ASK ADAM: Old COA but no NCOALink match was / is found

Look for the point of detection – indicated on the yellow label.

QUESTION
The yellow label on the UAA piece indicates a match to an older COA record. Why wasn’t it found during NCOA^Link® processing? Or, more specifically, does this indicate an issue in the NCOA^Link® process?

APPROACH
Start by looking at how the COA was detected: automated processing or the Carrier (one of the codes on the yellow label).

POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSE/SOLUTIONS
If it indicates “Carrier Identified”, then the USPS’s processes did not automatically detect the COA. In these cases, it is unlikely that NCOA^Link® processing would have made a match.

Carriers can use their knowledge and judgment. Start by comparing the name on the mail piece to the name on the Yellow label (or the COA name in the ACS™ record). If they do not match, there is your answer. NCOA^Link® has strict matching rules.

If the match was made by an automated process (Intercept), look at the new address – there may be an issue with the new address that you want to validate before accepting. In these cases, while NCOA^Link® was unable to return the new address, it should still have made a match, resulting in a Footnote code indicating as such.

EXAMPLES
Example 1: “Mary Smith Jones” on the piece is actually supposed to be a hyphenated last name, “Mary Smith-Jones,” and not treat “Smith” as the middle name. COA was filed as “Mary Smith” or with the actual middle name “Mary Jane Jones”. These will not match in NCOA^Link® to a new address, but may result in a different Footnote.

Example 2: It could be a typo. Yellow label / ACS™ record indicates a COA filed for “Collinson”, but the name of the piece is “Collison”. The Carrier can make the match. NCOA^Link® has very tight matching requirements.

Example 3: The on-piece address is invalid or incorrect. With the Yellow labels, you cannot see what the USPS has for the old address. But, with ACS™, you do also get the old address.