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GeoPackage is an open, standard, platform-independent, portable, self-describing, compact format for transferring geospatial information. For more information on this format, please see the Getting started with GeoPackage guide, available here.
The following tables give a comparison between the CSV attributes and the GeoPackage attribution.
| Mnemonic | Description | Data type | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
Those fields containing text (A) will be enclosed by double quotes which have not been included in the sizes listed in the table above. An asterisk (*) denotes variable length.
Fields with null data will appear as "" for text and 0 for numeric.
Each record will be terminated with a carriage return character (ASCII 13) and a line feed character (ASCII 10).
Example of a Code-Point CSV record: "SO160AS",10,"N",1,1,0,1,0,1,0,437292,115542,"E92000001","E19000002","E18000009","E10000014","E07000093","E05012936","L"
Note that there are no eastings or northings in GeoPackage; the geometry is already created in the GeoPackage container and is not listed as data but will be seen as a column in a database (PostGIS) called geom with a coordinate reference system of British National Grid EPSG: 27700 for GB postcodes.
Also supplied with the GeoPackage is the Code-Point data for Northern Ireland. This is already projected in Irish Grid EPSG: 29902 so will display in the correct position for this region.
Fields with a null value will appear as [Null] for text (PostGIS) or as an empty field in a GIS. A null numeric value will appear as 0 in both a database and an attribute table in a GIS. Example of a GeoPackage record taken from the Information tool in QGIS:
The FeatureID (FID) is autogenerated by a GIS when the GeoPackage is loaded into it; it is not present in the GeoPackage.
| Description | Data type | Size |
|---|---|---|
PC
Postcode
A8
8
PQ
Postitional_quality_indicator
I2
1
PR
PO_Box_indicator
A1
1
TP
Total_number_of_delivery_points
I3
*
DQ
Delivery_points_used_to_create_the_CPLC
I3
*
RP
Domestic_delivery_points
I3
*
BP
Non_domestic_delivery_points
I3
*
PD
PO_Box_delivery_points
I3
*
MP
Matched_address_premises
I3
*
UM
Unmatched_delivery_points
I3
*
EA
Eastings
I6
*
NO
Northings
I7
*
CY
Country_code
A9
9
RH
NHS_regional_HA_code
A9
9
LH
NHS_HA_code
A9
9
CC
Admin_county_code
A9
9
DC
Admin_district_code
A9
9
WC
Admin_ward_code
A9
9
LS
Postcode_type
A1
1
postcode
TEXT
8
positional_quality_indicator
TINYINT
1
po_box_indicator
TEXT
1
total_number_of_delivery_points
TINYINT
*
delivery_points_used_to_create_the_cplc
TINYINT
*
domestic_delivery_points
TINYINT
*
non_domestic_delivery_points
TINYINT
*
po_box_delivery_points
TINYINT
*
matched_address_premises
TINYINT
*
unmatched_delivery_points
TINYINT
*
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
country_code
TEXT
9
nhs_regional_ha_code
TEXT
9
nhs_ha_code
TEXT
9
admin_county_code
TEXT
9
admin_district_code
TEXT
9
admin_ward_code
TEXT
9
postcode_type
TEXT
1
Code-Point is available in the following formats:
Comma-separated values (CSV)
GeoPackage (GPKG)
Code-Point is only available as national cover of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The product is supplied in two formats (CSV and GeoPackage) as an online download from the OS Data Hub. Alternatively, you can request a DVD of the product in CSV format from OS Orders.
The GeoPackage format of the product is not available as a DVD supply option.
The product is provided as a complete resupply. Any postcode that is deleted between supplies will not be included.
Code-Point is supplied to customers quarterly (in February, May, August, and November), incorporating updates from georeferenced Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF) and GridLink. GridLink is a joint consortium dataset that provides geospatially referenced postcode data, consisting of UK postcodes, administration areas and health authority codes. The GridLink Consortium comprises Royal Mail, Ordnance Survey, the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Land & Property Services (LPS), and National Records of Scotland (NRS). Each consortium member supplies component data to create the GridLink dataset.
Administrative and health authority codes are allocated to postcodes using a point in polygon comparison against Boundary-Line data.
Code-Point covers postcodes for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Postcodes are divided into postcode areas and supplied as 121 files.
The approximate file sizes of the respective data formats are as follows:
CSV: 198MB
GeoPackage: 290MB
The header file for CSV can be downloaded from theCode-Point Product Support page on the OS website.
There are two folders in the root directory: Doc and Data. The Doc folder contains the following files:
CD_INFO.TXT: Note about the data on this DVD
Codelist.xls: Lookup table of GSS Codes
NHS_Codelist.xls: Lookup table of Health GSS Codes
metadata.txt: Number of postcode units in each postcode area
Readfirst.txt: Summary of copyright, licence, and data format information
DISCCARE.TXT: Contains information on the care of DVDs The Data folder contains the following sub-folder:
CSV: 121 Postcode area files in CSV format
There are two folders in the root directory: Doc and Data. The Doc folder contains the following files:
Codelist.xlsx: Lookup table of GSS Codes
NHS_Codelist.xls: Lookup table of Health GSS Codes
metadata.txt: Number of postcode units in each postcode area
Readfirst.txt: Summary of copyright, licence, and data format information The Data folder contains the following file:
UK_CODEPOINT.gpkg: One postcode area file in GeoPackage format
This getting started guide provides instructions for using Code-Point in different software applications. Users with limited technical knowledge will be able to follow this guide.
Code-Point locates over 1.7 million postcode units for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, each having a notional geographical location. Postcodes are an alphanumeric abbreviated form of an address. Postcode units are unique references and identify an average of 15 addresses. In some cases, where an address receives a substantial amount of mail, a postcode will apply to only one address and is defined as a large-user postcode. The maximum number of addresses in a postcode is 100.
This getting started guide focuses on using the product in comma-separated values (CSV) format. For guidance on using the product in GeoPackage format, please see the guide.
| Product | Code-Point Open | Code-Point | Code-Point with Polygons |
|---|
Postcode unit | X | X | X |
Eastings and Northings | X | X | X |
Positional quality indicator | X | X | X |
Local government codes | X | X | X |
NHS codes | X | X | X |
PO Box |
| X | X |
Domestic delivery points per postcode unit |
| X | X |
Non-domestic delivery points per postcode unit |
| X | X |
Northern Ireland coverage |
| X |
|
Polygons |
|
| X |
Vertical street look-up table |
|
| X |
Code-Point is only available as national cover of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The product is supplied in two formats (CSV and GeoPackage) as an online download from the OS Data Hub. Alternatively, you can request a DVD of the product in CSV format only from OS Orders.
The GeoPackage format of the product is not available as a DVD supply option.
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.
Code-Point covers postcodes for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In CSV format, postcodes are divided into postcode areas and supplied as 121 files. GeoPackage format is a self-contained database.
The approximate file sizes of the respective data formats are as follows:
CSV: 198MB
GeoPackage: 290MB
Code-Point is a data product and does not include software for analysis but can be used with a variety of programs. Code-Point 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.
Postcodes are stored in Code-Point as alphanumerical values with a maximum length of eight characters (the number of characters in a postcode can vary from six to eight). A postcode contains two parts:
The outcode (also called outward code): The first two to four characters of the postcode, constituting the postcode area and the postcode district. It is the part of the postcode that enables mail to be sent from the accepting office to the correct area for delivery.
The incode (also called inward code): The last three characters of the postcode, constituting the postcode sector and the postcode unit. It is used to sort mail at the local delivery office.
For example:
| Outcode | Incode | ||
|---|---|---|---|
When used in an address, the incode is always separated from the outcode by a single space e.g NW6 4DP. The single space counts as a character.
The following table provides a list of the valid formats of postcodes. In the first two columns, an A indicates an alphabetic character, while an N indicates a numeric character. The last column shows how many characters each example postcode contains.
| Outcode | Incode | Example postcode | Number of characters in the example postcode |
|---|---|---|---|
Each postcode unit will be allocated a National Grid reference of a point that falls within the notional extent of the postcode unit, given as an Easting and Northing. This point is the co-ordinate of the nearest delivery point to the calculated mean position of the delivery points in the postcode unit. These coordinates are provided to a resolution of 1 metre.
Where several postcode units apply to one surveyed position (for example, a block of flats or offices), there is an identical location for each. However, there may be instances where the location is imprecise or approximate, due to the manual allocation by Royal Mail of a postcode outside the recognised geographical extent of that postcode. There may also be a small number of instances where coordinates cannot be allocated.
The accuracy of each postcode unit coordinate pair is defined by the Positional Quality indicator (PQI), which provides a quality statement for the position of that Code-Point record. There are seven PQI values for the positional quality. A lower positional quality indicator will be allocated to postcode units awaiting a surveyed position, or which relate to addresses that do not have a surveyed position. Full details of the PQI can be found in the technical specification.
The coordinates for postcodes in Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland) are provided in British National Grid (BNG). BNG uses the OSGB36 (EPSG 27700) geodetic datum and a single Transverse Mercator projection for the whole of Great Britain. Positions on this projection are described using Easting and Northing coordinates in units of metres. The BNG is a horizontal spatial reference system only; it does not specify a vertical (height) reference system.
The coordinates for postcodes in Northern Ireland (BT postcodes) are provided in the Irish National Grid. When loading the BT postcodes into a GIS, you should select the Irish Grid (EPSG: 29902) for the correct projection. If you do not apply the Irish projection, the BT centroid points will not be correctly positioned. For additional information relating to the Irish Grid Reference System, see the Irish Grid reference document here (PDF download).
As the Code-Point data is supplied in separate .csv files by two-digit grid references, they will require some processing in order to proceed.
The Great Britain .csv files should be combined with the CSV header file, and the Northern Ireland .csv file should be combined with the CSV header file.
See CSV header file for more details and download information.
Before processing the data, create the following folders:
Northern Ireland – move the BT.csv file into this folder.
Great Britain – contains all remaining .csv files for Great Britain (120 in total).
Add the CSV header file (code-point-column-headers.csv) into both folders and precede the name with: aa_
The following is an example of one way to combine all the individual .csv files into a single file by using a .bat batch file.
The .csv file that is created comes to approximately 150 MB, and 1.7 million records. If this is opened in Microsoft Excel, only the first million records can be seen as the software cannot display more than this number of records.
To use the batch function:
Copy the following text and paste it into a new Notepad document: *.csv outputfile.csv
Save the Notepad document with the file extension .bat (for example, combine_csv.bat) in the Great Britain folder containing the 120 Great Britain .csv files.
Close the .bat file and navigate to the Great Britain folder, where it was saved. Double-click on the .bat file and an MS-DOS window will appear. Once the process is complete, the MS-DOS screen will close automatically.
A new CSV file with the name outputfile.csv has now been created within the Great Britain folder.
Repeat this process with the Northern Ireland data.
You will now have two output files ready for uploading into geospatial software (such as QGIS).
Ordnance Survey measures the data in its products in one or more of the ways set out in the below.
| Data measure | Definition | Sub-measure | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
* When testing the data according to the dataset specification against the ‘real world’ or reference dataset.
Metadata, which is ISO 19115 UK GEMINI 2 compliant, can be found at :
Metadata .xml files can be found at:
NW
6
4
DP
Area
District
Sector
Unit
AN
NAA
M2 5BQ
6
ANN
NAA
M34 3AB
7
AAN
NAA
DN5 7XY
7
AANN
NAA
DN16 9AA
8
ANA
NAA
W1A 4WW
7
AANA
NAA
EC1A 1HQ
8
Completeness
Presence and absence of features against the specified data content1
Omission
Features representing objects that conform to the specified data content but are not present in the data.
Commission
Features representing objects that do not conform to the specified data content but are present in the data.
Logical consistency
Degree of adherence to logical rules of data structure, attribution and relationships
Conceptual consistency
How closely the data follows the conceptual rules (or model).
Domain consistency
How closely the data values in the dataset match the range of values in the dataset specification.
Format consistency
The physical structure (syntax): how closely the data stored and delivered fits the database schema and agreed supply formats.
Topological consistency
The explicit topological references between features (connectivity) – according to specification.
Positional accuracy
Accuracy of the position of features
Absolute accuracy
How closely the coordinates of a point in the dataset agree with the coordinates of the same point on the ground (in the British National Grid reference system).
Relative accuracy
Positional consistency of a data point or feature in relation to other local data points or features within the same or another reference dataset.
Geometric fidelity
The ‘trueness’ of features to the shapes and alignments of the objects they represent* .
Temporal accuracy
Accuracy of temporal attributes and temporal relationships of features
Temporal consistency
How well-ordered events are recorded in the dataset (life cycles).
Temporal validity (currency)
Validity of data with respect to time: the amount of real-world change that has been incorporated in the dataset that is scheduled for capture under current specifications.
Thematic accuracy (attribute accuracy)
Classification of features and their attributes
Classification correctness
How accurately the attributes within the dataset record the information about objects*.
There are two folders in the root directory: Doc and Data. The Doc folder contains the following files:
CD_INFO.TXT – Note about the data on this DVD.
Codelist.xls – Lookup table of GSS Codes.
NHS_Codelist.xls – Lookup table of Health GSS Codes.
metadata.txt – Number of postcode units in each postcode area.
Readfirst.txt – Summary of copyright, licence and data format information.
DISCCARE.TXT – Contains information on the care of DVDs The Data folder contains the following sub-folder:
CSV: 121 Postcode area files in CSV format
There are two folders in the root directory: Doc and Data The Doc folder contains the following files:
Codelist.xls – Lookup table of GSS Codes.
metadata.txt – Number of postcode units in each postcode area.
NHS_Codelist.xls – Lookup table of Health GSS Codes.
Readfirst.txt – Summary of copyright, licence and data format information The Data folder contains the following file:
UK_CODEPOINT.gpkg – One postcode area file in GeoPackage format
The structure of Code-Point supplied in CSV is described in the product Technical specification included below.
The structure of Code-Point supplied in GeoPackage is described in the product Technical specification included below.
This header file contains two rows of data:
Header codes
Header descriptive names
| Glossary term | Definition |
|---|---|
Code-Point is a postcode locator that locates over 1.7 million postcode units in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Code-point provides users with information about delivery points within the postcode, positional quality, type, and district codes amongst other key points of postcode-level data.
This product is updated quarterly
Coverage of over 1.7 million postcodes in Great Britain and Northern Ireland updated quarterly – accurate depiction of all live postcodes in GB and NI.
Understand the split of residential and commercial delivery points within a postcode area for a greater depth of analysis.
Combine your statistical and health datasets with postcode data by linking to ONS administrative codes and Health Authority codes provided with Code-Point.
information about the number and type of postal delivery points in the postcode;
a positional quality indicator (PQI), indicating the quality of the data underlying the Code-Point location coordinate (CPLC);
the country indicator (either England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland);
the postcode type;
the National Health Service region and area codes; and
the local government county, district and ward codes.
Code-Point has been widely used in a variety of applications, including:
Site location
Enabling web searches
Market analysis and profiling
Health and epidemiology
Resource allocation
End-to-end journey route planning
Socio-economic profiling
Sales targeting
Access: Download
Data theme: Postcodes
Data structure: Vector - Points
Coverage: Great Britain
Scale: 1:1 250 to 1:10 000
Format: GeoPackage, CSV
Ordering area: All of Great Britain
Publication months: February, May, August, November
OS Data Hub plan: Public Sector Plan, Premium Plan, Energy & Infrastructure Plan
Code-Point includes 121 postcode areas in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but does not include the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.
Until our surveyors have visited the area to complete the very precise large-scale mapping, we allocate a calculated map reference to the postcode that, depending on the level of development in the area, can be somewhat inaccurate. When this has been done, a positional quality indicator in the Code-Point record makes it clear that the coordinates provided are temporary, and will be improved to a full quality match as soon as possible.
Code-Point is created by taking the average of the coordinates of all the individual addresses in a postcode (provided they are of sufficient quality), then snapping to the nearest of those addresses. Code-Point then delivers the coordinates of that address, as representative of the whole postcode, to a resolution of 1 metre.
The accuracy of a Code-Point Open record could be expressed as, that the coordinated position will always be within the notional geographical extent of the postcode. The accuracy of each postcode unit coordinate pair is defined by the positional quality indicator (PQI) which provides a quality statement of a Code-Point record.
These have been issued by ONS for statistical purposes only, because there are no wards on the Isles of Scilly. The Codelist.xls file supplied with Code-Point is generated from Boundary-Line. Boundary-Line does not contain these ward codes as they do not exist for political purposes. Therefore, these codes are not available in the Codelist.xls file supplied in the Doc folder with Code-Point. All other ward codes should exist in both Code-Point and the Codelist.xls file.
Access to this product is free for PSGA members. Find out if you are a PSGA member or find other ways to access Code-Point data by visiting the product page with links to all of the relevant resources.
This technical specification provides detailed technical information about Code-Point. It is targeted at technical users and software developers.
Code-Point is a dataset that contains postcode units for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, each having a notional geographical location. Postcodes are an alphanumeric abbreviated form of an address. Postcode units are unique references and identify an average of 15 addresses. In some cases, where an address receives a substantial amount of mail, a postcode will apply to only one address and is defined as a large-user postcode. The maximum number of addresses in a postcode is 100.
| Attribute | Description |
|---|
Each postcode unit location – also known as CPLC (Code-Point Location Co-ordinate) – 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 record. There are seven PQI values for the positional quality:
The header file, required for use with the CSV format, can be downloaded from the .
| Column | Object definition |
|---|---|
| PQI | Description |
|---|
addressed premise
A permanent or non-permanent building structure with an address being a potential delivery point for Royal Mail. Examples of an addressed premise would be a house, a flat within a block of flats, a caravan site, a bollard to which several houseboats may be moored, or an organisation occupying the whole building.
building
A physical, walled structure connected to foundations that has, or will have, a roof. This definition includes buildings surveyed at foundation stage.
CPLC (Code-Point location coordinate)
A National Grid reference for each postcode unit. It is a two-dimensional coordinated point to a resolution of 1 metre. Coordinates are attributed from Gridlink using an accuracy hierarchy.
Country code
The code used by the Office of National Statistics to indicate the country in which the Code-Point georeference lies. This has replaced the PAF update date field.
Country Code
England E92000001 Scotland S92000003 Wales W92000004 N Ireland N92000002
Comma-separated values (CSV)
The CSV file format is commonly used to exchange data between different applications, for example, Microsoft Excel and Access. Being text files, CSV files can also be viewed in Notepad.
delivery point
A Royal Mail-defined point to which mail is delivered. This may be a property (private address), organisation, mailbox or even, very rarely, the name of an individual. These categories are derived from the Programmers’ Guide from Royal Mail. This is distinct from the addressed premise because there may be more than one organisation at an address.
Gridlink
Gridlink is the name given to a joined-up Government initiative involving Royal Mail, the Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland (NRS), Land & Property Services and Ordnance Survey. All these organisations are involved in the georeferencing of postcodes and the relating of postcodes to administrative and National Health Service areas and so on.
inward code or incode
See postcode.
matched address
An address, resulting from a match between the OS MasterMap Topography Layer data and PAF, which has been allocated a coordinate position. The match may be a result of either manual or automatic matching, the latter encompassing both full and ‘fuzzy logic’ matching.
National Grid reference (NGref)
The National Grid provides a unique reference system that can be applied to all Ordnance Survey maps of Great Britain. The map of Great Britain is covered by 100 km by 100 km grid squares, with the origin lying to the west of the Isles of Scilly. When a National Grid reference is quoted, the easting (left to right direction) is always given before the northing (upwards direction). A National Grid reference (to 1 metre) will identify the spatial position of the CPLC.
non-geographic postcodes
Special non-geographic postcodes are allocated to single organisations who receive an exceptionally large amount of mail. These are included in Code-Point Open.
outward code or outcode
See postcode.
Postcode Address File (PAF)
PAF now contains the postal addresses and postcodes of approximately 28 million delivery points in Great Britain.
Postal Address Location Feed (PALF)
The PAL Feed is provided to Ordnance Survey from GeoPlace, who have geocoded the PAF feed from Royal Mail, using source coordinates from Local Authorities in England, Wales & Scotland and Ordnance Survey.
positional quality indicator (PQI)
The positional quality indicator is a flag used to indicate the positional accuracy of the coordinates allocated to each postcode record. There are seven PQI values for the positional quality of CPLCs.
postal address
A postal address is a delivery point that is currently receiving mail. There may be many delivery points within an individual building structure as shown in OS MasterMap Topography Layer data.
postcode
An abbreviated form of address made up of combinations of between six and eight alphanumeric characters. A postcode may cover between 1 and 100 addresses. The average number of addresses per postcode is 15.
postcode area
An area given a unique alphabetic coding by Royal Mail to facilitate the delivering of mail. The area is identified by one or two alpha characters at the start of the full postcode, the letters being derived from a town, city or district falling within the postcode area. There are, at present, 120 postcode areas in Great Britain, for example, SO for Southampton, MK for Milton Keynes, B for Birmingham or W for London West. The postcode area code constitutes the first part of the outward code.
postcode district
A sub-area of the postcode area, specified by the character sub-string within the first half of a full postcode, which may be numeric, alphabetic or alphanumeric; for example, 42 from MK42 6GH or 1A from W1A 4WW. There are approximately 2 986 postcode districts in Great Britain. Note: There are certain non-geographic districts. In these instances, a district code is allocated to cover all large users in the postcode area.
postcode sector
A sub-area of a postcode district, whose area is identified by the number third from the end of a full postcode. There are approximately 11 200 postcode sectors in Great Britain. An example of a postcode sector code is 3, from GU12 3DH.
postcode unit
A sub-area of a postcode sector, indicated by the two letters of the inward postcode, which identifies one or more small-user postcode delivery points or an individual large-user postcode. There are approximately 1.7 million postcode units in the UK.
Administrative County
Counties
Administrative District
Unitary Authorities
Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Districts
London Boroughs
Scottish Council Areas
Administrative Ward
Electoral Wards/Divisions
NHS Regional Health Authority
English Pan Strategic Health Authorities
NHS Health Authority
English Strategic Health Authorities
Scottish Health Board areas
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. |
PO Box indicator | Denotes if the postcode is a PO Box. |
Total delivery points | The total number of both matched and unmatched delivery points in the postcode. Not in BT data for Northern Ireland. |
Delivery points | Number of matched addresses in the postcode unit that have a PQI of 10 or 20. Not in BT data for Northern Ireland. |
Domestic delivery points | Number of non PO box delivery points that have no PAF organisation name. Not in BT data for Northern Ireland. |
Non domestic delivery | Number of non PO box delivery points that have a PAF organisation name. Not in BT data for Northern Ireland. |
PO Box domestic delivery points | Number of PO Box delivery points. Not in BT data for Northern Ireland or where PQI is 20 in Scotland. |
Matched addressed premises | Number of delivery points in buildings or building subdivisions, after exclusion of duplicated coordinate pairs. Not in BT data for Northern Ireland or where PQI is 20 in Scotland. |
Unmatched delivery points | Number of delivery points awaiting improvement on location. Not in BT data for Northern Ireland or where PQI is 20 in Scotland. |
Easting | Distance in metres east of National Grid origin. |
Northing | Distance in metres north of National Grid origin. |
Country code | Code used by ONS to identify the country in which the Code Point georeferenced coordinates lies. |
NHS regional health authority code | English Pan Strategic Health Authority in which 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. |
Postcode type | Indicates whether the user is large, L, or small, S. Large postcode type users receive more than 500 pieces of mail. Small users receive 70 pieces per day. |
10 | Within the building of the matched address closest to the postcode mean determined automatically by Ordnance Survey (or Land & Property Services for the BT postcode area only). |
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. |
This overview introduces Code-Point and gives context for all users – highlighting key features, providing examples of potential uses, and listing details such as file sizes, supply forma
Code-Point locates over 1.7 million postcode units for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, each having a notional geographical location. Postcodes are an alphanumeric abbreviated form of an address. Postcode units are unique references and identify an average of 15 addresses. In some cases, where an address receives a substantial amount of mail, a postcode will apply to only one address and is defined as a large-user postcode. The maximum number of addresses in a postcode is 100.
With each coordinated point, the Code-Point product provides:
Information about the number and type of postal delivery points in the postcode, including the split between domestic and non-domestic delivery points per postcode unit.
A positional quality indicator, which indicates the quality of the data underlying the Code-Point location coordinate.
The country indicator (either England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland).
The postcode type (either a large-user postcode or a small-user postcode).
The National Health Service region and area codes.
The local government county, district, and ward codes.
Code-Point can be used to display and analyse any data collected at the postcode level. This has led to the product being widely used in a variety of applications, including the following:
Site location
Enabling web searches
Market analysis and profiling
Health and epidemiology
Resource allocation
End-to-end journey route planning
Socio-economic profiling
Sales targeting
