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The postcoding system was devised by the Royal Mail to enable efficient mail delivery to all UK addresses. Initially introduced in London in 1857 the system as we now know it became operational for most of the UK in the late seventies.  
 
Today the Royal Mail deliver to over 28 million addresses (also known as "delivery points")
 
There are approximately 1.8 million unit postcodes in use and so each postcode covers an average of about 15 properties, however in reality it can be anywhere between 1 and 100.
 
Organisations that receive large volumes of mail are allocated individual postcodes. These are known as "Large User" postcodes and include PO Box addresses.
 
Postcodes are not static. New properties are constantly being built, old ones demolished, and the Royal Mail sometimes has to re-code within existing areas to maintain or improve distribution efficiency. So postcodes are added, deleted, and in some cases changed on an ongoing basis.   
 

GU

16

  

7

PW
Area District Sector Unit

 

The postcode system is hierarchical, the top level being postcode area - 1 or 2 alpha e.g. "GU" or "B". For a complete list of postcode areas click here.
 
The next level is postcode district e.g. "GU1" or "B22". This is also commonly known as the "outcode" and generally provides the primary bulk sorting office routing information for the Royal Mail.
 
Next comes the sector e.g. "GU16 7", and then finally the unit e.g. "GU16 7PW". The combination of sector and unit (the "7PW" bit) is often called the "incode" and is used by the delivery offices to get the mail on the right vehicle (or bicycle) for final delivery.
  
The latest quarterly release counts can be found in the right column.
 
Please note that whilst the "inward" part of the postcode is always 1 numeric character followed by 2 alpha the "outcode" can be several different formats and anywhere from 2 to 4 alphanumeric characters long.
 
To uniquely identify each property within each unit postcode and to facilitate fully automatic sorting of bulk barcoded mail the Royal Mail use an additional code called the "Delivery Point Suffix" This code (one numeric + 1 alpha e.g. "9Z") is not divulged to the general public and only used in bulk barcoded mail applications.

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Postcode Counts

 

Data Version Q09/12

Geographic Level

Quantity
Areas 124
Outcodes 2,982
Sectors 11,191
Postcodes 1,755,099
Delivery Points 28,671,736
 
Large User 158,832
inc PO Boxes 93,097
 
Postcodes Added 6,073
Postcodes Deleted 4,994

(see file below)

  
 
Post Towns 1,500
Localities 30,410
Thoroughfares 367,443
 

 


PAF Dynamics

The Postcode Address File is a dynamic file with changes on a daily basis. Within the last quarter there were....

6073 net postcodes added
4994 net postcodes deleted

You can download a full list of all unit postcode additions and deletions in PDF format below.

Postcode Additions / Deletions 09/12

 

Last updated:

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