AddressBase Documentation
Here you will find all documentation for the AddressBase product.
Product nearing its End of Life (withdrawal) date
The AddressBase product will become End of Life on 29 November 2027. As of this date, Ordnance Survey will cease to maintain or publish updates to the product.
Further information and details about the recommended product migration pathway are available on the End of Life Notice – AddressBase page.
AddressBase provides a current view of all Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF) addresses that have been matched to the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) and One Scotland Gazetteer (OSG). The product provides Royal Mail attribution as well as enhancing the Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF) data with X and Y coordinates on the British National Grid and ETRS89 coordinate reference system and providing the classification of an address to a primary level. It also provides a primary level classification.
This product will provide you with a single view of an address, allow you to locate this address on a map to give you a geographic view and carry out primary analysis on the function of the address to determine, for example, residential from commercial properties.
This product is updated every six weeks.
Please see the AddressBase Getting Started Guide for instructions on how to load and work with AddressBase data; this is a composite guide for AddressBase, AddressBase Plus and AddressBase Plus Islands.
Precision identification
Identify a property and locate it on a map with precision – using the X and Y coordinates we’ve assigned to the Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF) data.
Understand the nation with PAF
Every address geo data record provides Royal Mail address information from PAF, the Unique Delivery Point Reference Number (UDPRN) and X and Y coordinates.
Track customer data
Using the basic classifications in AddressBase you can quickly filter between residential and commercial addresses, which is ideal for marketing purposes.
Reduce marketing costs
Our basic classifications – residential or commercial – will reduce the costs and increase the effectiveness of your direct marketing.
Confidence in data
In customer services, the need for accuracy is paramount. Have confidence in your front-line staff’s ability to look up addresses on a database of millions, quickly and efficiently.
Reduce marketing costs
Our basic classifications – residential or commercial – will reduce the costs and increase the effectiveness of your direct marketing.
Confidence in data
In customer services, the need for accuracy is paramount. Have confidence in your front-line staff’s ability to look up addresses on a database of millions, quickly and efficiently.
Access: Download via the OS Data Hub via the OS Data Hub
Data theme: Address
Data structure: Vector – Points
Coverage: Great Britain
Scale: 1:1 250 to 1: 10 000
Format: CSV, GML 3.2.1
Ordering area: All of Great Britain or customisable area (5km² tiles or user-defined polygon)
Publication: Monthly
House to flat conversions
To find out details such as houses that have been converted to flats, you'll need AddressBase Plus. it includes current properties and addresses sourced from local authorities, Ordnance Survey and Royal Mail. These are all matched to the UPRN and structured in a flat-file model.
AddressBase Plus has more records than AddressBase as it includes objects without postal addresses such as places of worship and community centres – as well as sub-divided properties. It lets you locate an address or property on a map, through the assigned X and Y coordinates.
Crucially, the cross-referencing information with OS MasterMap products via Topographic Identifiers (TOIDs) means you can view address data within a wider context.
Paying Royal Mail royalties as a commercial customer
Royal Mail royalties are included in the licence fee. A separate Royal Mail royalty fee applies if you license the AddressBase data on External Transaction Solution (ETS) terms.
File size
If the file size of your order is smaller than 2Gb, you can get it from our FTP server. in addition, public sector customers can download 5km chunk orders via our download service.
Data from Royal Mail’s PAF
The database is a vital component of the single address gazetteer database and is in each of the AddressBase products where there has been a match confirming the address to the LLPG address.
How to get this product
Access to this product is free for PSGA (Public Sector Geospatial Agreement) Members. You can check if your organisation is a member of the PSGA on the OS website.
AddressBase will reach its end of life in Autumn 2027. Until then you can access the data via the OS Data Hub.
Sample data
Download AddressBase sample data
You can download sample data for the product for free from the OS Data Hub. The sample data are available in CSV format and cover one area (Exeter).
Visualise AddressBase sample data online
This product is available to try out free online using one of our three sets of sample data (Exeter, Newport and Inverness) through the OS MasterMap Product Viewer:
Other ways to access this data
AddressBase will reach its end of life in November 2027. We recommend that customers migrate to the OS NGD Address Theme as its new Royal Mail Address Feature Type is a direct replacement for AddressBase. The feature type contains data that enables you to access Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF) content, alongside Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) and limited additional attribution, similar to the information contained within AddressBase. Benefits to using OS NGD's Royal Mail Address Feature Type data over AddressBase data are listed on the AddressBase End of Life notification.
What's next?
To access documentation and resources relating to this product, please refer to the following:
New users should start with the Fundamentals pages to gain high-level insight into AddressBase products. The Getting Started Guide will help you to begin using product data in different software systems. The Technical Specification contains detailed technical insights.
Last updated
Was this helpful?