This page describes the meaning of the columns in the CSVs files available on the postcode downloads page. The main postcode CSV file contains the columns described below. Other CSV downloads generally contain a subset of these columns
| Postcode | The Postcode that is the subject of this row in the format as it would be used in an address i.e. SE1 2AB |
|---|---|
| In Use? | Yes/No Flag to indicate that this Postcode is currently in use. Refer to columns [Introduced] and [Terminated] for further information |
| Latitude | Latitude of centroid of the Postcode for this row in decimal format i.e. 51.50205 |
| Longitude | Longitude of centroid of the Postcode for this row in decimal format. i.e -0.07864. Negative values are those to the West of the zero (Greenwich) meridian |
| Easting | Co-ordinate of the East-West plane on the British National Grid. Reference |
| Northing | Co-ordinate of the North-South plane on the British National Grid |
| Grid Ref | Ordnance Survey grid reference in format xxnnnnnn i.e. TQ365751. Reference |
| County | Name of the Ceremonial County that this Postcode sits within. Some of these counties map directly to County Councils. Part of the hierarchy of: County->District->Ward |
| District | Name of the Local authority district (LAD)/unitary authority (UA)/ metropolitan district (MD)/ London borough (LB)/ council area (CA)/district council area (DCA) that this Postcode sits within. Part of the hierarchy of: County->District->Ward |
| Ward | Name of the local authority Ward that this Postcode sits within. Part of the hierarchy of: County->District->Ward |
| District Code | Code of the District that this Postcode sits within. Part of the hierarchy of: County->District->Ward |
| Ward Code | Code of the Ward that this Postcode sits within. Part of the hierarchy of: County->District->Ward |
| Country | Name of the Country that this Postcode sits within. Values are: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| County Code | Code of the County that this Postcode sits within. Part of the hierarchy of: County->District->Ward |
| Constituency | Name of the Paliamentary Constituency that this Postcode sat within prior to 2024 |
| Introduced | Date that this Postcode was introduced |
| Terminated | Date that this Postcode was withdrawn from use (empty when the postcode is still in use) |
| Parish | Name of the Parish this this Postcode sits within. n.b Not all areas are designated a Parish |
| National Park | Name of the National Park that this Postcode sits within, where applicable |
| Population | Population of the area covered by the Postcode (from the 2011 census) |
| Households | Number of Households in the area covered by the Postcode (from the 2011 census) |
| Built up area | Name of the built-up area this postcode is part of |
| Built up sub-division | Name of the built-up area sub-division this postcode is part of |
| Lower layer super output area | Name of the Lower Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) that this Postcode sits within (2011). Refer to: [LSOA Code] |
| Rural/urban | Description of the area covered by the Postcode i.e. Urban major conurbation, Remote small town, Urban city and town etc. |
| Region | Broad region of the UK i.e. London, South West, West Midlands, Yorkshire and The Humber etc. Used as ITL/NUTS level 1 |
| Altitude | Height above sea level measured in Metres |
| London zone | Transport for London (TfL) Travel Zone indicator (London area only) |
| LSOA Code | Code for the Lower Layer Super Output Area (LSOA) that this Postcode sits within (2011). Reference |
| Local authority | County Council area that this Postcode sits within. For Unitary Authorties, London etc this value will not be populated. Reference |
| MSOA Code | Code for the Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) that this Postcode sits within (2011). Reference |
| Middle layer super output area | Name of the Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) that this Postcode sits within (2011). Refer to: [MSOA Code] |
| Parish Code | Code of the Parish that this Postcode sits within. n.b Not all areas are designated a Parish. e.g. E43000213 |
| Census output area | Code for the Census Output Area (2011) e.g. E00016581 |
| Constituency Code | Code of the Paliamentary Constituency that this Postcode sits within for elections prior to 2024. e.g. E14000789 |
| Index of Multiple Deprivation | The deprivation rank for the postcode, where 1 is the most deprived. The range of values is as follows 1 - 32844 = England 1 - 1909 = Wales 1 - 6976 = Scotland 1 - 890 = Northern Ireland |
| Quality | A Data Quality Flag for the current row. Values are as follows: 1 = within the building of the matched address closest to the postcode mean. 2 = as for status value 1, except by visual inspection of Landline maps (Scotland only). 3 = approximate to within 50 metres. 4 = postcode unit mean (mean of matched addresses with the same postcode, but not snapped to a building). 5 = imputed by ONS, by reference to surrounding postcode grid references. 6 = postcode sector mean, (mainly PO Boxes). 7 = deliberately left blank 8 = postcode terminated prior to Gridlink initiative, last known ONS postcode grid reference. 9 = no grid reference available. |
| User Type | Shows whether the postcode is a small or large user. 0 = small user (addresses receive less than 25 items of mail per day) 1 = large user (addresses receive more than 25 items of mail per day) |
| Last Updated | The date the data for this postcode was last updated. The data is refreshed every 3 months when the ONS release the postcode directory |
| Nearest station | The nearest train station to the postcode. For London, also includes Underground and tram stops |
| Distance to station | The distance as the crow flies in kilometres to the nearest station from the postcode |
| Postcode area | The area of the postcode (e.g. KT) |
| Postcode district | The district of the the postcode (e.g. KT1) |
| Police force | The name of the police force responsible for this postcode |
| Water company | The name of the water company responsible for this postcode |
| Plus Code | Plus Code of the postcode |
| Average income | Average household income of the MSOA that the postcode is located in (2020) |
| Sewage company | If the sewage company is different from the water company, this column will contain the name of the sewage company |
| Travel to work area | The area in which the bulk of the population work |
| ITL level 2 | ITL (formerly NUTS) is a system of geograhical sub-divisions defined by the EU. There are 3 levels, the Region column defines level 1. ITL is the post-Brexit name, although the regions currently remain the same |
| ITL level 3 | As above |
| UPRNs | Comma separated list of Unique Property Reference Numbers within the postcode |
| Distance to sea | The approximate distance from this postcode to the sea in kilometres |
| LSOA21 Code | Code for the Lower Layer Super Output Area (LSOA) that this Postcode sits within (2021). Reference |
| Lower layer super output area 2021 | Name of the Lower Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) that this Postcode sits within (2021). Refer to: [LSOA21 Code] |
| MSOA21 Code | Code for the Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) that this Postcode sits within (2021). Reference |
| Middle layer super output area 2021 | Name of the Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) that this Postcode sits within (2021). Refer to: [MSOA21 Code] |
| Census output area 2021 | Code for the Census Output Area (2021) e.g. E00016581 |
| IMD decile | Score between 1 and 10 for the Index of Multiple Deprivation, where 1 is the most deprived |
| Constituency Code 2024 | Code of the Paliamentary Constituency that this Postcode sits within for elections from 2024. e.g. E14000789 |
| Constituency Name 2024 | Name of the Paliamentary Constituency that this Postcode sits within since 2024 |
| Property Type | The most common type of property within this postcode |