(Last Updated On: April 27, 2019)
People who mail bulk sometimes assume that undeliverable pieces in their mailing will come back to them but, unless you choose one of the measures below, that won’t happen (except in the occasional case of an error on the part of a mail carrier). To have your undeliverable mailpieces returned to you:
Use an approved USPS Ancillary Service Endorsement on your mailer. There is a cost for each piece returned which must be paid to the postman or, more recently, through a prefunded account opened with the USPS. Check out his USPS Link for more information.
Or, Mail First-Class, in which case undeliverable mailers will be returned at no cost, but you do pay appropriate outgoing First-Class postage for your entire mailing.
Today, a large portion of undeliverable mail never happens due to the USPS’s NCOA program. NCOA, National Change of Address, is a massive USPS database of American households. Enrolled professional mailing companies pass your list through this system. NCOA returns updated addressing information for people and businesses who have moved and filed a change with the USPS. This is the sole purpose of this database and it works pretty well.