Thanks to everyone who responded.
Original Question:
> Hello lists:
>
> I've heard that there are "cross-reference data bases" that are capable of
> converting a rural route box or a P.O. Box to a current street address or to an
> appropriate zip code or zip+4 centroid.
Answer:
The data base in question is call the Locatable Address Conversion System (LACS)
and is from the U.S. Postal Service. This data base is NOT available to the
general public.
According to the Post Office, in order to acquire this data base, one must be a
licensed vendor of the National Change of Address (NCOA) program. The license
costs $80,000 per year. Postal regulations state that this data base can not be
lent out or copied or given to non-licensed organizations. The NCOA program is
designed to make life easier for the U.S.P.S. by cleaning up and rectifying address
information.
LACS is on of the programs developed under NCOA. To quote from the U.S.P.S. web
page (http://www.usps.gov/),
"The Locatable Address Conversion System (LACS) provides
mailers an automated method of obtaining new addresses in areas
in which new 9-1-1 emergency systems have been implemented.
This type of address conversion usually involves changing
rural-style addresses to city-style addresses, but in some instances,
conversions may result in the renaming or renumbering of existing
city-style addresses. Address Management System (AMS) offices
across the country are currently collecting and transferring
information for this database to the National Customer Support Center
in Memphis, Tennessee."
The idea is that if you are a mass mailer or peddler of address lists, you take
your address list to a licensed NCOA vendor (of which there are only 24 nation
wide), they will then run your mailing address list against the various NCOA data
bases, LACS being just one of them. From there you will get a "clean" address
list.
Since each licensee pays the U.S.P.S. $80,000 per year, they recoup their costs by
charging for cleaning your address list. I have heard that the nominal charge is
somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 cents/address.
For further information about LACS, go the U.S.P.S. web page at:
http://www.usps.gov and type in LACS in the search box.
--
Woody
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"We must cease confusing mastery of software
commands with attaining a grasp of critical
intellectual concepts." -- Duane F. Marble
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