| Core Unit Description - Unit Postcode in the United Kingdom | |
Guide to Core Unit Description
| Name | UNIT POSTCODE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM | |
| Description | A Unit
Postcode comprises a single address (Delivery Point) or a group of addresses
(Delivery Points) maintained by Royal Mail for the provision and administration
of mail services. Single address Unit Postcodes cover Delivery Points that
receive large volumes of mail: these are termed Large User Postcodes. The
Delivery Point Suffix for a Large User Postcode is always "1A".
Other Unit Postcodes cover a group, or a range, of addresses: these are termed Small User Postcodes. These Delivery Points receive lower volumes of mail and are predominately residential addresses. On average a Small User Postcode covers 15 Addresses. These addresses are all on the same thoroughfare. The Small User Postcode will include small businesses. The Delivery Point Suffix for Small User Postcodes are in the range 1A to 9Z. The maximum number of Delivery Points on a Postcode is 100. |
|
| Authority for Change | Royal Mail - The Address Management Centre. | |
| UKSGB range of values | AB1 1AA 1A - ZE32 9JZ 1W. The sequence is not continuous, there are gaps. The DPS together with the Postcode uniquely defines a Delivery Point. | |
| Main Use(s) | Provision of mail services; data collection entity for production of aggregated statistics; key geo-demographic entity; occasionally used for statistical presentation; credit referencing; insurance premium setting. | |
| Parent | Postcode
Sector - Postcode District - Postcode Area.
(Note: for England, Wales and Northern Ireland UKSGB - best fit for electoral ward). (Note: for Scotland - best fit for electoral ward (although electoral ward is not a core unit in Scotland)). |
|
| Child | Individual Postal Addresses (Delivery Point Suffix). | |
| Category | Independent - Single Delivery Point or strings of Delivery Points (Thoroughfare). | |
| Geographical Definition | Description | Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF). |
| Representative Point | x | |
| Polygon | ü | |
| Collection of smaller units | x | |
| Frequency of Change | Daily by Royal Mail, with updates available, at present, to customers on a monthly or quarterly basis. | |
| Geographic Coverage | England | ü |
| Wales | ü | |
| Scotland | ü | |
| Northern Ireland | ü | |
| Version Number | 1 | |
| Date this specification last updated | 5 February 1998. | |
| Number of instances | 1.6 million unit postcodes (1.38 m in England; 0.15 m in Scotland; 0.09 m in Wales; 0.04 m in Northern Ireland). (9389 Postcode Sectors, 2833 Postcode Districts, 121 Postcode Areas). | |
| Lifecycle Description | - | |
| Associated key datasets |
General Register Office for
Scotland: |
|
| BSI/CEN/ISO standards applicable | Name |
BSi 7666 Part 3 (Annex C). |
| Date/status |
June 1994. |
|
| UKSGB Contact point | Name | Barry Aldridge |
| Organisation | Royal Mail, Address Management Centre | |
| Address |
Rowland Hill |
|
| Tel No | +44 (0) 1246 546395 | |
| Fax no | +44 (0) 1246 546395 | |
| barry.o.aldridge@royalmail.co.uk | ||