🔃OS NGD Address
This page details upcoming data that will be provided for the OS NGD Address Theme in the OS NGD from the start of October 2026 to give you early insight. The new Unique Multiple Residence Reference Number (UMRRN) identifier mentioned on this page won't be available via OS Select+Build (the bespoke OS NGD data download service) until the start of October when data schema version 2.0 of the Royal Mail Address Feature Types is released. Similarly, the updated data structure for the theme which includes the three new Royal Mail related components won't be available until then either.
The information on this page is as accurate as possible but is subject to change before launch.
Introduction to the theme
The OS NGD Address Theme provides a complete and definitive view of UK address data. It's designed to underpin a range of analytical use cases and provide the most detailed view of an address and its lifecycle.
The OS NGD Address Theme contains all of the address data found in the OS AddressBase Premium product:
Local authority addresses
Royal Mail postal addresses
Lifecycle data
Addresses for features that are not conventionally addressable (such as warehouses, car parks, etc.)
Multi-lingual addresses
Alternative addresses
However, the OS NGD Address Theme builds on AddressBase Premium data by providing data with up-to-daily currency that is simple to use, understand and interrogate. This makes the data more accessible to non-address experts as it is easy to plug and play it into databases or a GIS (geographic information system).
The OS NGD Address Theme is interoperable with other OS NGD themes through cross-reference information and the UPRN (Unique Property Reference Number) as the key identifier, allowing you to easily combine multiple datasets to answer analytical questions.
Address data is collated from Local Land and Property Gazetteers (LLPG), which are maintained by local authorities in England and Wales, and also from local authorities in Scotland, who maintain the Corporate Address Gazetteer (CAG). These data sources are supplemented by the Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF), references to Valuation Office Agency (VOA) data in England and Wales, and additional addresses and coordinates from Ordnance Survey.
OS NGD Address data is not available through the APIs
Please note that the OS NGD Address Theme is only available via OS Select+Build (the bespoke OS NGD data download service) and is not available via OS NGD API – Features or OS NGD API – Tiles. You can access OS Select+Build through the OS Data Hub.
🔃 Recent data enhancements to the theme
In September 2025, we added the Royal Mail Address Feature Type to the two addressing collections; this feature type combines full Royal Mail PAF content with Ordnance Survey’s authoritative geospatial attribution.
Highlights of data schema version 1.0 of the Royal Mail Address Feature Type include:
Full PAF content
Multiple UDPRN (Unique Delivery Point Reference Number) to UPRN matches
OS-derived enhanced attribution and geometry for PAF records
From October 2026, the Royal Mail Address Feature Type will include additional enhancements; the key enhancements unique to data schema version 2.0 of this feature type are:
Full NYB content: 100% inclusion of Royal Mail’s Not Yet Built (NYB) addresses, with UDPRN as the primary key.
Full MR content: 100% inclusion of Royal Mail’s Multiple Residence (MR) addresses, provided as a related component, with UMRRN (Unique Multiple Residence Reference Number) as the primary key.
NYB and MR matched to UPRNs: Identifying where Royal Mail's NYB and MR addresses have been associated to a UPRN.
Further enhanced attribution: Additional OS-derived metadata, including Royal Mail Full Address, Country, Primary UPRN Match, Postcode Area, Postcode District and Postcode Sector attribution.
Data structure
The OS NGD Address Theme is made up of the OS GB Address and OS Islands Address Collections, and each collection is comprised of six feature types: Built Address, Historic Address, Non-Addressable Object, Pre-Build Address, Royal Mail Address and Street Address.
Data schema version 2.0 onward of the Built Address, Historic Address, Non-Addressable Object and Pre-Build Address Feature Types in each collection are supported by the following three addressable object related components, which provide supplementary information against each UPRN:
Alternate Address: These provide alternative address labels where they exist for the ‘current’ address represented on a given feature type.
Other Classification: These provide additional VOA classification information.
Related Entity: These contain cross-reference relationship information between addresses and features in other OS NGD themes (such as buildings, sites, roads and boundaries) or third-party data sets.
🆕 Data schema version 2.0 onward of the Royal Mail Address Feature Type in each collection is supported by the following three Royal Mail related components, which provide supplementary information against each UDPRN:
Multiple Residence: These provide data developed to identify addresses that are delivered to a shared delivery point; this means premises with one front door, or delivery point, that has been subdivided into flats, units or other separate occupancies. Multiple residence data provide a detailed address structure for these properties.
Delivery Point Alias: These provide alias data related to a delivery point address, sourcing data from Royal Mail's Delivery Point Alias (DPA) table. DPA information provides additional Delivery Point Information, including Trading Names and Building Name details where a Building Number is the official building identifier.
Other Alias: These provide alternate names for counties, localities and thoroughfares.
For more information on the related components, please see the Address Related Components page. Please see Data schema versioning for information on data schema versioning in the OS NGD.
🔃 Data structure diagram
The OS NGD Address Theme data structure diagram below is applicable to the latest data schema versions of all address feature types (that is, data schema version 3.0 of Built Address, Historic Address, Non-Addressable Object and Pre-Build Address, data schema version 1.0 of Street Address, and data schema version 2.0 of Royal Mail Address):
🔃 Superseded data structure diagrams for the OS NGD Address Theme
🆕 The OS NGD Address Theme data structure diagram below is applicable to the older (maintenance) data schema versions (1.0 and 1.1) of Royal Mail Address, to the latest data schema version (1.0) of Street Address, and to the latest data schema version (3.0) of Built Address, Historic Address, Non-Addressable Object and Pre-Build Address:
The OS NGD Address Theme data structure diagram below is applicable to the older (maintenance) data schema versions of four of the address feature types (i.e. data schema versions 1.0 and 2.0 of Built Address, Historic Address, Non-Addressable Object and Pre-Build Address) and to the latest data schema version (1.0) of Street Address:
Postal Address Related Component
Until September 2025, Postal Address Related Component was the fourth related component in the OS NGD. It has been discontinued in the latest data schema version 3.0 of the Built Address, Historic Address, Non-Addressable Object and Pre-Build Address Feature Types in the OS GB Address and OS Islands Address Collections, which released in September 2025.
The Postal Address Related Component contained delivery point data from the Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF). This information is now available in the Royal Mail Address Feature Type (which launched in September 2025), which can be found in the OS GB Address and OS Islands Address Collections.
The Postal Address Related Component is still provided against the older (maintenance) data schema versions 1.0 and 2.0 of the Built Address, Historic Address, Non-Addressable Object and Pre-Build Address Feature Types in the OS GB Address and OS Islands Address Collections. These data schema versions are available for customers to use, but they are now older and in maintenance mode. (Data schema version 3.0 is the latest and recommended data schema version to use for these feature types.)
Unique identifiers
OS unique identifiers
At least one of the following four unique identifiers is provided with each feature within the OS NGD Address Theme:
Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN): The primary identifier and unique key for this theme. A UPRN is a unique and persistent numeric identifier for every addressable location in Great Britain. Each address record has a UPRN, assigned by local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland or Ordnance Survey depending on the type of address. Throughout its lifecycle, information on the address of a property can change. This may be due to a change of name, change of use, or the eventual demolition of the property. Independent of any changes being made the UPRN associated to an address is never changed, meaning the unique identifier remains persistent and reliable.
Unique Street Reference Number (USRN): A USRN is a unique and persistent identifier for a street which is curated by Local Authority custodians in England, Wales or Scotland.
OSID (Ordnance Survey Identifier): A primary identifier and unique key used in other OS NGD themes. OSIDs are referenced in the OS NGD Address Theme for purposes of cross-refencing to other themes.
TOID (Topographic Identifier): An additional secondary identifier which can aid further data linking. TOIDs are an optional attribute and therefore will not always be provided with every feature.
🔃 PAF unique identifiers
Two unique Postcode Address File (PAF) identifiers are provided with Royal Mail Address features within the OS NGD Address Theme:
Unique Delivery Point Reference Number (UDPRN): A UDPRN is a unique identifier that Royal Mail assigns to identify a specific delivery point (for example, a mailbox or business unit). Each UDPRN is an up to 8-character code that can be used instead of the current address keys on PAF.
🆕 Unique Multiple Residence Reference Number (UMRRN): UMRRN (Unique Multiple Residence Reference Number) for multiple Royal Mail addresses that share a single delivery point. Each UMRRN is an up to 8-character code that can be used instead of the current address keys on PAF.
Useful links
Introductory guides to OS NGD Address Theme data are available on our More than Maps site; these guides detail the layers, formats and attribution available for data in the OS GB Address and OS Islands Address Collections.
Supporting the water industry in locating new reservoirs: Discover how data from the OS NGD Address, Buildings, Land Use and Water Themes provides the trusted foundation water companies need to plan future and current water infrastructure at scale.
Helping financial institutions meet the Bank of England's climate standards: Find out why financial institutions should integrate accurate location data from the OS NGD Address, Buildings, Land Use and Water Themes into their climate risk frameworks.
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