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",
  "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"
  }
}

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	2011 Census LSOA code (smaller statistical area, typically 1,000-1,500 residents).	"Westminster 018C"
msoa	string | null	2011 Census MSOA code (mid-size statistical area, typically 5,000-7,000 residents).	"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 Lower Layer Super Output Area.	"E01004736"
codes.msoa	string | null	Official 9-character GSS code for this Middle Layer Super Output Area.	"E02000977"

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