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This is a list of postcode areas, used by Royal Mail for the purposes of directing mail within the United Kingdom. The postcode area is the largest geographical unit used and forms the initial characters of the alphanumeric UK postcode. [1]
A group of postcode districts with the same alphabetical prefix is called a postcode area. All, or part, of one or more postcode districts are grouped into post towns. [1] Until 1996, Royal Mail required counties to be included in addresses, except for 110 of the larger post towns.
For the purposes of directing mail, the United Kingdom (although the populations listed just show figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland), is divided by Royal Mail into postcode areas. The postcode area is the largest geographical unit used and forms the initial characters of the alphanumeric UK postcode . [ 1 ]
Royal Mail (1999). Address Management Guide (6th ed.). "Royal Mail major recode historical information – 2000 to September 2011" (PDF). Royal Mail. 3 November 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2017
On its website, Royal Mail publishes summary information about major changes to postcode sectors and postal localities (including post towns). Individual postcodes or postal addresses can be found using Royal Mail's Postcode and Address Finder website, but this is limited to 50 free searches per user per day.
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 Postcode Address File (PAF) is a database that contains all known "delivery points" and postcodes in the United Kingdom. The PAF is a collection of over 29 million Royal Mail postal addresses and 1.8 million postcodes . [ 1 ]
The postal counties of the United Kingdom, now known as former postal counties, [1] were postal subdivisions in routine use by the Royal Mail until 1996. [2] The purpose of the postal county – as opposed to any other kind of county – was to aid the sorting of mail by differentiating between similar post towns.