Product structure

Attributes

Attribute	Description
Postcode	Contains elements for postal area, district, sector, and unit.
Positional quality indicator (PQI)	A flag used to indicate the positional accuracy of the coordinates allocated to each postcode record.
Easting	Distance in metres east of National Grid origin.
Northing	Distance in metres north of National Grid origin.
Country code	Code used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to identify the country in which the Code-Point Open georeferenced coordinates lies.
NHS regional health authority code	English Pan Strategic Health Authority in which Code-Point Location Coordinate (CPLC) falls.
NHS health authority code	English Strategic Health Authority or Scottish Health Board in which CPLC falls.
Administrative county code*	County in which CPLC falls.
Administrative district code*	Unitary Authority, Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan District, London Borough, or Scottish Council Area in which CPLC falls.
Administrative ward code*	Electoral Ward or Division in which CPLC falls.

An asterisk (*) indicates that the attribute is blank when the entity does not have a code. The Welsh Local Health Boards are included in Code-Point Open.

Each postcode unit location – also known as CPLC (Code-Point Location Coordinate) – is coordinated on the respective National Grid, with Eastings and Northings quoted to a resolution of 1m. The accuracy of each postcode unit coordinate pair is defined by the positional quality indicator (PQI), which provides a quality statement of that Code-Point Open record. There are seven PQI values for the positional quality:

PQI	Description
10	Within the building of the matched address closest to the postcode mean determined automatically by Ordnance Survey.
20	As above but determined by visual inspection by National Records of Scotland (NRS).
30	Approximate to within 50m of the true position (postcodes relating to developing sites may be within 100m of true position).
40	The mean of the positions of addresses previously matched in PALF but which have subsequently been deleted or recoded (very rarely used).
50	Estimated position based on surrounding postcode coordinates, usually to 100m resolution, but 10m in Scotland.
60	Postcode sector mean.
90	No coordinates available.