Understanding Your NCOA Data

Part 2: Finding Bad Addresses

Any address with a record_type of ‘C’ or ‘A’ are mailable addresses according to USPS. You can find these addresses by filtering your NCOA file and selecting ‘A’ (Active) and ‘C’ (Current) on the record_type field. (See #1 Record Type)

You may also want to review the validity of an address, and check if it is vacant. These can be checked by filtering your file’s address_status field and vacant field.

Watch the video or our guide below for step by step instructions on finding “bad” addresses.

How to Find Invalid Addresses

1. Navigate to the field named address_status.
2. Filter column and select only ‘N’ to show invalid addresses.
   • Y = Valid
   • M = Multi Match (typically missing a prefix or suffix in the address)
   • N = Invalid
3. Addresses with address_status = ‘N’ should not be used.

How to Find Vacant Addresses

1. Navigate to the field named vacant.
2. Filter column and select ‘Y’.
   1. Y = Vacant
   2. N = Occupied
3. Addresses with vacant = ‘Y’ should not be used.

This information is covered in greater detail on our Output Guide, which you can see here.

If you have any questions or need help, send us a quick note to [email protected].