CASS Mailing List Management & Dedup 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the recommended sequence of processes when preparing a mailing list for a CASS-certified presort mailing?
- Dedup → NCOA → CASS → Presort
- CASS → NCOA → Dedup → Presort
- NCOA → CASS → Dedup → Presort (Correct answer)
- Presort → CASS → NCOA → Dedup
Correct answer: NCOA → CASS → Dedup → Presort
NCOALink updates moved addresses first, then CASS standardizes and validates them, then dedup removes duplicates, and finally presort sequences the cleaned list.
Question 2: A list owner applies a 'seed' or 'decoy' record to a rented list. What is the primary purpose of this practice?
- To improve ZIP+4 match rates
- To detect unauthorized use of the rented list (Correct answer)
- To increase the overall record count for postal discounts
- To satisfy CASS certification requirements
Correct answer: To detect unauthorized use of the rented list
Seed records are fictitious names at real addresses controlled by the list owner; receiving unexpected mail at a seed address reveals that the list was used without authorization.
Question 3: Which match criterion is considered the weakest basis for declaring two records as duplicates during a merge-purge?
- Full name + full address match
- Last name + ZIP+4 match only (Correct answer)
- Delivery point barcode match
- Full name + delivery address match
Correct answer: Last name + ZIP+4 match only
Matching only on last name and ZIP+4 is weak because many unrelated individuals share the same surname within a ZIP code.
Question 4: When a CASS-certified system assigns a DPV confirmation indicator of 'S,' it means:
- The address is a valid deliverable address
- The primary number is valid but the secondary number is missing or invalid (Correct answer)
- The address does not exist in the postal database
- The address is a seasonal delivery point
Correct answer: The primary number is valid but the secondary number is missing or invalid
DPV indicator 'S' means the primary (house) number matched but the secondary designator (apartment, suite) is absent or incorrect, indicating a partial match.
Question 5: A mailer wants to mail only to households that appear on at least two of three rented lists. This is an example of:
- Suppression matching
- Multi-list selection by duplication count (Correct answer)
- Nth-name sampling
- Intrafile deduplication
Correct answer: Multi-list selection by duplication count
Selecting records that appear on two or more lists ('multi-hits') is a classic merge-purge technique to identify higher-quality, more responsive prospects.
Question 6: After CASS processing, a record receives a blank DPV footnote. This typically indicates:
- The address is a confirmed valid delivery point
- The address was not submitted for DPV lookup (Correct answer)
- The address is a PO Box
- The address failed standardization
Correct answer: The address was not submitted for DPV lookup
A blank or null DPV footnote usually means the record was not processed through DPV confirmation, not that it passed or failed validation.
Question 7: Which practice ensures that a consumer's do-not-mail request made through the DMA is honored across all lists in a merge-purge?
- Applying the DMA Mail Preference Service suppression file before output (Correct answer)
- Running NCOALink on all input lists
- Using CASS-certified software for address standardization
- Performing intrafile dedup on the house list
Correct answer: Applying the DMA Mail Preference Service suppression file before output
The DMA Mail Preference Service file must be applied as a suppression file during merge-purge to remove opted-out consumers from all participating input lists.
CASS Mailing List Management & Dedup 4
What is the recommended sequence of processes when preparing a mailing list for a CASS-certified presort mailing?