Postcode Response Schema

The Postcode schema represents all geographical and administrative information associated with a UK postcode. This data is returned when using the postcode lookup endpoints and forms the core of the Postcodes.io API response structure.

Example

{
  "postcode": "BR8 7RE",
  "quality": 1,
  "eastings": 551626,
  "northings": 170342,
  "country": "England",
  "nhs_ha": "South East Coast",
  "longitude": 0.178871,
  "latitude": 51.411831,
  "european_electoral_region": "South East",
  "primary_care_trust": "West Kent",
  "region": "South East",
  "lsoa": "Sevenoaks 001A",
  "msoa": "Sevenoaks 001",
  "incode": "7RE",
  "outcode": "BR8",
  "parliamentary_constituency": "Sevenoaks",
  "parliamentary_constituency_2024": "Sevenoaks",
  "admin_district": "Sevenoaks",
  "parish": "Hextable",
  "admin_county": "Kent",
  "date_of_introduction": "198001",
  "admin_ward": "Hextable",
  "ced": "Swanley",
  "ccg": "NHS Kent and Medway",
  "nuts": "Sevenoaks",
  "pfa": "Kent",
  "nhs_region": "South East",
  "ttwa": "Maidstone and North Kent",
  "national_park": null,
  "bua": "Swanley",
  "icb": "NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board",
  "cancer_alliance": "Kent and Medway Cancer Alliance",
  "lsoa11": "Sevenoaks 001A",
  "msoa11": "Sevenoaks 001",
  "lsoa21": "Sevenoaks 001A",
  "msoa21": "Sevenoaks 001",
  "oa21": "E00058164",
  "ruc11": "Urban city and town",
  "ruc21": "Urban city and town",
  "lep1": "South East",
  "lep2": null,
  "codes": {
    "admin_district": "E07000111",
    "admin_county": "E10000016",
    "admin_ward": "E05009960",
    "parish": "E04012394",
    "parliamentary_constituency": "E14001465",
    "parliamentary_constituency_2024": "E14001465",
    "ccg": "E38000237",
    "ccg_id": "91Q",
    "ced": "E58000739",
    "nuts": "TLJ46",
    "lsoa": "E01024445",
    "msoa": "E02005087",
    "lau2": "E07000111",
    "pfa": "E23000032",
    "nhs_region": "E40000005",
    "ttwa": "E30000188",
    "national_park": null,
    "bua": "E34001422",
    "icb": "E54000032",
    "cancer_alliance": "E56000004",
    "lsoa11": "E01024445",
    "msoa11": "E02005087",
    "lsoa21": "E01024445",
    "msoa21": "E02005087",
    "oa21": "E00058164",
    "ruc11": "C1",
    "ruc21": "C1",
    "lep1": "E37000025",
    "lep2": null
  }
}

Reference

Field	Type	Description	Example
`postcode`	string	UK postcode format: 2-4 character outward code, a space, and a 3-character inward code. Updated monthly from Royal Mail.	"SW1A 2AA"
`outcode`	string	The first part of a postcode before the space (2-4 characters). This generally identifies the postal town or district.	"SW1A"
`incode`	string	The second part of a postcode after the space (always 3 characters). Helps identify specific streets or buildings within a postal area.	"1AA"
`quality`	integer	Indicates accuracy of the grid reference location (1-9 scale, 1 being most accurate).	1
`eastings`	integer \| null	Ordnance Survey grid reference easting (X-coordinate) with 1-meter resolution. May be null if geolocation unavailable.	530047
`northings`	integer \| null	Ordnance Survey grid reference northing (Y-coordinate) with 1-meter resolution. May be null if geolocation unavailable.	179951
`country`	string	The UK constituent country for this postcode (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, or Isle of Man).	"England"
`nhs_ha`	string \| null	The NHS health authority area for this postcode.	"London"
`admin_county`	string \| null	The administrative county for this postcode. May be empty for areas without county-level administration.	""
`admin_district`	string \| null	The administrative district or unitary authority for this postcode.	"Westminster"
`admin_ward`	string \| null	The electoral/administrative ward for this postcode.	"St. James's"
`longitude`	number \| null	WGS84 longitude coordinate (east-west position). May be null if geolocation unavailable.	-0.12767
`latitude`	number \| null	WGS84 latitude coordinate (north-south position). May be null if geolocation unavailable.	51.503541
`parliamentary_constituency`	string \| null	The UK Parliamentary constituency for this postcode.	"Cities of London and Westminster"
`european_electoral_region`	string \| null	The European Electoral Region for this postcode.	"London"
`primary_care_trust`	string \| null	The healthcare administrative area for this postcode. Different naming conventions apply across UK regions.	"Westminster"
`region`	string \| null	The regional designation for this postcode (formerly Government Office Regions or GORs).	"London"
`parish`	string \| null	The civil parish (England) or community (Wales) for this postcode.	"Westminster, unparished area"
`lsoa`	string \| null	2021 Census LSOA code (smaller statistical area, typically 1,000-1,500 residents). Now points to 2021 data.	"Westminster 018C"
`msoa`	string \| null	2021 Census MSOA code (mid-size statistical area, typically 5,000-7,000 residents). Now points to 2021 data.	"Westminster 018"
`ced`	string \| null	The county electoral division for English postcodes. Will be null for postcodes without a grid reference or in other UK regions.	null
`ccg`	string \| null	NHS Clinical Commissioning Group responsible for planning healthcare services in England.	"NHS North West London"
`nuts`	string \| null	International Territorial Levels (ITL) code for statistical geography (formerly NUTS - Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics).	"Westminster"
`codes`	object	Standard 9-character codes (ONS/GSS) for various administrative boundaries. Useful for data linking with official statistics.	-
`codes.admin_district`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this administrative district.	"E09000033"
`codes.admin_county`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this administrative county.	"E99999999"
`codes.admin_ward`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this administrative ward.	"E05013806"
`codes.parish`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this parish.	"E43000236"
`codes.ccg`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this Clinical Commissioning Group.	"E38000256"
`codes.ccg_id`	string \| null	Short code identifier for this Clinical Commissioning Group.	"W2U3Z"
`codes.ced`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this County Electoral District.	"E99999999"
`codes.nuts`	string \| null	Official code for this International Territorial Level area.	"TLI32"
`codes.lau2`	string \| null	Local Administrative Unit level 2 code for this area.	"E09000033"
`codes.lsoa`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this 2021 Census LSOA.	"E01004736"
`codes.msoa`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this 2021 Census MSOA.	"E02000977"
`codes.pfa`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this Police Force Area.	"E23000001"
`pfa`	string \| null	The police force area for this postcode.	"Metropolitan Police"
`date_of_introduction`	string \| null	The date the postcode was introduced in YYYYMM format.	"198001"
`parliamentary_constituency_2024`	string \| null	The UK Parliamentary constituency for this postcode based on July 2024 boundaries.	"Cities of London and Westminster"
`nhs_region`	string \| null	The NHS England Region for this postcode. Only applicable to English postcodes.	"London"
`ttwa`	string \| null	The Travel to Work Area for this postcode. TTWAs are areas where most people both live and work.	"London"
`national_park`	string \| null	The National Park this postcode falls within, if any.	null
`bua`	string \| null	The Built-up Area (2022) for this postcode.	"Greater London"
`icb`	string \| null	The NHS Integrated Care Board responsible for healthcare planning in this area.	"NHS North West London ICB"
`cancer_alliance`	string \| null	The Cancer Alliance for this postcode.	"RM Partners (West London)"
`lsoa11`	string \| null	2011 Census LSOA code. Alias for the 'lsoa' field.	"Westminster 018C"
`msoa11`	string \| null	2011 Census MSOA code. Alias for the 'msoa' field.	"Westminster 018"
`lsoa21`	string \| null	2021 Census LSOA code. In Scotland this is the Data Zone, in Northern Ireland the Small Area.	"Westminster 018C"
`msoa21`	string \| null	2021 Census MSOA code. In Scotland this is the Intermediate Zone.	"Westminster 018"
`oa21`	string \| null	2021 Census Output Area code - the smallest census geography.	"E00004185"
`ruc11`	string \| null	The 2011 Census Rural-Urban Classification for this postcode.	"Urban major conurbation"
`ruc21`	string \| null	The 2021 Census Rural-Urban Classification for this postcode.	"Urban major conurbation"
`lep1`	string \| null	The primary Local Enterprise Partnership for this postcode.	"London"
`lep2`	string \| null	The secondary Local Enterprise Partnership for this postcode, if it falls within overlapping LEP areas.	null
`codes.nhs_region`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this NHS England Region.	"E40000003"
`codes.ttwa`	string \| null	Travel to Work Area code.	"E30000234"
`codes.national_park`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this National Park.	null
`codes.bua`	string \| null	Built-up Area (2022) code.	"E34004786"
`codes.icb`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this Integrated Care Board.	"E54000027"
`codes.cancer_alliance`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this Cancer Alliance.	"E56000009"
`codes.lsoa11`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this 2011 Census LSOA. Alias for codes.lsoa.	"E01004736"
`codes.msoa11`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this 2011 Census MSOA. Alias for codes.msoa.	"E02000977"
`codes.lsoa21`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this 2021 Census LSOA.	"E01004736"
`codes.msoa21`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this 2021 Census MSOA.	"E02000977"
`codes.oa21`	string \| null	2021 Census Output Area code.	"E00004185"
`codes.ruc11`	string \| null	2011 Census Rural-Urban Classification code.	"A1"
`codes.ruc21`	string \| null	2021 Census Rural-Urban Classification code.	"A1"
`codes.lep1`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for the primary Local Enterprise Partnership.	"E37000051"
`codes.lep2`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for the secondary Local Enterprise Partnership.	null
`codes.parliamentary_constituency_2024`	string \| null	Official 9-character GSS code for this Parliamentary Constituency based on July 2024 boundaries.	"E14000639"

Positional Quality

Quality Value	Description
1	Within the actual building (most accurate)
2	Same as 1, but verified by Landline maps (Scotland only)
3	Approximate location within 50m
4	Postcode unit mean (averaged from addresses with same postcode)
5	Estimated by ONS using surrounding postcodes
6	Postcode sector mean (mainly PO Boxes)
8	Historical postcode (pre-Gridlink®)
9	No grid reference available

Example​

Reference​

Positional Quality​

Example

Reference

Positional Quality