Requirements for using the data

What you need to use Code-Point Open

Code-Point Open is a data product and does not include software for analysis but can be used with a variety of programs. Code-Point Open can be loaded into a GIS (geographical information system) for display and analysis of the data. Consult your GIS documentation to establish actual system requirements.

Supply mechanism

Code-Point Open is only available as national cover of Great Britain. The product is supplied in two formats (CSV and GeoPackage) as an online download from the OS Data Hub.

Product update schedule

Updates are supplied quarterly (February, May, August and November) and provided as a complete resupply. Any postcode that is deleted between supplies will not be included.

Coverage and file sizes

Code-Point Open covers postcodes for Great Britain. In CSV format, postcodes are divided into postcode areas and supplied as 120 files. GeoPackage format is a self-contained database.

The approximate file sizes of the respective data formats are as follows:

• CSV: 153MB

• GeoPackage: 257MB

Available formats

CSV

The structure of Code-Point Open supplied in CSV is described in the product's Technical Specification.

GeoPackage

The structure of Code-Point Open supplied in GeoPackage is described in the product's Technical Specification.

Code-Point Open data structure

CSV

The Code-Point Open CSV format contains two folders in the root directory: Doc and Data.

The Doc folder contains the following files:

• Codelist.xlsx – Lookup table of Government Statistical Service (GSS) codes.

• Code-Point_Open_Column_Headers.csv – Description of column headers.

• licence.txt – Important licence information.

• metadata.txt – Number of postcode units in each postcode area.

• NHS_Codelist.xls – Lookup table of health GSS codes.

• readme.txt – Summary of supplied data.

The Data folder contains the following sub-folder:

• CSV – 120 postcode area files in CSV format.

GeoPackage

The Code-Point Open GeoPackage format contains the following text file in the root directory:

• Readme.txt – Summary of supplied data and two folders: Doc and Data.

The Doc folder contains the following files:

• Codelist.xlsx – Lookup table of GSS codes.

• Code-Point_Open_Column_Headers.csv – Description of column headers.

• Licence.txt – Important licence information.

• Metadata.txt – Number of postcode units in each postcode area.

• NHS_Codelist.xls – Lookup table of health GSS codes.

The Data folder contains the following file:

• Codepo_gb.gpkg – One postcode area file in GeoPackage format.