Code-Point with Polygons Documentation
Here you will find all documentation for the Code-Point with Polygons product.
Product nearing its End of Life (withdrawal) date
The Code-Point with Polygons product will become End of Life on 31 March 2028. As of this date, Ordnance Survey will cease to maintain or publish updates, and access to the product will be removed from the OS Data Hub.
Further information and details about the recommended product migration pathway are available from the End of Life Notice – Code-Point with Polygons page.
Code-Point with Polygons is a dataset that contains the notional area of postcode units in Great Britain, designed to allow customers to display and analyse any data collected at the postcode level. Polygons within this product are derived from georeferenced Royal Mail Postal Address File (PAF) delivery addresses and processed using a Thiessen process to create mathematically consistent boundaries between distinct postcode groups as a notional boundary set.
The polygon data coverage is Great Britain for all formats; the associated Code-Point points coverage is for the United Kingdom (as it includes Northern Ireland postcodes) for all formats apart from GeoPackage, which is Great Britain coverage only, not Northern Ireland.
Publication months
This product is updated quarterly in January, April, July and October.
Please note that the January 2028 release will be the final release of Code-Point with Polygons; more information about the product withdrawal timeline and the recommended product migration pathway is available from the End of Life Notice – Code-Point with Polygons page.
Visualise postcode extents
Code-Point with Polygons provides notional extents for every postcode unit in Great Britain for easy visualisation and analysis at a national scale.
Vertical street polygons
Vertical street polygons allow easy identification of multiple postcodes within the same building.
Precise polygon data
Postcode polygons are created using the addresses we can locate precisely, creating high confidence in the accuracy of the data.
Manage your risks better
Display postcode boundaries on a map, then add contours and your own claims data. This is a great way to identify low-lying postcodes, so you can quote for insurance at a price that reflects higher flood risks.
You can use the product to:
Analyse geographically based information or statistics by postcode
Display information that has been analysed or sorted by postcode
Access: Download via the OS Data Hub
Data theme: Administrative and Statistical Units
Data structure: Vector – Polygons and points
Coverage: Great Britain for polygons data and GeoPackage format of points data; UK for points data:
Shapefile
120 files covering Great Britain
121 (CSV) files covering the United Kingdom
MapInfo MID / MIF
120 files covering Great Britain
121 (CSV) files covering the United Kingdom
MapInfo TAB file
120 files covering Great Britain
121 (CSV) files covering the United Kingdom
Vector tiles
Single MBTiles file covering Great Britain
121 (CSV) files covering the United Kingdom
GeoPackage
Single database table covering Great Britain
Single database table covering Great Britain
Scale: 1:1 250 to 1:10 000
Format: Shapefile, MapInfo MID / MIF, MapInfo TAB file, vector tiles (MBTiles), GeoPackage (GPKG)
Ordering area: All of Great Britain for polygons data and GeoPackage format of points data; UK for points data
Publication months: January, April, July, October
Product nearing its End of Life (withdrawal) date
Please note that the January 2028 release will be the final release of Code-Point with Polygons; more information about the product withdrawal timeline and the recommended product migration pathway is available from the End of Life Notice – Code-Point with Polygons page.
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.
The Code-Point with Polygons product page on the OS website has advice on how to get the product for businesses, developers, OS Partners and PSGA Members (i.e. government and the public sector).
Sample data
Download Code-Point with Polygons sample data
You can download sample data for the product for free from the OS Data Hub. The sample data are available in ESRI Shapefile, MIF and TAB formats and cover three areas (Exeter, Newport and Inverness).
Visualise Code-Point with Polygons 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
API
OS National Geographic Database (OS NGD) postcode point and polygon data for Great Britain is available via an API: OS NGD API – Features. Visit the OS API docs site to unlock programmatic access to rich geospatial data and integrate OS data and services into your applications.
OS NGD
Access to postcode polygon data is now available through the Postcode Unit Area Feature Type of the OS NGD. The feature type has full Great Britain coverage. Polygons within this feature type are derived from georeferenced Royal Mail PAF delivery addresses and include the whole building associated with a delivery point.
You may find OS NGD data more accessible and easier to use with databases and GIS software than Code-Point with Polygons. Visit the OS NGD docs site to discover how to access the OS NGD and learn what's available.
What's next?
To access documentation and resources relating to this product, please refer to the following:
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