Standard Address

The standard Ideal Postcodes address, which maps both UK and International addresses.

Its fields follow the layout UK address databases typically use, and much of it reflects Royal Mail's Postcode Address File, the UK's primary address database.

The API converts non-UK addresses into the same UK layout so international addresses will also seamlessly insert into a standard address database. Despite this mapping fidelity to the source is never compromised with the native address field.

Pay attention to the address lines (line_1, line_2 and line_3), post town, postcode, county and country. Together they are all you need to identify an address uniquely, in the UK or as an international address.

For international addresses, cities map to post_town and states map to county.

Every address carries a native object: the raw record from its source dataset, exactly as the dataset supplies it, with local detail the standard fields cannot hold. E.g.

• ECAD records say whether an address sits in a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) district and whether the building is residential or commercial
• USPS records carry the carrier route and congressional district
• Kadaster records carry the floor area, year of completion and use (residential, office, retail)

The postcode and address list endpoints return the older AddressListItem shape instead, where native is absent for the Royal Mail PAF family.

The example below is a UK address from the Postcode Address File. An address from any other dataset has the same fields, and its native record carries that dataset's raw fields.

Example Record

Every row links to the field's full definition on the Standard UK Address page.

Field	Example	Type
Address Identifier id	paf_23747771	string
Dataset dataset	paf	string
ISO Country Code (3) country_iso	GBR	string
ISO Country Code (2) country_iso_2	GB	string
Country country	England	string
Language language	en	string
Postcode postcode	SW1A 2AA	string
Postcode Inward postcode_inward	2AA	string
Postcode Outward postcode_outward	SW1A	string
Post Town post_town	London	string
Dependant Locality dependant_locality	Empty in this example	string
Double Dependant Locality double_dependant_locality	Empty in this example	string
Thoroughfare thoroughfare	Downing Street	string
Dependant Thoroughfare dependant_thoroughfare	Empty in this example	string
Building Number building_number	10	string
Building Name building_name	Empty in this example	string
Sub-Building Name sub_building_name	Empty in this example	string
PO Box po_box	Empty in this example	string
Department Name department_name	Empty in this example	string
Organisation Name organisation_name	Prime Minister & First Lord Of The Treasury	string
Unique Delivery Point Reference Number (UDPRN) udprn	23747771	number
UMPRN umprn	Empty in this example	string
Unique Property Reference Number uprn	100023336956	string
Postcode Type postcode_type	S	string
Small User Organisation Indicator su_organisation_indicator	Empty in this example	string
Delivery Point Suffix delivery_point_suffix	1A	string
Line 1 line_1	Prime Minister & First Lord Of The Treasury	string
Line 2 line_2	10 Downing Street	string
Line 3 line_3	Empty in this example	string
Premise premise	10	string
Longitude longitude	-0.12767	number
Latitude latitude	51.503541	number
Eastings eastings	530047	number
Northings northings	179951	number
County county	London	string
County Code county_code	Empty in this example	string
Traditional County traditional_county	Greater London	string
Administrative County administrative_county	Empty in this example	string
Postal County postal_county	London	string
District district	Westminster	string
Ward ward	St. James's	string
Native Record native	{ 17 fields }	object

Key Elements

The fields most integrations read. The Standard UK Address page documents all 42.

Address lines

Three lines, a post town and a postcode identify a delivery point. line_1 is never empty.

line_1 string

Line 1

First address line. Often contains premise and thoroughfare information. For a commercial premise the first line is the full name of the registered organisation. Never empty.

Example Prime Minister & First Lord Of The Treasury

line_2 string

Line 2

Second address line. Often contains thoroughfare and locality information. May be empty.

Example 10 Downing Street

line_3 string

Line 3

Third address line. Takes the address elements left after line_1 and line_2 are filled; where the address needs more than three lines the remaining elements are joined into line_3, comma separated. May be empty.

Example Empty in this example

post_town string

Post Town

The town or city used to route mail to the address. For UK addresses this is the Royal Mail post town, which is a routing instruction rather than the nearest town geographically. Present on every address.

Example London

postcode string

Postcode

Correctly formatted postcode. Capitalised and spaced. Empty ("") where the address has no postcode.

Example SW1A 2AA

Country

country string

Country

Full country names (ISO 3166)

Example England

Enum

248 possible values

• "United Kingdom"
• "England"
• "Scotland"
• "Wales"
• "Northern Ireland"
• "Isle of Man"
• "Jersey"
• "Guernsey"
• "Channel Islands"
• "Guam"
• "United States"
• "Puerto Rico"
• "Ireland"
• "Vatican City"
• "France"
• "Greenland"
• "Netherlands"
• "Luxembourg"
• "Austria"
• "Gibraltar"
• "Liechtenstein"
• "Finland"
• "Iceland"
• "Switzerland"
• "Portugal"
• "Belgium"
• "Monaco"
• "Italy"
• "Faroe Islands"
• "Norway"
• "Denmark"
• "San Marino"
• "Malta"
• "Andorra"
• "Sweden"
• "Germany"
• "Spain"
• "Svalbard and Jan Mayen"
• "Bahamas"
• "Belize"
• "Bermuda"
• "Canada"
• "Costa Rica"
• "Cayman Islands"
• "Dominican Republic"
• "Guatemala"
• "Honduras"
• "Haiti"
• "Jamaica"
• "Mexico"
• "Nicaragua"
• "Panama"
• "El Salvador"
• "British Virgin Islands"
• "Australia"
• "Cocos (Keeling) Islands"
• "Christmas Island"
• "Fiji"
• "New Caledonia"
• "Norfolk Island"
• "New Zealand"
• "French Polynesia"
• "Tonga"
• "Vanuatu"
• "Aruba"
• "Argentina"
• "Saint Barthélemy"
• "Bolivia"
• "Brazil"
• "Barbados"
• "Chile"
• "Colombia"
• "Curaçao"
• "Dominica"
• "Ecuador"
• "Guadeloupe"
• "Grenada"
• "French Guiana"
• "Guyana"
• "Saint Martin (French part)"
• "Martinique"
• "Peru"
• "Paraguay"
• "Suriname"
• "Trinidad and Tobago"
• "Uruguay"
• "Venezuela"
• "Taiwan"
• "Brunei Darussalam"
• "Indonesia"
• "Cambodia"
• "Myanmar"
• "Malaysia"
• "Philippines"
• "Singapore"
• "Thailand"
• "Timor-Leste"
• "Vietnam"
• "Albania"
• "Armenia"
• "Azerbaijan"
• "Bulgaria"
• "Bosnia and Herzegovina"
• "Belarus"
• "Cyprus"
• "Czech Republic"
• "Estonia"
• "Georgia"
• "Greece"
• "Croatia"
• "Hungary"
• "Kazakhstan"
• "Kyrgyzstan"
• "Kosovo"
• "Lithuania"
• "Latvia"
• "Moldova"
• "North Macedonia"
• "Montenegro"
• "Poland"
• "Romania"
• "Russia"
• "Serbia"
• "Slovakia"
• "Slovenia"
• "Turkey"
• "Ukraine"
• "Uzbekistan"
• "Hong Kong"
• "Bangladesh"
• "India"
• "Sri Lanka"
• "Macau"
• "Angola"
• "United Arab Emirates"
• "Burkina Faso"
• "Bahrain"
• "Botswana"
• "Cameroon"
• "Egypt"
• "Ghana"
• "Israel"
• "Jordan"
• "Kenya"
• "Kuwait"
• "Lebanon"
• "Lesotho"
• "Morocco"
• "Mozambique"
• "Mauritius"
• "Mayotte"
• "Namibia"
• "Nigeria"
• "Oman"
• "Qatar"
• "Réunion"
• "Saudi Arabia"
• "Senegal"
• "Eswatini"
• "Tunisia"
• "South Africa"
• "Zambia"
• "Zimbabwe"
• "China"
• "Japan"
• "South Korea"
• "Laos"
• "Mongolia"
• "Papua New Guinea"
• "North Korea"
• "Solomon Islands"
• "Tajikistan"
• "Turkmenistan"
• "Bhutan"
• "British Indian Ocean Territory"
• "Maldives"
• "Nepal"
• "Pakistan"
• "Afghanistan"
• "Burundi"
• "Benin"
• "Central African Republic"
• "Côte d'Ivoire"
• "Democratic Republic of the Congo"
• "Republic of the Congo"
• "Comoros"
• "Cape Verde"
• "Djibouti"
• "Algeria"
• "Eritrea"
• "Western Sahara"
• "Ethiopia"
• "Gabon"
• "Guinea"
• "Gambia"
• "Guinea-Bissau"
• "Equatorial Guinea"
• "Iran"
• "Iraq"
• "Liberia"
• "Libya"
• "Madagascar"
• "Mali"
• "Mauritania"
• "Malawi"
• "Niger"
• "Rwanda"
• "Saint Helena"
• "Sierra Leone"
• "Somalia"
• "South Sudan"
• "São Tomé and Príncipe"
• "Seychelles"
• "Chad"
• "Togo"
• "Tanzania"
• "Uganda"
• "Sudan"
• "Syria"
• "Yemen"
• "Cuba"
• "Saint Pierre and Miquelon"
• "Turks and Caicos Islands"
• "Cook Islands"
• "Kiribati"
• "Niue"
• "Nauru"
• "Pitcairn Islands"
• "Tokelau"
• "Tuvalu"
• "Wallis and Futuna"
• "Samoa"
• "Anguilla"
• "Antigua and Barbuda"
• "Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba"
• "Falkland Islands (Malvinas)"
• "Saint Kitts and Nevis"
• "Saint Lucia"
• "Montserrat"
• "South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands"
• "Sint Maarten (Dutch part)"
• "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines"
• "American Samoa"
• "Federated States of Micronesia"
• "Marshall Islands"
• "Northern Mariana Islands"
• "Palau"
• "United States Virgin Islands"

country_iso string

ISO Country Code (3)

3 letter country code (ISO 3166-1)

Example GBR

Enum

243 possible values

• "GBR"
• "IMN"
• "JEY"
• "GGY"
• "USA"
• "PRI"
• "GUM"
• "IRL"
• "VAT"
• "FRA"
• "GRL"
• "NLD"
• "LUX"
• "AUT"
• "GIB"
• "LIE"
• "FIN"
• "ISL"
• "CHE"
• "PRT"
• "BEL"
• "MCO"
• "ITA"
• "FRO"
• "NOR"
• "DNK"
• "SMR"
• "MLT"
• "AND"
• "SWE"
• "DEU"
• "ESP"
• "SJM"
• "BRN"
• "IDN"
• "KHM"
• "MMR"
• "MYS"
• "PHL"
• "SGP"
• "THA"
• "TLS"
• "VNM"
• "ALB"
• "ARM"
• "AZE"
• "BGR"
• "BIH"
• "BLR"
• "CYP"
• "CZE"
• "EST"
• "GEO"
• "GRC"
• "HRV"
• "HUN"
• "KAZ"
• "KGZ"
• "LTU"
• "LVA"
• "MDA"
• "MKD"
• "MNE"
• "POL"
• "ROU"
• "RUS"
• "SRB"
• "SVK"
• "SVN"
• "TUR"
• "UKR"
• "UZB"
• "XKX"
• "HKG"
• "BGD"
• "IND"
• "LKA"
• "MAC"
• "AGO"
• "ARE"
• "BFA"
• "BHR"
• "BWA"
• "CMR"
• "EGY"
• "GHA"
• "ISR"
• "JOR"
• "KEN"
• "KWT"
• "LBN"
• "LSO"
• "MAR"
• "MOZ"
• "MUS"
• "MYT"
• "NAM"
• "NGA"
• "OMN"
• "QAT"
• "REU"
• "SAU"
• "SEN"
• "SWZ"
• "TUN"
• "ZAF"
• "ZMB"
• "ZWE"
• "BHS"
• "BLZ"
• "BMU"
• "CAN"
• "CRI"
• "CYM"
• "DOM"
• "GTM"
• "HND"
• "HTI"
• "JAM"
• "MEX"
• "NIC"
• "PAN"
• "SLV"
• "VGB"
• "AUS"
• "CCK"
• "CXR"
• "FJI"
• "NCL"
• "NFK"
• "NZL"
• "PYF"
• "TON"
• "VUT"
• "ABW"
• "ARG"
• "BLM"
• "BOL"
• "BRA"
• "BRB"
• "CHL"
• "COL"
• "CUW"
• "DMA"
• "ECU"
• "GLP"
• "GUF"
• "GUY"
• "MAF"
• "MTQ"
• "PER"
• "PRY"
• "SUR"
• "TTO"
• "URY"
• "VEN"
• "TWN"
• "CHN"
• "JPN"
• "KOR"
• "LAO"
• "MNG"
• "PNG"
• "PRK"
• "SLB"
• "TJK"
• "TKM"
• "BTN"
• "IOT"
• "MDV"
• "NPL"
• "PAK"
• "AFG"
• "BDI"
• "BEN"
• "CAF"
• "CIV"
• "COD"
• "COG"
• "COM"
• "CPV"
• "DJI"
• "DZA"
• "ERI"
• "ESH"
• "ETH"
• "GAB"
• "GIN"
• "GMB"
• "GNB"
• "GNQ"
• "IRN"
• "IRQ"
• "LBR"
• "LBY"
• "MDG"
• "MLI"
• "MRT"
• "MWI"
• "NER"
• "RWA"
• "SHN"
• "SLE"
• "SOM"
• "SSD"
• "STP"
• "SYC"
• "TCD"
• "TGO"
• "TZA"
• "UGA"
• "SDN"
• "SYR"
• "YEM"
• "CUB"
• "SPM"
• "TCA"
• "COK"
• "KIR"
• "NIU"
• "NRU"
• "PCN"
• "TKL"
• "TUV"
• "WLF"
• "WSM"
• "AIA"
• "ATG"
• "BES"
• "FLK"
• "GRD"
• "KNA"
• "LCA"
• "MSR"
• "SGS"
• "SXM"
• "VCT"
• "ASM"
• "FSM"
• "MHL"
• "MNP"
• "PLW"
• "VIR"

country_iso_2 string

ISO Country Code (2)

2 letter country code (ISO 3166-1)

Example GB

Enum

243 possible values

• "GB"
• "IM"
• "JE"
• "GG"
• "US"
• "PR"
• "GU"
• "IE"
• "VA"
• "FR"
• "GL"
• "NL"
• "LU"
• "AT"
• "GI"
• "LI"
• "FI"
• "IS"
• "CH"
• "PT"
• "BE"
• "MC"
• "IT"
• "FO"
• "NO"
• "DK"
• "SM"
• "MT"
• "AD"
• "SE"
• "DE"
• "ES"
• "SJ"
• "BS"
• "BZ"
• "BM"
• "CA"
• "CR"
• "KY"
• "DO"
• "GT"
• "HN"
• "HT"
• "JM"
• "MX"
• "NI"
• "PA"
• "SV"
• "VG"
• "AU"
• "CC"
• "CX"
• "FJ"
• "NC"
• "NF"
• "NZ"
• "PF"
• "TO"
• "VU"
• "AW"
• "AR"
• "BL"
• "BO"
• "BR"
• "BB"
• "CL"
• "CO"
• "CW"
• "DM"
• "EC"
• "GP"
• "GD"
• "GF"
• "GY"
• "MF"
• "MQ"
• "PE"
• "PY"
• "SR"
• "TT"
• "UY"
• "VE"
• "TW"
• "BN"
• "ID"
• "KH"
• "MM"
• "MY"
• "PH"
• "SG"
• "TH"
• "TL"
• "VN"
• "AL"
• "AM"
• "AZ"
• "BG"
• "BA"
• "BY"
• "CY"
• "CZ"
• "EE"
• "GE"
• "GR"
• "HR"
• "HU"
• "KZ"
• "KG"
• "XK"
• "LT"
• "LV"
• "MD"
• "MK"
• "ME"
• "PL"
• "RO"
• "RU"
• "RS"
• "SK"
• "SI"
• "TR"
• "UA"
• "UZ"
• "HK"
• "BD"
• "IN"
• "LK"
• "MO"
• "AO"
• "AE"
• "BF"
• "BH"
• "BW"
• "CM"
• "EG"
• "GH"
• "IL"
• "JO"
• "KE"
• "KW"
• "LB"
• "LS"
• "MA"
• "MZ"
• "MU"
• "YT"
• "NA"
• "NG"
• "OM"
• "QA"
• "RE"
• "SA"
• "SN"
• "SZ"
• "TN"
• "ZA"
• "ZM"
• "ZW"
• "CN"
• "JP"
• "KR"
• "LA"
• "MN"
• "PG"
• "KP"
• "SB"
• "TJ"
• "TM"
• "BT"
• "IO"
• "MV"
• "NP"
• "PK"
• "AF"
• "BI"
• "BJ"
• "CF"
• "CI"
• "CD"
• "CG"
• "KM"
• "CV"
• "DJ"
• "DZ"
• "ER"
• "EH"
• "ET"
• "GA"
• "GN"
• "GM"
• "GW"
• "GQ"
• "IR"
• "IQ"
• "LR"
• "LY"
• "MG"
• "ML"
• "MR"
• "MW"
• "NE"
• "RW"
• "SH"
• "SL"
• "SO"
• "SS"
• "ST"
• "SC"
• "TD"
• "TG"
• "TZ"
• "UG"
• "SD"
• "SY"
• "YE"
• "CU"
• "PM"
• "TC"
• "CK"
• "KI"
• "NU"
• "NR"
• "PN"
• "TK"
• "TV"
• "WF"
• "WS"
• "AI"
• "AG"
• "BQ"
• "FK"
• "KN"
• "LC"
• "MS"
• "GS"
• "SX"
• "VC"
• "AS"
• "FM"
• "MH"
• "MP"
• "PW"
• "VI"

Identifiers

id is unique across every dataset and is what a search result carries. dataset says which dataset the address came from. UK addresses also carry Royal Mail's udprn and Ordnance Survey's uprn.

id string

Address Identifier

Global unique internally generated identifier for an address

Example paf_23747771

dataset string

Dataset

Indicates the provenance of an address.

Example paf

Enum

33 possible values

• "paf"
• "pafw"
• "pafa"
• "mr"
• "nyb"
• "usps"
• "ecaf"
• "ecad"
• "ab"
• "abp"
• "herewe"
• "heret"
• "heresa"
• "hereo"
• "herena"
• "heremeas"
• "heremea"
• "herem"
• "herei"
• "herehk"
• "hereee"
• "hereap"
• "gnaf"
• "kadaster"
• "kartverket"
• "sdfi"
• "cannar"
• "fodbosa"
• "mois"
• "upujp"
• "bev"
• "ban"
• "swt"

udprn integer | string

Unique Delivery Point Reference Number (UDPRN)

UDPRN stands for 'Unique Delivery Point Reference Number'. Royal Mail assigns a unique UDPRN code for each premise on PAF. Simple, unique reference number for each Delivery Point. Unlikely to be reused when an address expires.

Up to 8-digit numeric code. A new UDPRN is automatically assigned to each new Delivery Point added to PAF.

Returns 0 on a UK dataset that carries no UDPRN for the address, and an empty string "" on a non-UK address. Use id for an identifier present on every address.

Example 23747771

uprn string

Unique Property Reference Number

UPRN stands for Unique Property Reference Number and is maintained by the Ordnance Survey (OS). Local governments in the UK have allocated a unique number for each land or property.

Up to 12 digits in length.

Multiple Residence premises currently share the same UPRN as the parent premise.

May not be available for a small number of Great Britain addresses due to longer update cycles for Ordnance Survey's AddressBase datasets. Returns empty string "" in these instances, as it does for addresses outside the UK.

Although UPRN takes an integer format, we encode and transmit this data as strings. As a 12 digit number, the UPRN can exceed the maximum safe integer Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER in most browsers causing this datapoint to be corrupted.

Take special care when storing UPRN. As a 12 digit identifier, you will need 64 bits to encode every possible UPRN value. This means applications like Excel will corrupt cells containing UPRN values.

Example 100023336956

Geolocation

longitude string | number

Longitude

The longitude of the address or postcode (WGS84).

Can be a positive or negative decimal. E.g. -0.1283983

Returns an empty string if no location data is available.

Example -0.12767

latitude string | number

Latitude

The latitude of the address or postcode (WGS84).

Can be a positive or negative decimal. E.g. 51.5083983.

Returns an empty string if no location data is available.

Example 51.503541

Native record

native object

Native Record

The raw dataset record backing an address, exactly as the dataset supplies it. One schema per dataset; dataset on the record says which.

Where addresses come from

Every address carries dataset and country_iso. Supported Countries lists which dataset serves each country and how fine its coverage is; each dataset page documents the native record.