The PAF is an essential part of the NCOALink process because it enables the USPS® and the mailing industry to comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 by way of a written request to use change-of-address information for mailing purposes.

Am I the List Owner?

The List Owner is the company that owns the names and addresses on a mailing list.

The List Owner:

  • Person/Company for whom processing will be done
  • The owner of the mail created from this list; the one party in the process that is driving the mail without whom no mailing would occur
  • Is the beneficiary of the NCOALink processing

If a company rents a list or is granted use of a traded list, they are considered the List Owner for the purpose of processing the data through the NCOALink service. In instances where the updated list is returned to the source, then the source is considered the List Owner.

Please read the next section for further clarification.

Who must complete the Processing Acknowledgment Form?

The form must be completed and signed by the owner of the list being processed. All Brokers, Agents, or List Administrators the list passes through must sign a PAF for that list.

NCOALink processing requests submitted on behalf of a List Owner by third parties must be fully disclosed.

Under no circumstances shall a third party Broker, Agent, or List Administrator be considered the Mailing List Owner nor have the authority to sign on behalf of the Mailing List Owner.

The USPS must effectively track all entities that will have access to the new addresses provided by the NCOALink service. No matter how many entities touch the list, each must sign a PAF.

List Owner

  • Person/Company for whom processing will be done
  • The owner of the mail created from this list; the one party in the process that is driving the mail without whom no mailing would occur
  • Is the beneficiary of the NCOALink processing

Broker/Agent

  • Acts as a 'middle-man' between the List Owner (customer) and Licensee
  • Is a reseller for the Licensees service
  • Must not retain the file from the List Owner for more than 45 days
  • May receive updated addresses from the Licensee for the purposes of delivering the same to the List Owner, but is never the final repository for the data

List Administrator

  • Houses, maintains, updates and manages the list for the List Owner on an ongoing basis
  • Usually has a contract to provide the above services to the List Owner (customer)

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