GLOSSARY
Move Update
By Justin Winter · Updated August 28, 2026
A USPS requirement that commercial mailers claiming automation or presort discounts keep their address lists checked against change-of-address records within a set window before mailing.
Move Update is the underlying requirement; NCOALink, Ancillary Service Endorsements, and a couple of other USPS-approved methods are the ways a mailer satisfies it. The point is the same either way: reduce the number of pieces that end up forwarded or returned because a mailing list is out of date.
It applies to bulk, presorted commercial mail seeking a discount — a single Certified letter to a fresh address has no list to check against, which is why this requirement never touches how paperplane sends an individual letter.
See also
- NCOALink — The USPS-licensed dataset of change-of-address records used to update mailing lists before a mailing goes out.
- Ancillary service endorsement — A printed instruction on a mailpiece telling USPS what to do if it cannot be delivered as addressed — return it, forward it, or report the new address.
- Change of address — The USPS request that forwards mail from an old address to a new one for a limited period after a move.
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