This guide provides a comprehensive overview of United Kingdom address formatting, postal code structures, and localization practices. It includes information on postal services, languages, time zones, and address validation standards across the United Kingdom.
Address Format
Structure for standardized United Kingdom postal addresses.
Organization
SubPremisesLevel SubPremisesType SubBuilding
Building
PremisesNumber DependentThoroughfare
Thoroughfare
DoubleDependentLocality
DependentLocality
Locality
PostalCode
Country
Address Verification Data
United Kingdom postal addresses verification data.
| Available: | Yes |
| Does the country use Postal Codes: | Yes |
| PO Box Indicator: | PO Box, Blwch Post |
| ISO-2-Code: | GB |
| ISO-3-Code: | GBR |
| Phonecode: | 44 |
Address Example
Example of standardized UK postal addresses.
Country Info
Full Country Name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| Country Alpha-2 code | GB |
|---|---|
| Country Alpha-3 code | GBR |
| Numeric Code | 8260 |
Timezone
United Kingdom Time Zone Details
| Time Zone | UTC | DST |
|---|---|---|
| Europe/London | UTC+0 | Yes |
Official Language
Overview of official and commonly spoken languages.
There is no official language but English is the de-facto default language. In Wales, Welsh is also considered an official language alongside English.
Fun Fact
Did you know that Romanian is now the second most spoken language in London, after English.Postal Authority
Royal Mail Ltd is the postal authority of United Kingdom. With over 500 years of history, they began as exclusive postal service for the King and is court. Today, they deliver mail six days a week to the 32 million homes in the United Kingdom.
Prior to privatization, Post Office Limited was a subsidiary of Royal Mail group with Royal Mail responsible for delivery letters and parcels while the Post Office provided counter services. The Postal Service Act passed in 2011 separated the Royal Mail Group Ltd and the Post Office Ltd, with Royal Mail going private in 2013.
Postal Data & Certification
Royal Mail’s Postcode Address File (PAF) is the UK’s most up-to-date address database. It contains over 32 million delivery points, 1.8 million postal codes, and 1.4 million business names. Melissa uses the PAF data to power our United Kingdom address validation engine
Also available through Melissa are additional data sets from Royal Mail:
- Multiple Residence: Identify multiple occupancy that share a front door
- Not Yet Built: Properties in the planning and construction phase
- BFPO: Address data for more than 100,000 British forces overseas
- Post Box: Over 35,000 PO Boxes provided by Royal Mail
The Royal Mail data covers England, Scotland, Wales as well as Northern Ireland. Additionally, it also covers the crown dependencies of Isle of Man, Guernsey, and Jersey
Name Conventions
Population Names
In the United Kingdom, names are predominately English/Latin, in the western naming format:
[opt: title/ prenominal] [given name] [opt: middle given name(s)] [FAMILY NAME][opt: suffix /post nominal]
Examples:
- Mr. John Smith MD
- Sir Ian McKnighted
- John Parliament, MP
British names are traditionally patrilineal (wife commonly adopts husbands’ surname). Generally, there are no naming laws. Local Registry Offices reject will obscenities and numerics. Although rare, UK names may contain royalty titles like ‘Sir’ or “Duke of’
Organizational Names
While Royal Mail does contain over 1.4 million company names, they do not have all the company names in the United Kingdom. Having said that, Royal Mail is one of the few postal authorities that actually does keep and make available a significant number of Organization name and addresses.
Common company indicators include: PLC, LTD, UNLTD, LLP, IPS, and RC.
