National Change of Address

The National Change of Address (NCOA) file is sourced from the Royal Mail Redirection Service. It provides the ability to not only identify the fact that the customer has moved but also provides details of where that customer has moved to. The file is built through the capture of detailed information from customers who give the Royal Mail permission to pass on their details to third party organizations. It can be either used to suppress gone-aways or locate customers at their new addresses. The NCOA file is updated monthly and contains just over 17 million records. Details of movers date back as far as April 1994 so it is possible to locate old customers who moved house over a decade ago. The file is updated with around 100,000 entries every month.