Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS)

Key Takeaways

• CASS Certification helps standardize and verify addresses before the mail piece enters the mail stream.
• While CASS Certification and NCOA processing are similar, they have very different functions.
• Running data through CASS Certification can help greatly reduce the amount of mail pieces that bounce back during a mailing campaign.

Introduction

For every returned piece of mail that a company gets back during a mailing campaign, that costs money. Incorrect or incomplete addresses lead to wasted printing, postage, time, and opportunities. To combat this, the USPS created the Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) to help mailers get addresses standardized and verified before they enter the mail stream.

The CASS is a USPS certification program that validates and standardizes postal address data to ensure addresses are formatted correctly, assigned accurate delivery-point codes, and conform to USPS addressing standards.

What Does CASS Certification Do?

CASS-certified processing performs the following functions:

• Standardizes address formats: Corrects abbreviations, fills in missing address elements (such as ZIP+4 codes, carrier routes, and delivery-point information), and reformats addresses to USPS standards.
• Validates address existence: Confirms that an address physically exists and is eligible to receive USPS mail.
• Assigns delivery-point codes: Adds ZIP+4 and carrier route information required to qualify for automation-rate postage discounts.

Why Should I Run My Data Through CASS?

Running data through CASS should be a process that any mailing list manager should be familiar with. Running data through CASS is important, because it reduces the amount of mail returned by getting USPS certification ahead of time. CASS fixes common errors, such as misspelled street names, incorrect city/state combinations, and missing directional indicators. Learn more about how mailing lists are built here.

CASS vs. NCOA

The USPS has another program, National Change of Address (NCOA). While the two programs are similar in that they help verify and make mailing addresses more accurate to reduce bad addresses and returned mail, they have different uses. For more information on NCOA, check out Geon’s article on the importance of that.

The functions of CASS are:

• Standardizing addresses
• Verifies formatting
• USPS certification

The functions of NCOA are:

• Updates moved addresses
• Finds forwarding addresses
• USPS change-of-address database

How Geon Uses CASS Certification

At Geon Media, every one of our mailing lists is processed using the most current USPS CASS and NCOA data available. This occurs both when we initially receive the data from the list owner and at least once every month thereafter.

In addition, every order is processed through CASS Certification and NCOA Processing again on the day it is delivered to you, ensuring you receive the freshest and most accurate data possible. While no process can completely eliminate returned mail, we use every available resource to keep it to an absolute minimum.

FAQ

• Q: Does CASS update addresses for people who have moved?
  • A: No, that’s what NCOA does.
• Q: Does CASS guarantee mail delivery?
  • A: There isn’t any guaranteed way to make sure that mailing addresses are 100% accurate. This could be because an individual didn’t update the USPS upon moving or an individual passed away, as a couple of examples.
• Q: How often should mailing lists be CASS certified?
  • A: Ideally, every list should be CASS certified on a monthly basis. To learn about what makes a mailing list high quality, read about that here.
• Q: Are businesses able to run CASS themselves?
  • A: Yes, businesses are able to run CASS themselves through certified software or service providers.

Conclusion

When preparing a mailing campaign, CASS Certification is one of the most important steps when getting data ready. While it isn’t going to fully eliminate returned mail, it helps standardize addresses, reduce mailing errors, and improves the overall mail delivery process. When a combination of having good data hygiene (read more about data hygiene here) and NCOA processing, CASS Certification can help ensure that your mail piece gets to the audience that it was intended for.

For more information on CASS Certification, check out the USPS website on CASS Certification.