The Simple Guide to Better Mail Delivery (UAA)

This article comes from our partners at BCC Software, a trusted voice in the mailing industry. We’re excited to share their perspective on reducing UAA mail and improving address quality to help you optimize your operations.

Every year, billions of mail pieces enter the U.S. Postal Service® ecosystem — but not all of them reach their intended destination. A significant portion become UAA (Undeliverable As Addressed) mail, an often-hidden drain on postal operations, marketing budgets, response rates, and consumer experience.
 

DID YOU KNOW?
•    First Class mail accounts for nearly 30 billion UAA mail pieces wasted every year?
•    Marketing mail accounts for over 17 billion UAA mail pieces wasted every year?
•    1 in 3 UAA issues across all industries stem from addresses that cannot be forwarded — a solvable problem.
•    Vacancy rates exceed 17% in Marketing and Government mail — driving wasted print and postage.
•    Healthcare has the highest Change-of-Address driven UAA of any sector at 28.47%.
•    Financial services mailers face more Insufficient Address issues than most industries at 7.82%.
•    Government mail struggles with the nation’s highest First-Class dependency (93.17%), amplifying the cost of address errors.
•    Publishing sees four times the national average of Deceased records — highlighting the need for suppression tools.
•    Marketing Mailers experience twice the national average UAA due to vacancy.
•    Nearly 1 in 5 UAA cases in Government and Marketing is because the recipient is simply “Not Known” at the address.
•    Agricultural sector UAA issues are dominated (55.56%) by “Unable to Forward” — indicating outdated lists.
 

UAA mail refers to pieces that require extra USPS handling because the address is incorrect, incomplete, or out of date. It’s important to distinguish this from undelivered mail. Not all UAA mail is returned to sender or even visibly flagged. For instance, Marketing Mail® that is identified as UAA is often discarded without any feedback to the mailer, making it simultaneously undelivered and invisible. The result? The sender has little awareness that their message — and their marketing dollars — never reached their audience.

The scale of the problem is massive. According to FY2023 USPS® data, more than 5% of addresses in the average mailing list contain errors, 1.2 billion pieces of mail are returned each year, and an astounding 2.5 billion pieces are treated as waste. For an industry built on precision, efficiency, and ROI, these numbers represent millions of dollars in missed opportunity, especially in high-stakes election years or peak fundraising seasons.
Despite years of improvement, the pursuit of accurate address data remains a moving target — one that requires ongoing investment in tools, processes, and data hygiene discipline. A simple framework can guide that journey: the “3C” approach — Complete, Correct, Current. Combined, these three pillars significantly reduce UAA mail and create a predictable, high-performing mail operation.
 

Below we explore how organizations can minimize UAA impact using three escalating levels of address-quality strategy — good, better, and best — while also highlighting industry-leading tools like BCC Mail Manager, Bulk Mailer® SMB, and BCC Architect that empower mailers to enhance their data quality at scale.

The 3-Step Strategy: Complete, Correct, Current ("3C") 

To fix this, you need a smart, layered approach to address quality. BCC Software recommends a "Good>Better>Best" framework focusing on making your data Complete, Correct, and Current. 

1. GOOD: Make Your Addresses Complete & Correct with CASS 

The first step is verifying the format of every address using CASS (Coding Accuracy Support System) certified software. 

• What it does: It checks your address against the official USPS database, corrects mistakes, and adds things like the full ZIP+4 code.
• Tools: Solutions like BCC Mail Manager, Bulk Mailer® SMB, and BCC Architect handle this essential step.
• Why it matters: If the address isn't structurally correct, nothing else you do will work. 

2. BETTER: Make Your Addresses Current with Move Updates 

Once an address is complete and correct, the next challenge emerges: Is the recipient still there?

The USPS requires a Move Update process for most discounted mail, but compliance alone is not enough — proactive address updates can dramatically reduce UAA exposure.

The most effective pre-mailing solution is NCOALink®, a monthly updated database of individuals and businesses who filed a Change of Address with USPS. Used consistently, NCOALink helps keep mailing lists current and reduces the number of forwardable or returnable pieces.

BCC Software solutions integrate NCOALink seamlessly, helping mail producers and mail owners meet compliance requirements while safeguarding their postage investment.

However, not everyone registers their move with USPS. That’s why many organizations pair NCOALink with PCOA (Proprietary Change of Address) data. PCOA draws on inferred address changes from multiple sources — magazine subscriptions, utilities, credit bureaus, and more — to capture movers that the USPS records may miss.

Both NCOALink and PCOA generate critical return codes that mailers must interpret correctly. A sophisticated platform like BCC Architect or BCC Mail Manager provides reporting and workflow guidance to ensure updates are applied properly, consistently, and trackably.

By focusing on data currency, mailers reduce the volume of mail that will inevitably come back, disappear, or deteriorate campaign performance.

3. BEST: Use Advanced Correction & Suppression Services 

While strengthening data completeness, correctness, and currency are necessary steps, the most successful organizations layer in advanced correction and suppression services. These services reduce waste, protect brand reputation, and improve overall campaign performance.

Secondary Address Correction: Fixing “Broken” Addresses

Sometimes address elements are valid on their own but don’t combine into a deliverable address record. In these cases, CASS and DPV may label them as “broken.”

This is where BCC Software’s Address Resolution Services (ARS) become invaluable. ARS uses deep data matching logic and multiple reference sources to repair undeliverable addresses and return corrected, mailable versions back to your list.

Secondary correction goes beyond surface-level verification — it solves the toughest cases and salvages data that otherwise would be trashed or ignored.

Suppression Services: Removing Ineffective and Insensitive Records

More than 3 million Americans die each year. Continuing to mail deceased individuals is not only wasteful — it can be emotionally distressing for family members.

Deceased suppression ensures mailing lists are respectful, compliant, and effective.

Additional suppression types include:

• Vacant address suppression
• Duplicate record suppression
• Prison/inmate suppression
• Do-Not-Mail suppression

When used together, these tools can dramatically shrink waste, lower postage spend and enhance response rates.

Integrating these services through platforms like BCC Architect, Mail Manager, or Bulk Mailer® SMB creates a unified quality workflow that catches issues at every stage — before printing, before entry, and before they become a UAA statistic.

Why Address Quality Matters More Than Ever

UAA mail is more than an operational inconvenience — it is a strategic threat to marketing performance.

Poor address quality results in:

• Wasted print and postage
• Lower response rates
• Poor donor/customer experience
• Lost sales and fundraising opportunities
• Compliance risk
• Increased customer service volume
• Negative brand impacts

As the mailing industry faces rising postage rates, election-year volume spikes, and increasing expectations for measurable ROI, the cost of ignoring address quality grows exponentially.

Investing in a comprehensive, layered address-quality strategy — powered by tools like BCC Mail Manager, Bulk Mailer® SMB[MC1] , BCC Architect, and advanced data services — gives organizations the ability to operate more efficiently, target more precisely, and deliver more confidently.

The Bottom Line: Quality Data is Not Optional

The invisible burden of UAA mail doesn’t have to erode your budget or your campaign impact. With a disciplined approach and the right tools, mailers can reduce UAA volumes, increase deliverability, and elevate their return on investment.

Whether you’re a small in-house operation or a high-volume commercial mail producer, using a good → better → best framework can transform your workflow:

• Good: Validate and standardize every address with CASS-certified tools like BCC Mail Manager, Bulk Mailer SMB, or BCC Architect
• Better: Keep addresses current with NCOALink and PCOA
• Best: Apply advanced suppression and correction tools like ARS and deceased suppression

The payoff is clear: less waste, more ROI, and a dramatically improved mail experience for recipients and mailers alike.