> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.os.uk/more-than-maps/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.os.uk/more-than-maps/using-addressing/which-address-product-should-i-use.md). # Which address product should I use? {% hint style="warning" %} **Products nearing their End of Life (withdrawal) date** The AddressBase, AddressBase Plus and AddressBase Plus Islands products will become End of Life on 29 November 2027. As of this date, Ordnance Survey will cease to maintain or publish updates to the products. Further information and details about the recommended product migration pathway are available on the End of Life Notice pages for [AddressBase](https://docs.os.uk/os-downloads/resources/product-resources/end-of-life-product-notices/end-of-life-notice-addressbase), [AddressBase Plus](https://docs.os.uk/os-downloads/resources/product-resources/end-of-life-product-notices/end-of-life-notice-addressbase-plus) and [AddressBase Plus Islands](https://docs.os.uk/os-downloads/resources/product-resources/end-of-life-product-notices/end-of-life-notice-addressbase-plus-islands). {% endhint %} ## Addressing Product Overview OS NGD (National Geographic Database) Address, AddressBase Products, and the OS Places API provide an accurate and authoritative view of addressing for land and property features. Each product is suited to different tasks. * OS NGD Address offers the most comprehensive view of UK addressing and is designed to align with other OS NGD themes and collections. It is the preferred option for migration from AddressBase or AddressBase Plus, which are becoming end of life. * AddressBase Premium offers a comparably rich view of UK addressing including historic and lifecycle information, and is closely integrated with OS MasterMap. * AddressBase Core provides a simpler alternative of GB addressing for users who need authoritative address data but do not require the full historic depth or lifecycle detail. * OS Places API provides access to AddressBase Premium data with up to daily updates. It is suited to public‑facing applications that require the most up‑to‑date address information without storing data locally. Each product has specific attributes based on customer requirements:

Attribute	AddressBase Core	AddressBase Premium	OS NGD Address Theme	OS NGD Address: Royal Mail Address Feature Type	OS Places API
Source Data	Local Authority, Royal Mail	Local Authority, Royal Mail, OS	Local Authority, Royal Mail, OS	Royal Mail with LA derived attribution	Local Authority, Royal Mail, OS
UPRN	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
Local Authority current Addresses	✔️	✔️	✔️		✔️
Royal Mail PAF		✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
UDPRN – Royal Mail’s unique identifier	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
Royal Mail Not Yet Built and Multiple Residence			✔️	✔️
Single Line Address	✔️		✔️	✔️
Objects without postal addresses		✔️	✔️		✔️
Simple Classification	✔️	✔️	✔️		✔️
Advanced Classification		✔️	✔️		✔️
Cross-reference with third party datasets	✔️	✔️	✔️		✔️
Alternate address		✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
Lifecycle data		✔️	✔️		✔️
Geometry	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
Daily Updates			✔️	✔️	✔️

## Using the different address products {% tabs %} {% tab title="OS NGD Address" %} #### OS NGD Address The [OS NGD Address Theme](https://docs.os.uk/osngd/data-structure/address) provides a complete and definitive view of UK address data. It is designed to underpin a range of analytical use cases and provide the most detailed view of an address across its lifecycle. | | | | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | Approximate records | 43 million | | Currency | Up to daily | | Supply | Full (GeoPackage and CSV) or COU (CSV) | | Format | CSV or GeoPackage, Full GB coverage or Area of Interest | | Unique Identifier | UPRN, USRN, UDPRN, UMRRN, OSID, TOID | #### Choose OS NGD Address to: * Understand past, present, and future land and property use, including pre‑build and historic properties. * Access a single‑line address field. * Analyse change over time using the full UPRN lifecycle and COU data. * Access the most complete view of UK addressing, including non‑postal objects and alternative addresses. * Link addressing with other OS NGD themes and collections. * Access daily updates to addressing data. * Access the entire Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF) data. * Migrate from AddressBase products which are becoming end of life, and build with the future in mind. #### May not be the best choice if you: * Require an LPI key for your use case, however there are alternative ways to get unique identifiers for alternate addresses. * Require a relational database format for your addressing data. #### Tips * The download service of OS Select+Build lets you access only the NGD data you need e.g. built address, historical address or non-addressable objects, without having to download it all. You can also filter your data before ordering it. * OS NGD data has an extensive online documentation [platform](https://docs.os.uk/osngd) with common data structure and metadata across themes. {% endtab %} {% tab title="AddressBase Premium" %} #### AddressBase Premium & AddressBase Premium Islands [AddressBase Premium](https://docs.os.uk/os-downloads/products/addresses-and-names-portfolio/addressbase-premium) holds the address records from Royal Mail’s Postcode Address File, all address records from the Local Authority Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG), and objects without postal addresses, for the entire UK. You can use AddressBase Premium for tasks that require the need to identify past and present property use, planned building construction, and historic addresses because it includes all LPI records. AddressBase Premium, unlike the other three products, gives you the ability to look at how land and property use changes over time, by offering data associated with the full UPRN lifecycle. | | | | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | Approximate records | 42 million | | Currency | Every 6 weeks | | Supply | Full (GML or GeoPackage) or COU (csv) | | Format | CSV, GML or GeoPackage, Full GB coverage or Area of Interest | | Unique Identifier | UPRN, USRN, TOID | #### Choose AddressBase Premium if you need to: * Understand past, present, and future land and property use, including pre‑build and historic properties. * Analyse change over time using the full UPRN lifecycle and COU data. * Access the most complete view of UK addressing, including non‑postal objects and alternative addresses. * Combine addressing with other OS data using TOIDs to cross‑reference to OS MasterMap and Highways data. #### May not be the best choice if you: * Only require current postal delivery addresses and no lifecycle or historic insight. * Need a simpler schema with fewer tables and attributes. * Are building lightweight applications where data volume and processing complexity are a concern. * Do not need access to non‑addressable objects, planning data, or historic records. #### Tips * AddressBase Premium is the largest and most complex AddressBase dataset and requires more storage, processing, and data management effort. * To get full value, users should work across multiple tables, not only the DPA and LPI tables. * Understanding attributes such as BLPU State, Logical Status, and classification schemas is key to effective analysis. {% endtab %} {% tab title="AddressBase Core" %} #### AddressBase Core [AddressBase Core](https://docs.os.uk/os-downloads/products/addresses-and-names-portfolio/addressbase-core) holds the address records for Great Britain from Royal Mail’s Postcode Address File (PAF) and current address records from the Local Authority Land and Property Gazetteer. AddressBase Core is available weekly, allowing you to hold the latest data on a more regular basis than the other AddressBase products. AddressBase Core contains an attribute for a single line address, removing the need to concatenate fields to create one. Use AddressBase Core for tasks that would benefit from a single line address field. | | | | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | Approximate records | 33 million | | Currency | weekly | | Supply | Full (GeoPackage) or COU (csv) | | Format | CSV or GeoPackage, Full GB coverage or Area of Interest | | Unique Identifier | UPRN, USRN, TOID | #### Choose AddressBase Core if you: * Need current property addresses from Royal Mail’s Postcode Address File (PAF) and the Local Authority Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG). * Want a single‑line address field. * Need regularly refreshed data, with weekly updates. * Want to work with current addresses only. * Need to link addresses to other OS products using TOID and USRN, or to statistical datasets using GSS codes. #### May not be the best choice if you: * Need historic, lifecycle, pre‑built address information. * Require detailed address hierarchy or lifecycle analysis. * Need the full depth and attribution available in AddressBase Premium or OS Address (NGD). * Need addressing data for Northern Ireland, Isle of Man or Channel Islands. #### Tips * Use the classification field to refine and filter your data. * The GeoPackage format makes it easy to load into a GIS using drag‑and‑drop and visualise coordinate geometry. * Use alongside the OS Maps API to add contextual mapping. {% endtab %} {% tab title="OS Places API" %} #### OS Places API [OS Places API](https://docs.os.uk/os-apis/accessing-os-apis/os-places-api) contains AddressBase Premium data for GB and Islands. You can use the API to make requests using a full or partial address, a postcode, or a UPRN. You can use either the Royal Mail Delivery Point Address (DPA) or Local Authority (LPI) address (Royal Mail is the default). Your searches can also find addresses closest to a given point, or all addresses within a defined area. | | | | ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Approximate records | 42 million | | Currency | Daily | | Format | API | | Accessed |

WEB URL – JSON

IDE – JSON

QGIS – OS Address Search plugin

Esri – OS Places Connector

| #### Choose OS Places API to: * Support searches using: Full or partial address, Postcode, UPRN, Royal Mail Delivery Point Address (DPA, default) or Local Authority Property Identifier (LPI). * Enable proximity searches, such as finding addresses closest to a point or within a defined area. * Perform quick address searches and lookups. * Support web mapping and website address search functionality. * Maintain an address database without the need to store address data locally. #### OS Places API may not be the best choice for: * Bulk address datasets for large‑scale analysis. * Workflows requiring historic change, lifecycle analysis, or COU data. * Workflows where full control over schema, tables, and attributes is required. #### Tips * Include enough detail to narrow results. Postcodes can cover up to 99 properties, so add a street name and building name or number where possible. * Avoid overly complex inputs. Information not held in the dataset, such as floor or room numbers, can reduce search accuracy. * If results are not as expected, try simplifying the search to building name, street, and postcode, as organisation names may change over time. #### Example

{% endtab %} {% endtabs %} ## OS NGD Address - Key differences to AddressBase * Easier to implement with plug and play. * Up to daily updates to the data. * Richer attribution in plain language and simplified data model makes it easier to understand the data and there's no need to be an addressing expert. * The OS NGD Address theme is split into separate feature types by lifecycle and address status to give users a choice of how they want to take the data without taking the full dataset. * New cross-references make it easy to link OS NGD Address data with other OS NGD collections. * Contains entire Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF) data. As of October 2026, the OS NGD also contains Royal Mail's Not Yet Built (NYB) and Multiple Residence (MR) data. For a more detailed comparison between AddressBase and OS NGD Address, see [here](https://docs.os.uk/more-than-maps/os-ngd-migration/comparison-of-end-of-life-address-products). ## Find out more [OS NGD Documentation](https://docs.os.uk/osngd) [OS Data Hub](https://osdatahub.os.uk/) [GitHub](https://github.com/OrdnanceSurvey/osngd-resources) *** This content has been developed from what was originally a Lightning Talk PowerPoint slide set. These slides are available to PSGA members to view and download from the [PSGA members area of the OS website](https://auth.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/my.policy) --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters: ``` GET https://docs.os.uk/more-than-maps/using-addressing/which-address-product-should-i-use.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.