other so we thought we’d add to the confusion.

Let’s start with an input address:

John Smith
1855 Washington Street Apartment 5K
Boston, MA 02118

Verification/standardization would reformat this to:

1855 WASHINGTON ST APT 5K
BOSTON MA 02118-1751

CASS (Coding Accuracy Support System – zip code verification) approved software is used to standardize the address to the properly formatted output.  This would help fix the zip code if it was bad and also append the ZIP+4 to the address.  Although opinions on verification vs. validation differ we prefer the following: http://www.qualitydigest.com/magazine/2009/may/column/verification-vs-validation.html - but that doesn’t necessarily apply to names and addresses.  We actually view this backwards because we can validate the address but verifying that the correct someone actually lives there is not that easy!

DPV (Delivery Point Validation) software is then used to validate that mail can be delivered to the address.  We’ve seen this vary quite a bit in some U.S. regions believe it or not.  At this point you know some more information about the address, but not the inhabitants.  If you have run DPV on your file then you should be able to readily identify what NOT to put in the mail because it will definitely be returned.

NCOA (National Change of Address) software then checks the CASS/DPV address against a list of known “registered” movers.  Registered movers are those who have filled out a change of address card.  Not all people fill them out when they move.  This will tell you if someone has moved from the address you submitted (and can tell you if it was just the one person or the entire household) but cannot tell you if the name and address you submitted is the person actually living there.

PCOA (Proprietary Change of Address) software then checks the CASS/DPV address against a list of proprietary databases compiled by credit card companies, utilities, and other institutions.  These will find between 20-30% more movers than NCOA, but once again can’t tell if the name and address you submitted is the person actually living there.

NAAV (Name and Address Verification) So now you want to know about Name AND Address verification?  For that you need someone who has a very, very, large database of names and addresses that’s very current.  With our data sources we are able to verify between 60-70% of input addresses.  Some sources, such as credit report header files can find much more.

So what should you expect to pay for all of this?  As far as we’re concerned – nothing.  That’s right, zero, ziltch, nada.

Others?  Well, here’s some pricing from the web:

• CASS/DPV – very few companies sell this as a standalone product but between $.05/M and $1.5/M on input depending on volume
• NCOA  - between $.35/M and $.75/M on input depending on volume
• PCOA – between $2.25/M and $4.00/M on input depending on volume
• NAAV – between $7.50/M and $12.00/M on output depending on volume