The database was released commercially in March 2012 as part of the Royal Mail Postal Address File. Be found using Royal Mail's Postcode and. The Postcode Address File®, or PAF, puts the latest, most accurate UK address data at your disposal. It can save you time and money, and enhance your brand experience. It can save you time and money, and enhance your brand experience. Geocoding postcode point file. Over 1.8 million UK unique postcodes with 29 million delivery points, regularly updated. Geocoding postcode point file. Over 1.8 million UK unique postcodes with 29 million delivery points, regularly updated. 1.1 The Postcode Address File, or PAF, is a list of the 28 million delivery points to which mail items are delivered in the UK. It is currently owned and maintained by Royal Mail, and made available to anyone wishing to use it.
The Postcode Address File (PAF) is a database that contains all known 'Delivery Points' and postcodes in the United Kingdom. The PAF is a collection of over 29 million Royal Mail postal addresses and 1.8 million postcodes.[1] It is available in a variety of formats including FTP download and compact disc, and was previously available as Digital Audio Tape. As owner of the PAF, Royal Mail is required by section 116 of the Postal Services Act 2000 to maintain the data and make it available on reasonable terms. A charge is made for lookup services or wholesale supply of PAF data. Charges are regulated by Ofcom. It includes Small User Residential, Small User Organisation and Large User Organisation details. There have been requests as part of the Open Data campaign for the PAF to be released by the government free of charge.[2]
Usage[edit]
The 'delivery points' held on the PAF are routing instructions used by Royal Mail staff to sort and deliver mail quickly and accurately. Elements of the address, including the post town and postcode, are occasionally subject to change, reflecting the operational structure of the postal delivery system. Each address is therefore not necessarily a geographically accurate description of where a property is located.[3] Buildings which contain internal flats or businesses but have only one external front door will only have those internal elements recorded in PAF if the Royal Mail have direct access to them using a key or fob.
File structure[edit]
| Element | Field name | Description | Max length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organisation | Organisation Name | 60 | |
| Department Name | 60 | ||
| Premises | Sub Building Name | 30 | |
| Building Name | 50 | ||
| Building Number | 4 | ||
| Thoroughfare | Dependent Thoroughfare Name | 60 | |
| Dependent Thoroughfare Descriptor | 20 | ||
| Thoroughfare Name | Street[4] | 60 | |
| Thoroughfare Descriptor | 20 | ||
| Locality | Double Dependent Locality | Small villages[4] | 35 |
| Dependent Locality | 35 | ||
| Post town | 30 | ||
| Postcode | Postcode | 7 | |
| PO Box | PO Box | 6 |
Some versions of the PAF also contain the 'Delivery Point Suffix (DPS)' used in CBC (Customer Bar Code). Alternatively the DPS can be found using Royal Mail's 'Postcode Information File (PIF)' .[5]
Licensing[edit]
The PAF licence sets out what PAF can be used for. Licensing options include internal and external use and also more advanced options such as bureau services and broker groups.
Royalmail Postal Code Finder
An example of typical internal use is an employee of a licensed call centre who uses a PAF-based solution to look up and verify customer addresses. Berry linhof data mining techniques pdf editor. The PAF data is only being used within the licensed end-user and is not passed on to any other legal entity.
Royal Mail Postcode Address File Download
On the other hand, an example of external use would be a company which provides a PAF-based address look-up on their customer facing website for their own customers to use when they order goods or services.
Royal Mail provide licensing advice on their website.
Public Sector Licence[edit]
Public Sector Organisations can now apply to use PAF under the Public Sector Licence Use Terms. The Public Sector Licence will be fully implemented on 1 April 2015.
Royal Mail has worked along with the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) & the Scottish Government to develop the Public Sector Licence. The Public Sector Licence is being centrally paid for by these organisations so individual public sector organisations will no longer need to return PAF licence fees to Royal Mail.
The eligible public sector organisations will be able to use PAF within their organisation and on their website for non-commercial purposes. In addition, licensed public sector organisations will be able to share data with other licensed organisations and work collaboratively on. Powered By Paf. Royal Mail Group Ltd. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
dead-url= (help) dead-url= (help) dead-url= (help) dead-url= (help)External links[edit]
- Technical guide to using the PAF file – A document that explains the PAF file in some detail.