When your customers move, they ask us to redirect their mail to a new address. Our NCOA® (National Change of Address) Alert data contains their full names and both the address they move to and from. The file covers pending, live, expired or cancelled redirections over the past three years. With this information, you can help protect your customers from identity theft. NCOA® Alert also provides fraud protection including:
- previous occupier fraud - flagging customers when they leave an address
- application fraud – preventing the use of a false identity to make applications
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mail interception – stopping fraudsters from taking advantage of shared properties.

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Why NCOA® Alert works
Daily updates
NCOA® Alert gives you access to more than six million Redirection records dating back three years. Our information is updated daily via SFTP, a secure data transfer system used by Royal Mail. Additions and cancellations are transmitted at the start of every working day. This means that the data is always up-to-date.
Integrity first
With NCOA® Alert, you benefit from additional protective information which should be used at point of application or contact to validate whether the information supplied by the individual is correct. If a match occurs against the NCOA Alert database then an alert is generated for you to gain further information from the client before goods or services are provided, this may help reduce the risk of fraud – it cannot be used in isolation to deny credit or other services. To ensure data security, NCOA® Alert is only supplied to security accredited licensees and end users.
Fighting fraud
NCOA® Alert can be used to validate information at point of application or contact by an individual when a consumer contacts a buisness and this information needs to be validated. The data will provide an alert if a name or address matches against the Alert database.
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Prices
NCOA® Alert is available either through a licensee (acting as a reseller of the service) or dependant on certain criteria as a direct licensee (purchased directly from Royal Mail).
Licensee
The cost of NCOA® Alert will include a setup fee, your licence fee and any associated royalty fees.
Direct licensee
If you use the NCOA® Alert service directly from Royal Mail you will be charged a competitive fixed price market rate for the service dependant on the volume of searches you wish to perform.
For further information on prices and accessing our Bureau Services, please contact the Data Services Helpdesk, on 08456 000 098
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How to buy
You can buy NCOA® Alert through a licensee. Or, if you meet certain criteria, you can buy directly from Royal Mail.
Call us on 08456 000 098 for more information on suppliers.
If you buy from Royal Mail
If you buy the NCOA® Alert product directly from Royal Mail, we’ll charge you a competitive fixed-price market rate for the service dependant on the volume of searches you want to perform.
For further information on buying our services, please contact the Data Services team on 08456 000 098. Or email us.
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Frequently asked questions
Search help for more answers...
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How do I access NCOA® Alert?
NCOA® Alert is available through an approved licensee, acting as a reseller of the Royal Mail service. Due to the sensitive nature of the information, we ask our customers to undergo a security audit in order to access the NCOA Alert data. For a list of licensees call 08456 000 098 or email us.
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How does the Redirection service work?
Redirection is used by both business and personal customers to ensure mail is forwarded to a new address. Find our more about setting up a Redirection.
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Need to find out more?
Please call the Data Services team on 08456 000 098, or email us.
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