Deceased (DEC)
The return code Deceased (DEC) is used only when it is known that the addressee is deceased and mail is not properly deliverable to another person. This endorsement must be made personally by a delivery employee and under no circumstance may it be rubber-stamped. Mail addressed in care of another is marked to show which person is deceased.
Mail can be returned by the USPS and marked with returned mail codes if it is missing NCOA forwarding information or has inaccurate or missing primary or secondary address information. This is why it is important to validate addresses before mailing.
Missing forwarding information
Family members of the deceased can submit a change of address to have mail forwarded to their own address. However, in instances where forwarding information is missing or incomplete, it can pose challenges in ensuring that mail reaches the intended recipients or their family members.
Deceased suppression
Deceased suppression files allow you to eliminate deceased individuals from your list prior to mailing. Over 2 million people pass away each year in the United States. If you are not regularly monitoring your database for deceased individuals and using deceased suppression files, chances are you are wasting money and damaging your brand.
Sending mail to a former address is a waste of time and money and can result in fines and penalties from the USPS. More importantly, inadvertently communicating to a relative of a deceased constituent can leave a negative impression, embarrass your organization, and cause damage to your brand.
TrueDeceased allows you to determine if there are recently deceased members of a household on your file before you perform any outreach. Just like TrueNCOA, you can process your file for free and review a complimentary report with no obligation to purchase.
Process your mailing list with TrueNCOA to avoid returned mail
Process an NCOA update with TrueNCOA to perform address verification, validation, and hygiene on your input records with USPS address standardization prior to mailing.
Processing your file with TrueNCOA ensures that you have the most accurate, up to date mailing information and allows you to remove any invalid or vacant addresses from your list.
You can register and process your file for free and receive a free summary report with no obligation to purchase. Your report will include details such as the number of 18 and 48 month moves, moves with no forwarding address, vacant or invalid addresses and more!
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