ONS Postcode Directory: UK Postcode to Administrative Area Mapping (November 2016)

United Kingdom postcode directory from November 2016, published by the Government Digital Service. The user guide describes directory content, data currency, methodology for assigning areas to postcodes, data formats, quality, and recent changes. The guide file is 977 KB in size.

Use Cases

• Geocode addresses based on postcode to administrative area mapping methodology.
• Analyze spatial distributions by linking postcodes to statistical geographies mentioned in the directory content.
• Assess data quality for location-based projects based on the described data quality and limitations.
• Understand changes in geographic boundaries over time based on details of recent changes.

Strengths

• Includes a detailed user guide covering methodology, formats, and quality (977 KB file).
• Provides information on data currency and recent changes impacting the data.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data is from November 2016; freshness should be verified for current applications.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Likely compiled from official UK geographic and postal sources.

Time Range

Snapshot from November 2016.

Freshness

Last updated 2025-08-11 07:49:02; data snapshot is from November 2016.

Geography

United Kingdom