In this world where even dogs and toddlers can be pre-approved for credit cards, it’s important to register the names of loved ones who have passed on in order to get junk mail in their name to stop arriving. The Direct Marketer’s Association maintains a free “Deceased Do Not Contact List” that friends, family members and caregivers can used to stop the name of someone who has passed on from being passed around by junk mailers.

To use it, just enter in the person’s name(s), address, date of passing and their age at death. Then enter identifying information about yourself as well. A confirmation will be sent to your email address – use a disposable one like at mailinator.com if you like – and the information will get added to a “do not contact” list passed around to DMA members. The list is updated every three months so after that time you should expect to see a dropoff in mailings.

It won’t completely eliminate junk mail to the person as not all junk mailers are part of DMA, but it should make a decent dent in it. Also, the reader who tipped us off is still among the living and had just put himself on it, so that’s another use of this list as well.

Deceased Do Not Contact Registration [dmachoice]

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