NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 1

The Need for a National Address Database – Use Cases

A Report Submitted by the 

National Geospatial Advisory Committee

December 2014

Introduction

Government and business alike depend on addresses to provide essential services. Street addresses are 

collected and used every minute of every day for emergency response; the consumption of commercial 

goods and services; mail and package delivery; public and private utility management; voting; taxation; 

licensing; financial lending and real estate transactions; road maintenance and transit services; market 

analysis; environmental stewardship; economic development and land use planning; and many other 

purposes. 

Address data are required across all levels of government, as well as within the business community. A 

single, highly accurate national database would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of business 

processes within governmental agencies that currently use address data that has been collected from 

multiple sources. At the federal level alone, addresses are deeply embedded into the daily 

responsibilities of the following agencies and represent just a fraction of the need for address data:

Agency Activity

Department of Transportation Next Generation 911, construction design and 

notification, transportation planning

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency 

Locating those impacted by disasters & critical 

infrastructure/assets

Department of Health and Human 

Services (including Centers for Disease 

Control)

Public health incident tracking, disease vector 

control and data-driven management of entitlement 

programs

Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Home Mortgage Disclosure Act implementation

Census Bureau Mailing Census forms, locating households for inperson visits, geocoding results

Social Security Administration Providing Social Security payments

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development

Providing affordable housing, making sound and 

equitable land use and housing decisions, project 

notification

Addresses are a cornerstone of our social, commercial, environmental and political systems. The better 

the address data, the more efficiently and effectively these systems function and the more services that 

can be provided to improve quality of life for all.
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 2

Currently, address data are managed at multiple governmental levels and in private industry in a largely 

uncoordinated fashion. Many agencies collect and maintain address data independently and without 

the ability to compare their records with a verified master address file. Under current practices, work is 

duplicated and time and money are wasted. However, beyond that, when an address is missing, 

incorrect or difficult to locate, operating costs escalate dramatically. Customers and service providers 

experience delay and frustration. Professional and business reputations suffer and lives, property and 

other important on-site resources may be lost.

A Brief History of Addressing Within the NGAC

In 2012, the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) developed a white paper assessing the 

need for development of a National Address Database (NAD). That white paper recommended the 

creation of a NAD that included:

 Contributions from and access by all sectors of the economy

 Aggregating and integrating local address data

 Conducting a formal benefit-cost analysis to identify best development options

The NGAC passed a resolution in September 2013 reiterating this support and encouraging the FGDC to 

develop a funding strategy to implement a NAD. As a continuation of this engagement, in 2013 the 

FGDC asked the NGAC Addressing Subcommittee to:

 Identify and document a set of compelling business cases that support the need for a NAD

 Provide feedback regarding options for incorporating Addressing more effectively into the A-16 

Data Theme framework

The result was the following Vision Statement for a NAD:

“The National Address Database is an authoritative and publicly available resource that 

provides accurate address location information to save lives, reduce costs, and improve 

service provision for public and private interests.”

To achieve this vision, the NAD is conceived as:

“A continuously updated, nationwide, publicly available address database, with 

associated geographic coordinates, that meets the needs of Federal, Tribal, State and 

local stakeholders. The database stores all residential and non-residential structures and 

interior units, mailing addresses, plus other locations of critical interest (for example, 

highways, bridges, and landmarks). This database is an inventory and a standards 

based, distributed network of sources rather than a single, centralized database. Most 

address data are developed locally, with local and state custodians acting as regional 

integrators who merge local data into region-wide databases. The data are updated in a 

timely and quality-controlled manner. Federal stakeholders consume and use locally 

developed and aggregated address data stored in a standardized National Address 

Database.”

In 2014, the NGAC formed an Address Subcommittee to provide ongoing input on this effort. Specific 

tasks requested of this committee included the following:

 Identify compelling use cases demonstrating the value and utility of a NAD

 Describe the potential relationship between a NAD and National Parcel Data and identify 

possible opportunities to coordinate and leverage the two efforts
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 3

The discussion and effort of the NAD Subcommittee included participation from federal, state, local and 

tribal governments, as well as the private sector. The Subcommittee prepared seven use cases, which

are appended to this document. Each use case illustrates and supports the need for a NAD. 

Use Case 1: NAD Projected Savings within the Federal Government

The Federal Government could benefit greatly from a NAD. The U.S. Census Bureau requires continuous 

access to tribal, state and local addresses, along with associated geospatial data, to update the Master 

Address File (MAF) used in the Census. Participation by tribal, state and local governments in building a 

NAD could save the Census Bureau $196 million for just the 2020 Census. Agencies involved in Federal 

Disaster Declarations also have a need for immediate access to a NAD. The Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) requires highly detailed, site-specific address information (which could be 

provided if the NAD was created) in the preparation/creation of accurate exposure and impact 

assessments. During Super Storm Sandy, FEMA recognized a $4 million cost savings by acquiring and 

using granular address data, in conjunction with remotely sensed data, to generate rapid geospatial 

damage assessments. Lives, time and money could have been saved if FEMA did not have to assemble 

this address data after the event occurred.

Use Case 2: Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) - Home Mortgage 

Disclosure Act Use Case

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) requires that financial institutions, which lend mortgages, 

collect and submit data about those mortgages to the federal government. Currently, the location of 

the loan is identified by U.S. Census Tract. A recently released proposed regulation would require a 

specific address location that could be geocoded to identify a geographic X, Y location. By using an 

existing NAD, the CFPB – HMDA would increase efficiency, reduce errors caused by using coarser U.S.

Census tracts, all while increasing compliance with Federal law. A universally available NAD would

reduce the cost of individual agencies accessing address data, as well as the overall costs for all federal 

agencies using the NAD. 

Use Case 3: Addresses and the Emergency Response Community Use Case

The primary goal of the emergency response community is to deliver services at the scene of an incident 

as quickly as possible. Faster response and initiation of mitigating action lessens the potential negative 

outcome, which initiated the call for help. Well-defined and known incident location data are critical to 

mitigating loss. Because incidents do not respect man-made boundaries, the need for a NAD that could

be shared across jurisdictional boundaries is critical for success. A NAD would provide responders from 

other jurisdictions standardized critical local information and an improved framework for Federal 

reporting. A NAD would potentially save lives in small-scale multi-jurisdictional incident, as well as 

larger scale incidents involving multiple jurisdictions.

Use Case 4: State of Arizona Business Case

Arizona’s need for a statewide address database was evident when trying to identify the level of 

broadband services available throughout the state as required by the Arizona Broadband Mapping 

Project. This effort exposed Arizona’s lack of a consistent and reliable statewide address database that 

was needed to meet the requirement of the project. Arizona was able to build a multi-jurisdictional 

address database that provides consistent and current address data, which is used by all levels of 

government for public safety, emergency response, highway safety and streamlining sales tax, as well as 

for the delivery of many other governmental services to the public. Arizona is an example of how local 
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 4

and state efforts can be leveraged and integrated into developing and maintaining a statewide address 

database that could become part of the NAD. 

Use Case 5: Tribal Use Case

There are more than 560 Federally Recognized Tribes in the United States. For many of these Tribes, 

addressing is a significant issue with which they struggle. Most Tribes do not have the resources to 

develop, build or maintain a master address file. Indeed, just collecting address data can be difficult 

because the data often do not exist. Additionally, access to Tribal data can be difficult because of 

cultural sensitivities. A NAD-supported tribal address database would greatly benefit the Tribes. It 

would provide a standard access point for Tribes to use to share GIS addressing and road data and 

would allow for greater sharing of data between Tribes and the federal government. 

Use Case 6: Lexington County, SC Use Case

Lexington County, SC, like many counties, continues to grow and add new addresses regularly. The 

county receives numerous requests from multiple Federal agencies requesting copies of the same 

current address databases. The creation of a single NAD, consisting of integrated local address data and

used by all local government agencies, would provide a single point of contact for those requesting the 

data. This would lead to efficiencies both for those wishing to obtain the most current address database 

and for the county staff that manage and respond to those requests. 

Use Case 7: Boone County Missouri Master Address Database Voter Registration 

Integration Use Case

The Boone County, Missouri Clerk and Voter Registration Office are responsible for overseeing a 

registered voter population of more than 100,000. Boone County experienced numerous challenges 

balancing the voters-per-polling location with varied election turnout numbers and keeping accurate 

voter precinct assignments based on voter addresses. In 2011, the Boone County Clerk and the Voter 

Registration Office began the integration of the GIS Master Address Database into their existing election 

information system to support the County’s 2010 decennial Census reapportionment and subsequent 

GIS precinct and district realignment. The implementation of this consistent address database has 

improved data integrity and has helped to ensure the availability of an accurate and reliable voter 

registration database. 
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 5

Conclusions

In OMB Circular A-16, the vision of the NSDI is described as:

The NSDI assures that spatial data from multiple sources (federal, state, local, and tribal 

governments, academia, and the private sector) are available and easily integrated to 

enhance the understanding of our physical and cultural world.

Address data are arguably the most prominent example of information that is needed by all branches of 

government and all levels of society. Because of the proliferation of mapping applications, it could be 

argued that address data are perhaps the most widely used type of geographic information in society. 

Yet we do not have a single reliable source for national address information. As documented in the 

appended use cases, it is logical and appropriate that the Nation should move forward with the creation 

of a NAD.

The NGAC recommends the FGDC community take the following actions:

1. Add Addresses as a new theme in the FGDC’s National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) framework or 

as a dataset under an existing NSDI theme; and identify a theme lead or dataset manager, 

respectively. This is necessary because although address locations are the single most important 

data resource for spatially enabling programmatic data, they do not fit into any of the existing list of 

FGDC NSDI framework themes (geodetic control, orthoimagery, elevation and 

bathymetry, transportation, hydrography, cadastral and governmental units)

2. FGDC agencies, including the Census Bureau, Department of Transportation, and other agencies, 

should coordinate and collaborate with partners in the development of a business requirements 

plan for a NAD during FY 2015. This effort should include meeting(s) of executive level NAD 

stakeholders to identify requirements for the development of and maintenance of a NAD. 

3. The NAD business requirements plan should:

 Establish a governance plan for the NAD

 Define long-term, sustainable funding strategies

 Leverage existing stakeholder and partner investments in address databases

 Identify best practices from existing work at the state and local level

 Identify immediate short-term actions to quickly establish a NAD

 Identify long-term strategies to improve the NAD to incorporate major stakeholder and partner 

needs

 Assure that NAD strategy aligns directly with local public safety and other existing programmatic 

drivers that will maximize the currency, completeness and accuracy of the NAD

 Identify a schedule of milestones and list of performance metrics for the development, 

production, and maintenance of a NAD.
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 6

Use Case 1: NAD Projected Savings within the Federal Government

Department of Commerce

Within the Commerce Department, the NAD could play an important role in reducing the overall cost of 

the 2020 Census. The Census Bureau needs continuous access to tribal, state and local address and 

geospatial data to capture the results of local changes. While tribal, state and local governments are, for 

the most part, open to sharing their data with the Census Bureau, their participation in data sharing 

programs is inconsistent. That is because under current law (U.S. Code Title 13), the Census Bureau can 

collect address information from communities but is prohibited from giving any information back so that 

the local communities can improve and update their address lists. Feedback from local government 

partners indicates frustration that they do not directly benefit from the partnership. The Census Bureau 

would be able to use the NAD to populate its Master Address File (MAF). Because the address data in 

the NAD will not be restricted under Title 13 of the U.S. Code, the Census Bureau will be able to expand 

its partnership programs by providing detailed feedback to the state, local, and tribal partners about 

their address information. 

Jurisdictions participating in the NAD would improve the MAF. Prior to the 2010 census, the Census 

Bureau hired temporary workers to walk every block in the U.S. to check the accuracy of its address list. 

This on-the-ground address collection cost $459 million. Thus, each 1% reduction in the cost of address 

listing and canvassing prior to the next census would equate to approximately $5 million in cost 

avoidance. Additionally, the 2010 Census spent almost $1.7 billion visiting addresses during NonResponse Follow Up operations and when checking vacant houses. The NAD would allow the Census 

Bureau to significantly scale back on address listing prior to 2020 and also could help field workers more 

effectively locate addresses, significantly reducing field costs and potentially saving hundreds of millions 

of dollars. As an example, the Census Bureau is currently researching increased use of local government 

partner electronic address file processing. The Bureau found that the use of a partner-supplied address 

file decreased the number of ungeocoded addresses in Sussex County, Delaware from 23,873 to 13,307. 

This reduced the ungeocoded workload in Sussex County by 44%, suggesting that major savings could be 

realized by lessening the field workers workload if more local governments could be persuaded to share 

their address files. 

Estimated Cost Avoidance for the Census Bureau with Investment in the NAD

Census Operation Total Cost in 2010 Census Estimated Cost Avoidance with the NAD

Address Canvassing $443,591,299 $35,733,480

Nonresponse Follow-up $1,589,397,886 $159,744,030

Non-ID $3,725,555 $983,082

Total $2,036,714,740 $196,460,592

As a second federal government example, consider the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA). NOAA would benefit by gaining access to geocoded addresses in coastal areas 

of the U.S. where an estimated 39% of the population now resides. These coastal communities face an 

increased risk from extreme coastal storms like Super Storm Sandy and Hurricane Isaac, which severely 

damaged infrastructure and property in 2012. The ability to access a NAD during Sandy would have 

been helpful to confirm that marinas and houses identified by New York State were, in fact,

contaminated with oil. Recent requests for tax parcel data and information for New York state have 
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 7

come into NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration, Assessment and Restoration Division working on 

post-Sandy clean-up efforts. This is because much of this data is only available through the New York

Clearinghouse and access requires prior approval and interagency agreements. Access to this data from 

the Census Bureau via the NAD would provide sufficient information to NOAA to obviate the need for a 

duplicative and inefficient data collection exercise.

The National Marine Fisheries Service within NOAA also would likely benefit from a NAD. There are a 

number of databases that use addresses including fishing permit systems and metadata repositories. 

Potential uses of a national database would include auto-fill and validation/Quality Control of these 

databases. The cost savings realized would result in time savings for staff resources in all of the NOAA 

regions to track down data entry errors. 

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

The NAD could reduce costs substantially in U.S. residential mortgage markets and allow more accurate 

private and public understanding and better-informed federal regulation of those markets. Federal 

agencies that regulate and monitor the housing finance system could benefit significantly from the 

development of the NAD, as could private firms that participate in housing finance. Property address 

information stored in the NAD could provide the basis for a federally sponsored national mortgage 

registry that records information about mortgage loans taken out to finance individual properties and 

provide that information to regulatory agencies and investors in a manner that protected proprietary 

information and borrower identities. Dissemination of such information would allow investors to 

evaluate more accurately the credit risk of individual mortgages and allow the government to monitor 

more accurately the aggregate leverage and risk in U.S. mortgage markets, contributing to a more 

efficient and stable housing finance system. 

Unlike some other industrialized nations, the U.S. does not have national standards for identifying

residential properties. Though many local jurisdictions use computerized cadastral systems (public 

records, surveys or maps of the value, extent and ownership of land) as a basis of taxation, there are no 

federal standards for residential property identifiers or records management requirements. Entities 

working with residential property data typically combine data elements from disparate sources (for 

example, postal addresses, latitude/longitudes coordinates known as geocodes, information from the 

Public Land Survey System, and local county or jurisdictional land use maps, and local parcel identifiers) 

with internally assigned property identifiers. 

The absence of a national residential property identification system imposes costs on private firms that 

participate in and support residential mortgage lending and on housing finance regulators and other 

government agencies. Firms and agencies must hire vendors, lease software or otherwise expend 

resources to match property addresses or other data elements in mortgage loan records to merge 

information in different datasets, assess whether the same property has multiple outstanding liens, and 

identify repeat purchase or refinance transactions for individual properties to estimate repeat-sales 

house price indexes. Such data matching is necessarily imperfect. As a result, misidentification of 

properties or related loans is a source of costly mistakes for the mortgage industry and contributes to 

the incidence of fraud. Further, it is difficult for mortgage lenders or investors to track second liens on 

properties, which hampers accurate assessment and pricing of the credit risk of first mortgages and 

accurate management of mortgage credit risk. 

The absence of unique property IDs and imperfect data matching using existing data elements in 

mortgage loan records, make it difficult for housing finance regulators to assess the credit risk of, and 
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 8

limits the accuracy of risk-based capital requirements such regulators impose on housing finance 

institutions. It makes it difficult for the government to monitor aggregate leverage in the housing 

finance system. As a result, we have no detailed, accurate picture of the role that second liens played in 

the buildup of leverage in the housing finance system prior to the recent financial crisis.

Federal agencies would achieve direct cost savings from the industry’s use of NAD-assigned property 

IDs. Once such IDs were widely available in mortgage loan records, the Federal Housing Finance Agency 

(FHFA), for example, would save $40,000 per year now spent to “scrub” addresses to match transactions 

for the purpose of estimating FHFA’s suite of house price indexes. In addition, FHFA’s house price 

indexes could become more accurate as a larger number of repeat transaction pairs were used for index 

estimation. Other agencies that lease address-scrubbing software or perform address matching would 

also achieve savings.

Further, FHFA and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) are in the process of creating a 

National Mortgage Database (NMDB) that will contain loan-level information on first lien residential 

mortgages in existence at any point in time from January 1998 forward. The NMDB is designed to be a 

nationally representative, 1-in-20 random sample rather than a universal mortgage loan registry. The 

NMDB is being built from representative data from Experian, a national credit repository; from Fannie 

Mae and Freddie Mac; and from government agencies which insure or guarantee residential mortgages. 

As part of this effort, FHFA has purchased access to the entire national property database of CoreLogic 

and contracted with Experian to merge that data into the NMDB database through a third-party blind 

matching process that uses personally identifiable information of borrowers but protects the privacy of 

that information. If NAD-assigned residential property IDs were widely available in mortgage loan 

records, that matching process would be more accurate and less costly, but it is unknown how much 

FHFA could save.

Additional benefits to the U.S. housing finance system could be achieved if each NAD-assigned property 

ID was linked to unique mortgage loan IDs for all loans that financed the property through a federally 

sponsored national mortgage registry. With appropriate safeguards to protect personally identifiable 

information related to borrowers, the registry could make the NAD-assigned ID for a property, limited 

information about the property’s geographic location, and the loan IDs for all mortgages on the property 

available to private firms that had a permissible purpose. For example, potential or actual investors in 

first mortgages or pools of first mortgages could access information about open second liens on 

properties financed by the first liens. That would allow more efficient pricing and management of 

mortgage credit risk by the industry. Further, regulators and other government agencies could use 

information stored at the registry and the NAD to assess more accurately the credit risk exposures of 

individual financial institutions and aggregate leverage in the housing finance system. The pace at which 

these benefits were achieved would depend on enactment of legislation that authorized such a registry 

and the timing of its creation.

HUD has an enterprise geocoding service that cost $750,000 per year to run address validation and 

geocoding. The challenge HUD faces is in address maintenance leading to substantial duplicative 

geocoding. There is a current initiative to develop a master address inventory aligned with a NAD,

creating efficiencies within both agencies. 

Department of Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimated a cost avoidance of $2 million per year for 

address data access. This did not account for the benefit of time savings for incident response such as 
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 9

survivor identity validation and eligibility, individual housing assistance, damage assessments, and public 

assistance.

FEMA requires an accurate, updated and complete NAD to accomplish its numerous statutory missions

and to support the National Response Framework (NRF), National Preparedness System and Presidential 

Policy Directive (PPD) 8: National Preparedness. Specifically, FEMA requires an authoritative, 

comprehensive and seamless nationwide inventory of residential and non-residential structure locations 

(to include interior units and their associated mailing addresses). The purpose of this requirement is to 

enable emergency management (incident management and incident support), search and rescue, 

survivor assistance, crisis and operational mapping; resource and logistics routing; and safe navigation of 

FEMA staff and supporting federal, state, local, and tribal emergency response personnel.

The following FEMA functional areas would benefit most from having access to a NAD: 

 Preparedness and planning

 Situational awareness

 Analytics and assessments (for example, damage assessments, exposure and impact 

assessments, etc.)

 Decision making

 Resource allocation, staging, and deployment

 Provisioning of services to disaster survivors and public entities

A NAD would enhance the quality and accuracy of FEMA analytics. FEMA requires highly detailed, sitespecific information (such as proposed by the creation of a NAD) in the preparation/creation of accurate 

exposure and impact assessments. Current geospatial assessments have (at times) been constrained 

due to generalized and/or aggregated block or block group level data. For example, for flood events, 

FEMA requires detailed hazard and address information to accurately determine population exposure as 

well as economic impacts. 

A national, point-based address dataset would provide FEMA a GIS-enabled layer that would support 

advanced geoprocessing tasks and rapid geospatial damage assessments during and immediately 

following disasters. This layer would enhance FEMA’s ability to expedite geospatial damage 

assessments (and possible grant assistance) following significant events. 

During Hurricane Sandy, FEMA recognized a $4 million cost savings by acquiring and using granular 

address data, in conjunction with remotely sensed data, to generate rapid geospatial damage 

assessments. 

In addition, FEMA invests between $200 million and $300 million annually for mapping and insurance 

studies. Access to a national, high-resolution address dataset would likely yield overall cost savings and 

more accurate and impactful products through the sharing of a single authoritative address dataset 

across all of the FEMA program offices. 

United States Postal Service

Currently, the Census Bureau maintains a partnership with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which 

provides the Census Bureau with its Delivery Sequence File (DSF) of mailing addresses throughout the 

U.S. However, the partnership is not as effective as it could be. The Census Bureau compares the DSF to 

the MAF, updates the MAF with new addresses, and assigns each new address to its correct geographic 

location, thereby geocoding each address. The USPS, which requires an accurate address list to deliver 
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 10

mail, has requested address and geographic information in return, which the Census Bureau is unable to 

supply under current law (U.S. Code Title 13). In the NAD environment, the Census Bureau would be 

able to geocode these addresses and share them at the address level, which would allow the USPS to 

validate the accuracy of their database and serve to enhance mail delivery. Any updates the USPS made 

as a result of this exchange would feed into the NAD and ultimately the MAF. A list of the geographic 

coordinates associated with each address would enable the USPS to better analyze the volume of their 

mail base and more precisely optimize their carrier routes. 

State, Local and Tribal Governments

At the state level, savings would also be significant. In 2000, local governments in Ohio, along with 

electric and gas utilities, were spending an estimated $80 million to $100 million on digital mapping 

activities. According to the GIS Manager for the Ohio Department of Transportation, “In an emergency, 

response times are critical. The first few minutes can make the difference between life and death. 

Mistakenly dispatching an ambulance, fire engine or police cruiser to the wrong location or using 

mapping data that provides “best estimate” rather than precise locations can prove disastrous. If we 

can provide a dataset that gets them there a few minutes early, you can’t put a price on that.”

Some other illustrative examples include Waukesha County, Wisconsin, which spent $116,000 in 2001 to 

collect approximately 150,000 addresses. The county spends additional resources in meeting 

duplicative state and federal requests for address information. 

The State of Georgia spent $1,517,000 in preparing for the 2010 Census Local Update of Census 

Addresses (LUCA) program, including the submission of more than 3 million addresses. Some feedback 

received by the Census Bureau included comments that geocoding and parsing address lists was difficult 

and time consuming. “Even after all this work over parts of two decades in preparing for decennial 

censuses, I am sad to say Georgia still does not have a statewide address database that we can share 

with our federal partners, or to use for our own purposes. That’s why the idea of a standard NAD that 

we can build together and that is not Title 13 restricted, is such an attractive concept. We certainly 

need to share with the Census Bureau, but we also need it for emergency management, for hazard 

mitigation planning, and other purposes.”

International

Internationally, in 2002, the Danish government released its address data to the public resulting in a cost 

savings of $18 million annually with seventy percent of the economic benefits to the private sector, 

benefitting the economy directly, and thirty percent to the public sector.1In 2001, the Australian 

Government provided access to its spatial data free of charge. The benefits of providing this data to the 

public are estimated at around $25 million per year.2It can be inferred that the United States would see 

a similar return on investments with the creation of the NAD.

 

1http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=15&ved=0CFQQFjAEOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2F

uk.fm.dk%2Fpublications%2F2012%2Fgood-basic-data-foreveryone%2F~%2Fmedia%2FPublikationer%2FImported%2F2012%2FGode%2520grunddata%2520til%2520alle%2FBasicData_U

K_web_2012.10.08.ashx&ei=7ujnUf3jE8Ll4AOzvoDQBA&usg=AFQjCNEeUeREVbnWGkTAbqelOPNtT2ipQ&sig2=LkRPpLxOzPwwAgxoDPJynw

2 http://ands.org.au/resource/cost-benefit.html
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 11

Use Case 2: Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and the Home Mortgage 

Disclosure Act

Introduction and Need

Congress enacted the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) in 1975. It requires that the certain 

financial institutions that lend mortgages collect and submit to the federal government data about those 

mortgages. The intent of the act is to provide financial institution regulatory agencies and the public 

with loan data that can be used to assist: 

 In determining whether financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their 

communities;

 Public officials in distributing public sector investments so as to attract private investment to 

areas where it is needed; and

 In identifying possibly discriminatory lending patterns.

HMDA collects, among other things, the loan type, the amount of the loan, the financial institution 

granting the loan, the gender and race of the borrower and the location of the loan. Currently the 

location of the loan is identified as the U.S. Census tract that contains the loan, but recently released 

proposed regulations would require a specific geocodable address location. The HMDA data collection 

results in approximately 20 million loans records a year from about 7,000 financial institutions.

Current Situation and Challenges

The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act transferred authority over the 

regulations implementing HMDA from the Federal Reserve Board to the Consumer Finance Protection 

Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB recently released for comment a revised regulation package, which changes 

some of the data to be collected. Currently the Federal Reserve Board provides a solution which

financial institutions use to geocode the addresses for loans. This solution returns the U.S. Census tract 

containing the loan, allowing the financial institution to return the tract in the data collection. Currently 

unknown amounts of error in loan records locations are precipitated in the HMDA process. In addition, 

when the CFPB geocoding solution does not match an address and cannot provide a census tract code, 

financial institutions are still required to track down and report the tract location. Many financial 

institutions then turn to local governments to find and use local GIS services or GIS contacts to acquire 

Census tract information, either through an online map service or a phone call. Some financial 

institutions require this information to be acquired as the mortgage application is being processed. 

Some banks use this “map” and map information to present a picture of the loan to others who have to 

review or approve the loan. This collection process, sometimes requiring two steps, pushes a burden of 

geospatial analysis on the financial institutions. 

In the recently released for comment, CFPB new regulatory rules confirmed that the practice of 

geocoding loans continues. CFPB’s primary goal in implementing these new rules is to reduce (or at a 

minimum keep constant) the burden of collection while increasing value in the collection through 

adding fields, and increasing granularity. For example, the new rule as written would require the 

inclusion of an address as a location field rather than just reporting the census tract of the loan location.

The proposed address-reporting requirement confirms the limitations of the current situation: the lack 

of a single, up-to-date authoritative source for geocoding loan locations increases reporting burden and 

reduces data accuracy. In many current cases, new loans (or loan applications) are recorded in locations 

where addressing has yet to be recorded; in rural areas where geocoding accuracy is poor; or in group or 
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 12

transient quarters (such as trailer parks), where geocoding could be, and often is, ambiguous. The sum 

total of these issues results in an error cost to the financial institutions that are required by law to report 

accurate data. These accuracy issues, along with the coarse granularity of the tract level, also 

compromise the ability of regulators to properly evaluate lending practices, as required by the law. 

NAD Impacts and Results

Having a NAD as a single authoritative government source from which a single authoritative geocoding 

solution can be deployed provides an opportunity to achieve several goals. First, the availability of a 

NAD would reduce the burden of geocoding on financial institutions (particularly if there is modern 

developed services technology). Second, a NAD would reduce confusion about geocoding errors if an 

authoritative source cannot find the loan location. Third, a NAD would reduce the government-wide 

costs associated with duplication of geocoding solutions that have resulted from the lack of a 

coordinated approach. If this NAD could be streamlined to gather the latest data continually from local 

governments via state governments into a federal dataset, there would be no need for institutions to 

research local government resources through phone calls or web services. This, in turn, would reduce 

the burden placed on local governments.
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 13

Use Case 3: Addresses and the Emergency Response Community

Introduction and Need

The overarching objective of the emergency response process is to deliver services at the scene of an 

incident as quickly as possible. Faster response and initiation of mitigating action lessens the potential 

negative outcome of the event or situation that prompted the call for help. Travel time - the time 

required to travel to the incident location - is usually the longest time segment in the response process. 

Reducing it through the use of standardized address data represents a significant opportunity to 

improve life saving measures, minimize damage and reduce financial loss.

Current Situation and Challenges

The use of geospatial systems by emergency responders varies widely across the United States. Some 

jurisdictions can afford complex computer aided dispatch (CAD) systems complete with mobile display 

terminals (MDT) capable of showing a multi-layered, GIS-driven map in every response vehicle. Other 

organizations are lucky to have reasonably accurate paper maps. In either case, the ability to look at a 

map accurately depicting an address’ location significantly aids navigation and reduces travel time, 

especially when responding to unfamiliar locations. The latter is becoming increasingly common as 

public safety funding decreases and multi-jurisdictional responses are relied on more frequently to 

provide coverage across greater areas. Thus, even where address data are available through individual, 

locally sponsored efforts, a lack of standardization and completeness across broad areas limits the 

effectiveness of such data.

The availability of a standardized address database has further benefit with respect to response time. 

The overwhelming majority of Enhanced 911 (E911) calls are received from cellular telephones. Callers, 

particularly those traveling roadways at night, often do not know their location. The ability to reference 

a caller’s location, as captured by most all E911 systems, with respect to a known, standardized address 

would be of tremendous value to the emergency responder community. Such an address reference, 

when included with dispatch information, would improve response times.

Visualizing the location of an address during the response process not only speeds delivery of services, 

but aids with critical decision making. A fire department can reference a map with an address to 

determine which hydrant is closest to the structure on fire. Emergency medical services may not have 

to hunt in the dark for house numbers posted in different locations (front porch, mailbox, front door or 

missing entirely). Police attempting to cordon off an area gain a better understanding of where to 

position themselves when arriving on scene. 

Finally, the ability to plot the location of an address on a map enables the use of coordinates, such as 

the U.S. National Grid (USNG), in the emergency response sector. Data from the National Fire 

Information Reporting System (NFIRS) suggests that approximately a third of all fire department calls do 

not occur at pre-defined a street address. Aliasing NAD points with U.S. National Grid coordinates 

would facilitate finding both difficult to locate known addresses such as those with no posted house 

numbers, addresses set back significantly from roadways and not easily seen, or locations 

destroyed/damaged by disaster such that traditional means of navigation using street name/house 

number are no longer functional. By extension, familiarization with coordinates through such uses 

would extend value to helping locate non-addressed incident locations such as pipeline ruptures, 

accidents along highways, outdoor fires, missing-person searches and similar events.
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 14

The devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina and events of equal violence often render the landscape 

unrecognizable and exemplify the need for a NAD. Local responders are often incapacitated or 

completely overwhelmed, requiring state and Federal resources for assistance. The latter often travel 

hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of miles to render aid and are not familiar with the local landscape 

prior to destruction, let alone after. Yet they are 

often tasked with actions such as “Search 1054 

Main St. – Mrs. Smith, a 74 year old woman was 

last known living alone at that location and her 

family indicates that she did not 

evacuate.” Navigation in such an environment, 

where street signs, house numbers and homes 

themselves are in complete disarray, makes such 

a daunting task ever the more difficult. Further, 

while Federal agencies such as FEMA have 

adopted the U.S. National Grid coordinate system 

for meeting such needs, few address databases in 

existence alias an address to a coordinate. Such 

would greatly facilitate search and rescue and 

many other response and recovery related tasks 

after disaster has struck. 

NAD Impact and Results

Such cases are, unfortunately, not unique and clearly demonstrate the need for a NAD to assist the 

emergency responder community as they provide life-saving services by cutting down response times, 

improving decision making abilities, and providing a common address layer critical during multijurisdictional responses. The case studies also strongly suggest that every entry should be aliased to a 

USNG coordinate, thereby providing a true “Geo-Address.” The benefits of a NAD within the emergency 

response community would extend from the Federal to the local level. While difficult to quantify, if just 

one life were saved, the effort would be justified.
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 15

Use Case 4: State of Arizona 

Introduction and Need

Arizona’s long-time need for better address data was evident in 2009 when trying to identify the level of 

broadband services available throughout the state as required by the Arizona Broadband Mapping 

Project. By receiving a grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration 

(NTIA) Office to improve the delivery of broadband services in Arizona, the Arizona Strategic Asset 

Technology (ASET) collaborated with the Arizona State Land Department State Cartographer’s Office 

(SCO) to provide mapping services to support Broadband development planning services. It was quickly 

determined that there were several counties in Arizona without GIS address data at all. It was also 

found that the address data in those counties that did have it were not standardized and were of varying 

quality. Arizona received funding for the Arizona Broadband Address Project to develop address data, 

which would allow Arizona to comply with providing spatially accurate broadband service data as 

required NTIA. 

NTIA Broadband funds provided the seed funding for Arizona to develop GIS address data. The SCO was 

able to contract with private sector GIS consultants and the Arizona 911 State Office to develop address 

data in the remaining three counties that still did not have address data. They were also able to develop 

an updated GIS address standard for use by the 911 community, and integrate county address data into 

a standardized statewide database to meet the geocoding requirements of the Arizona Broadband 

Mapping Project. As this project proceeded, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) 

partnered with the SCO and 911 State Office, contributing funds and helping to identify all public roads, 

paved or unpaved, to meet new U.S. DOT highway safety requirements. ADOT was able to obtain 

information about non-federally funded public roads, roads that it was not previously required to track, 

and to provide services to edge-match roads where they crossed jurisdictional boundaries and provide 

more accurately located road centerlines. The address and road network “data development workflow”

was modified to meet the needs of each partner. 

Current Situation and Challenges

Many State agencies are now partners in Arizona’s efforts to develop and maintain a unified All Roads 

Network with current and accurate address data. Several agencies are also benefitting from this data. 

 The Arizona State Forester’s Office provides improved address data to the National Fire Center.

 The Department of Public Safety Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (AcTIC) uses the 

more accurate addresses to respond to and map incidents.

 The Arizona State Land Department uses address data to manage Arizona’s Trust Lands better.

 The Department of Revenue uses address data to meet Arizona’s Simplified Tax requirements so 

that taxes may be collected at the point (address) of transaction. 

 Discussions also are underway with Arizona’s Department of Environmental Quality, 

Department of Education, Department of Economic Security and Health Department to 

participate in developing, maintaining or integrating the address data into their business 

operations. 

To facilitate the sharing of standardized statewide address data, the Arizona Geospatial Clearinghouse 

(AZGEO) was developed to provide access to statewide address and roads data required for the 

Broadband Mapping Project, the 911 community and the ADOT. AZGEO provides simplified access to 

databases that are developed and maintained by partners so that the data can be extracted to meet 

their business needs. 
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 16

There is a challenge to develop standards that allow address data to be used effectively for public safety, 

emergency response, simplified tax administration, health service delivery, geocoding services, and 

other business needs. It is also a challenge to develop security procedures that protect data shared by 

different agencies from unwanted disclosure. Additionally, the following non-technical issues are being 

addressed. 

 The need to identify long-term governance and funding for AZGEO and the services it provides. 

 The need for an institutional infrastructure that ensures the long-term sustainability of AZGEO 

and the consolidated address data it contains. 

 The need for partners that share data and participate in developing and contributing address 

and roads data and services to have confidence that AZGEO is worth their investment and 

participation for the long-term. 

 The need for a tie-in with the NAD and standards which could provide long-term data 

integration opportunities, quality assurance processes and resource support for continued local 

and state address development and integration efforts. 

NAD Impact and Results

While the efforts to develop and maintain a statewide address and roads database are producing 

efficiencies in Arizona, the development of a NAD would provide even more benefits. Arizona, other 

state and local governments, as well as the federal government would benefit from a NAD that is 

developed in cooperation and participation with major stakeholders. A NAD could reduce the number 

of separate agencies developing inconsistent address data by providing incentives and processes for 

participation, national standards and consistent approach to data creation and maintenance that can be 

applied to many business cases across many jurisdictions. Address data is created at the local level, and 

if resources were made available for local and state agencies to share and integrate their address data, 

federal agencies could obtain highly transactional, consistent address data at a fraction of the cost to 

develop and maintain a NAD on its own. 

By integrating local and state efforts into developing and maintaining a NAD, the nation would have 

consistent and current address data that could be used by all levels of government for public safety, 

emergency response, aiding communities after catastrophes occur, highway safety, Streamlined Sales 

Tax, and the delivery of many other services to benefit the public.
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 17

Use Case 5: Tribal Governments

Introduction and Need 

There are more than 560 Federally Recognized Tribes in the U.S. Each Tribe is unique in its own culture 

and governance. There are approximately 56.2 million acres of Tribal Trust lands broken up into 326 

Indian land areas. Not all Federally Recognized Tribes have Trust Lands. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Office of Trust Services currently provides GIS software, through an enterprise license agreement, to 333 

different Federally Recognized Tribal Governments. However, many Tribes do not have a GIS office or 

person. Often it is a part of an individual’s total responsibilities in an Environmental, Utilities or 

Emergency Management department. In some areas, one Tribe may be responsible for numerous 

Tribes’ GIS data in the area.

Current Situation and Challenges

Addressing is a big challenge in Indian country. Some Tribes, such as the Eastern Band of Cherokee, 

have high quality address data for each residence and building, as well as linear referenced and 

accurately geocoded roads. However, many other Tribes have little to no addressing data and many 

roads are not mapped or even named. 

There is no central contact or unified voice for Tribal GIS offices or activities such as a National States 

Geographic Information Council (NSGIC). There are some small regional groups, but a “NSGIC for Tribes” 

would be of great benefit in developing standards for addressing in Tribal lands. 

Numerous Federal agencies undertake the grueling task of trying to obtain updated Tribal data each 

year. This is a costly task with mixed results. Tribes are cautious of the multiple requests received from 

multiple federal agencies for their data. The small individual GIS offices of the Tribe often do not have 

the capacity or resources to supply data for numerous federal requests. One of the most common 

comments from Tribes is “why doesn’t the Federal Government have just one agency act as the point 

contact for Tribes.” 

As with all other government entities, Tribes prefer to maintain ownership, and be the stewards, of their 

data. Nevertheless, most Tribes are open to sharing data, preferably with one designated agency and 

contact. They also prefer to have formal data sharing agreements in place. Once Tribes build “trust” 

relationships with an agency and its personnel, they feel more comfortable with sharing data. 

During emergency and disaster situations, it is very difficult in some areas to obtain Tribal data. Either 

the Tribe is omitted from the data search or the collection process is very costly for FEMA and other 

agencies that may be involved. 

NAD Impact and Results

A NAD would be well supported by Tribes. It would serve as the central point for Tribes to work with 

and share GIS addressing and roads data. The Tribes would be better able to meet requests for their 

data. The time and cost savings for both Federal and Tribal resources in working with Tribes on GIS data 

would be a great benefit to each. Having addressing shared across agencies would be a great step 

forward in which other Federal agencies could spend more time working with Tribes on a landscapelevel approach on issues. 
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 18

Use Case 6: Lexington County, SC

Introduction and Need 

There are 3,077 counties (including parishes and boroughs) in America. Most develop their own address 

data but some contract with another entity to develop its data. For example, Lexington County, South 

Carolina adds 3,000-plus addresses annually. Nationally, this is probably a good average to use to judge 

the level of effort for all counties. These addresses reflect new or converted residences, businesses, 

industries, government and nonprofit entities. No one beyond the local agency will have all those 

addresses unless there is a data sharing system that a NAD would provide. 

Current Situation and Challenges

Today each federal agency that wants current, local addresses has to contact each county (except in a 

few states that maintain statewide, current address databases). Many federal requests are sent to the 

county administrator or the current or former elected leader. Each county then determines which 

department has the data. It may take days or weeks of forwarding the request before the correct 

department receives the request. Then that relevant department fulfills the request in the order in 

which it received the request, not the order in which the request came to the county. From the time the 

request is received by the county, several weeks may pass before the request is fulfilled.

Several federal agencies or quasi-federal agencies already request and receive local address data. The 

U.S. Postal Service is in daily contact with the county requesting follow up information on the addresses 

the county sends to them. Other local agencies who receive this data daily include all cable, telephone, 

gas and electric utilities, whether privately or cooperatively owned. 

In addition to these who receive daily or weekly updates, other federal agencies that periodically 

request and receive data include:

 FEMA – for use in planning and remediation for flood events.

 CDC – to do a public health survey & analysis following a catastrophic event.

 Health Statisticians – for disease analysis related to where disease outbreaks occur and in 

proximity to what nearby other factors.

 HUD – quality analysis of accurate distribution of funds to those in need.

 Nuclear regulatory agencies – to evaluate disease or disease rumors related to nuclear facilities.

 GAO – for analysis of what data are used by local agencies and how they are distributed to other 

levels of government (for example, the Census Bureau) and other agencies and authorities (for 

example, NG911).

 Homeland Security – for critical places planning in case of terrorist attack. Lexington County is 

home to the airport for Columbia, SC, Lake Murray, which provides water to several hundred 

thousand people, 3 U.S. Interstate highways, a major regional mall and one Fortune 500 

headquarters.

 FCC and FAA – for cell tower site issues.

 FAA – for clearance for runways, noise abatement issues on runways, and planning and analysis 

for noise with current and future runway plans.

 Bureau of the Census – for monthly new construction.

 Bureau of the Census for Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) program prior to the 

decennial census. LUCA is Local Update of Census Addresses a Census activity designed to 

improve the master address file used by the Census once each 10 years. 
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 19

NAD Impact and Results

Impact of the NAD would be threefold. First, each federal agency could get the latest address database 

possible. Second, none of the agencies would have to send requests to the county staff at all. This 

should save considerable work time for federal employees. Third, county staff would not have to 

expend effort to be certain the right county department responds to the request. On the county side of 

the equation, this could save anywhere from 2 - 6 days of work for one employee annually. 

Financial estimates related to a NAD:

1. Lexington County - fulfilling requests with NAD/ annual savings $ 1,300

2. Lexington County - not doing LUCA each Census/each 10 years $29,000

There are more than 3,000 counties that would eliminate Item 1 each year, resulting in estimated 

savings exceeding $3.9 million annually to counties nationwide. 

National savings to counties from not doing LUCA each Census (Item 2) are estimated to exceed $40 

million. Note: not all counties participate in LUCA, so the actual number of LUCA participants was used 

to estimate these savings.

The “savings to counties” includes budget and staff time that does not have to be allocated for that 

particular task. By “saving time and budget” on one activity (in this case, fulfilling federal agency 

requests for data), counties can allocate that staff time toward NG911 and other evolving technologies. 

There are also significant savings for items 1 and 2 on the federal side. Examples of these savings, 

including cost savings related to LUCA, were identified in Use Case 1. 
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 20

Use Case 7: Boone County Missouri - Master Address Database Voter 

Registration Integration 

Introduction and Need

The Boone County Clerk and the Voter Registration Office is responsible for overseeing a registered 

voter population of 100,711 (2012 General Election) in an area covering 691 square miles of 

suburban/rural mix in central Missouri just north of the state capital. Although Missouri counties are 

not subject to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Boone County has sustained challenges related to 

balancing the voters-per-polling location and varied election turnout numbers and keeping accurate 

voter precinct assignments based on addresses for all voters, including an ever growing and changing 

student population of the University of Missouri. In 2001, with strong support by the County Clerk, 

Boone County began the development of a GIS Master Address Database. The project, which originally 

began in 2002 as a two-month outsourced project with a price cap of $4,400, quickly turned into more 

than the vendor bargained for. It ultimately took internal staff until 2006 to complete the development 

and field verification of the dataset. After a number of years of additional dataset review, in 2011 the 

Boone County Clerk and the Voter Registration Office began the integration of the GIS Master Address 

Database into their existing election information system and elections related GIS datasets to support 

the County’s 2010 decennial Census reapportionment and subsequent GIS precinct and district 

realignment. Unfortunately, although growing in popularity at the local and county levels, the 

availability of accurate and up-to-date address data is fragmented at the national level. 

Current Situation and Challenges

Since the master address database was integrated into the voter registration system, the Voter 

Registration Office has identified and reviewed more than 4,000 records where the voting precinct for a 

given address did not match the underlying mapping or didn’t match an existing address in the GIS. 

Another challenge that was resolved was the requirement that within the voter registration system, the 

address given by the voter must be entered and stored as provided, even if spelled incorrectly, 

contained erroneous information, or missed key 

elements of the address. This was achieved by a 

series of data integrity processes that identified 

records with non-standard, voter-provided 

addresses and linked them to the corresponding 

official address from the master address database,

while still retaining the address originally provided 

by the voter. The master address database was 

also used to develop projections of precinct voter 

populations to adjust precinct boundaries, 

optimize polling locations based on expected 

turnouts, and to standardize the street name and 

address range information within the voter 

registration system that is used to determine 

where voters reside. 

NAD Impact and Results

Antipathy toward taxation without representation was one of the founding principles of our nation. It 

continues today in County Clerk Offices everyday as new voters register to vote or existing voters move 

to new addresses and have to be assigned to their correct voting district and precinct. The election 
NGAC National Address Database Use Case Paper – December 2014 21

system has undergone significant technological advances since the first election. A NAD would further 

ensure that every citizen is consistently and accurately assigned to the correct voting precinct and are 

able to vote for all of the Election Day ballot items pertinent to their address. 

Voter registration and election related geography is continually changing between elections as new 

annexations are recorded or new tax entities are enacted. It is critical to the successful management of 

this process that the spatial and attribute information contained within the master address database is 

accurate, current and accessible. On the local, state, and national scale, this will reduce staff demands 

to answer phone calls and office visits by voters leading up to and on Election Day. Another area where 

savings will be realized is related to the Voter Rights Act and its requirement that all registered voters 

receive sample ballots prior to each election. An authoritative standardized NAD that is used by both 

the County Clerk and USPS would reduce issues with addresses failing pre-authorization tests needed to 

be eligible for USPS bulk rate discounts, and would also reduce the number of ballots returned by the 

USPS due to incorrect addresses. Furthermore, support and integration of the NAD into an International 

NAD (InterNAD) would aid in the compliance with the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 

Act and the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act by improving the effective and timely 

delivery of absentee ballots.