The ONS Postcode Directory (ONSPD) relates both current and terminated postcodes in the United Kingdom to a range of current statutory administrative, electoral, health and other area geographies. It also links postcodes to pre-2002 health areas, 1991 Census enumeration districts for England and Wales, 2001 Census Output Areas (OA) and Super Output Areas (SOA) for England and Wales, 2001 Census OAs and SOAs for Northern Ireland and 2001 Census OAs and Data Zones (DZ) for Scotland.[1] It helps support the production of area based statistics from postcoded data.
The ONSPD is produced by ONS Geography, who provide geographic support to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and geographic services used by other organisations. The ONSPD is issued quarterly.
The ONSPD is available for free download in comma separated variable (CSV) format and ASCII text (TXT) formats from the ONS Open Geography Portal. The supplied file contains multi CSVs so that postcode areas can be opened in MS Excel.
The ONSPD reflects current and terminated postcodes using information supplied monthly by Royal Mail. It relates postcodes (as at the third Friday of the month prior to each release) to administrative
and electoral areas as at the preceding May and to the latest known health areas. The area assignments for postcodes in Scotland are to the latest electoral wards and council areas. The area
assignments for postcodes in Northern Ireland are to the latest electoral wards and district council areas. The ONSPD uses the Government Statistical Service (GSS) standard 9-character codes throughout and lookup files linking these codes to statutory area names are provided.[2]
Each record in the ONSPD contains the following fields:
Unit postcode – 7 character version
Unit postcode – 8 character version
Unit postcode – variable length version
Date of introduction
Date of termination
Non-metropolitan county
County Electoral Division
Local Authority District (LAD) / unitary authority (UA) / metropolitan district (MD) / London borough (LB) / (Scottish) council area (CA)
Electoral ward / division
Parish / community
Postcode user type (small / large)
National Grid reference – Easting
National Grid reference – Northing
Grid reference positional quality indicator (1–9)
Former strategic health authority (SHA) – England / local health board (LHB) – Wales / health board (HB) – Scotland / Health authority (HA) – Channels Islands – Isle of Man / Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) – Northern Ireland
NHS England (Region) (NHS ER)
Country
Region (former GOR)
(Former) standard statistical region (SSR)
Westminster parliamentary constituency
European electoral region (EER)
Local Learning and Skills Council (LLSC) – England / Dept. of Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS) – Wales[3] / Enterprise Region (ER) – Scotland
Travel to work area (TTWA)
Primary care trust (PCT) / care trust / Care Trust Plus (CT) / local health board (LHB) – Wales / Community Health Partnership (CHP) – Scotland / local commissioning group (LCG) – Northern Ireland[4] / Primary Healthcare Directorate (PHD) – Isle of Man[5]
International Territorial Level (ITL) / LAU1
2005 ‘statistical’ ward (England and Wales only)
2001 Census Output Area (OA)
Census Area Statistics (CAS) ward
National park
2001 Census Lower Layer Super Output Area (LSOA) / Data Zone (DZ) / Super Output Area (SOA)
2001 Census Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) / Intermediate Zone (IZ)
2001 Census urban/rural indicator
2001 Census Output Area classification (OAC)
2011 Census Output Area (OA) / Small Area (SA)
2011 Census Lower Layer Super Output Area (LSOA) / Data Zone (DZ) / SOA
2011 Census Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) / Intermediate Zone (IZ)
2011 Census Workplace Zone (WZ)
Clinical commissioning group (CCG) – England / local health board (LHB) – Wales / Community Health Partnership (CHP) – Scotland / local commissioning group (LCG) – Northern Ireland / Primary Healthcare Directorate (PHD) – Isle of Man
Built-up area (BUA)
Built-up Area Sub-division (BUASD)
2011 Census rural-urban classification
2011 Census Output Area classification (OAC)
Decimal degrees latitude
Decimal degrees longitude
Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) – first instance
Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) – second instance
Police force area (PFA)
Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)
Cancer Alliance / National Cancer Vanguard (CALNCV)[6]
Sustainability and transformation partnership (STP)
^ONS A Beginners guide to UK geography Retrieved 22 June 2019.
^ONS ONSPD Directory User Guide Retrieved 22 June 2019
^Accredited Qualifications Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS) Retrieved 23 June 2019
^Health & Social Care Board Local Commissioning Groups Retrieved 23 June 2019
^NHS Primary Healthcare Directorate (Isle of Man) Retrieved 23 June 2019
^NHS England Guidance for Cancer Alliances and the National Cancer Vanguard Retrieved 23 June 2019
and 30 Related for: ONS Postcode Directory information
The ONSPostcodeDirectory (ONSPD) relates both current and terminated postcodes in the United Kingdom to a range of current statutory administrative,...
July 2007) National Statistics, PostcodeDirectory Version Notes, (2006) Archived 27 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine, ONS "Royal Mail guide to using the...
postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
district North East (London sub region) "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
Template:Attached KML/SK postcode area KML is from Wikidata Postcode Address File List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes"...
United Kingdom Postcode Address File "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
EN6 Postcode Address File List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products...
Template:Attached KML/AB postcode area KML is from Wikidata List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom Postcode Address File "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes"...
areas in the United Kingdom Postcode Address File "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National...
postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
areas in the United Kingdom Postcode Address File "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National...
List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom Postcode Address File "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products...
statistical geographies. ONSPostcodeDirectory (ONSPD) for the United Kingdom - relates both current and terminated postcodes in the United Kingdom to...
Wikidata Postcode Address File List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products...
postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
areas in the United Kingdom Postcode Address File "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National...
postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
Template:Attached KML/SL postcode area KML is from Wikidata Postcode Address File List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes"...
postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
Template:Attached KML/L postcode area KML is from Wikidata Postcode Address File List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes"...
postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
Template:Attached KML/GU postcode area KML is from Wikidata Postcode Address File List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes"...
postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
postcode areas in the United Kingdom "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics...
areas in the United Kingdom Postcode Address File "ONSPostcodeDirectory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National...
Global Information