NationMaster - Encyclopedia: List of British postal codes

The British postal system runs on a system of alphanumeric codes, or Postcodes. Each postcode begins with a prefix consisting of one or two letters. Normally this prefix denotes the main sorting office through which the post for that place is filtered before being distributed to individual addresses; the only exception to this rule is with postcodes in the inner London area (but this does not correspond completely to other definitions of inner London).

Note that the postcodes, and also the full postal addresses, do not follow local government or traditional county boundaries. The London postal district is much smaller than the boundaries of the Greater London Authority and many areas in outer London have the more standard form of postcode.

Postal counties are no longer required by Royal Mail; and if a postcode is supplied, the county will be ignored. Many people will still quote their address using them, however.

British Postcode Prefixes

AB - Aberdeen
AL - St Albans
B - Birmingham
BA - Bath
BB - Blackburn
BD - Bradford
BH - Bournemouth
BL - Bolton
BN - Brighton
BR - Bromley
BS - Bristol
BT - Belfast
CA - Carlisle
CB - Cambridge
CF - Cardiff
CH - Chester
CM - Chelmsford
CO - Colchester
CR - Croydon
CT - Canterbury
CV - Coventry
CW - Crewe
DA - Dartford
DD - Dundee
DE - Derby
DG - Dumfries and Galloway
DH - Durham
DL - Darlington
DN - Doncaster
DT - Dorchester
DY - Dudley
E - East London
EC - East Central London
EH - Edinburgh
EN - Enfield
EX - Exeter
FK - Falkirk
FY - Blackpool (Fylde)
G - Glasgow
GL - Gloucester
GU - Guildford
HA - Harrow
HD - Huddersfield
HG - Harrogate
HP - Hemel Hempstead
HR - Hereford
HS - Outer Hebrides
HU - Kingston upon Hull
HX - Halifax
IG - Ilford (and Gants Hill)
IP - Ipswich
IV - Inverness
KA - Kilmarnock
KT - Kingston-upon-Thames
KW - Kirkwall
KY - Kirkcaldy
L - Liverpool
LA - Lancaster
LD - Llandrindod Wells
LE - Leicester
LL - Llandudno
LN - Lincoln
LS - Leeds
LU - Luton
M - Manchester
ME - Medway Towns
MK - Milton Keynes
ML - Motherwell
N - North London
NE - Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NG - Nottingham
NN - Northampton
NP - Newport
NR - Norwich
NW - North West London
OL - Oldham
OX - Oxford
PA - Paisley
PE - Peterborough
PH - Perth
PL - Plymouth
PO - Portsmouth
PR - Preston
RG - Reading
RH - Redhill
RM - Romford
S - Sheffield
SA - Swansea
SE - South East London
SG - Stevenage
SK - Stockport
SL - Slough
SM - Sutton (and Morden)
SN - Swindon
SO - Southampton
SP - Salisbury
SR - Sunderland
SS - Southend on Sea
ST - Stoke-on-Trent
SW - South West London
SY - Shrewsbury
TA - Taunton
TD - Galashiels (Tweed)
TF - Telford
TN - Tonbridge
TQ - Torquay
TR - Truro
TS - Teesside
TW - Twickenham
UB - Uxbridge
W - West London
WA - Warrington
WC - West Central London
WD - Watford
WF - Wakefield
WN - Wigan
WR - Worcester
WS - Walsall
WV - Wolverhampton
YO - York
ZE - Shetland (Zetland)

Contents

1 Crown Dependencies

2 Overseas Territories

3 Fictional Postcodes

4 See Also

Crown Dependencies

The Crown Dependencies did not introduce postcodes until the early 1990s.

GY - Guernsey
JE - Jersey
IM - Isle of Man

Overseas Territories

Some of the UK's Overseas Territories have postcodes, valid for all local addresses. There were introduced in 2003 to avoid the misdirection of mail to other destinations, and to help residents of those territories make online purchases from websites that required a postcode in order to validate the address.

ASCN 1ZZ - Ascension Island
BIQQ 1ZZ - British Antarctic Territory
FIQQ 1ZZ - Falkland Islands
SIQQ 1ZZ - South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
STHL 1ZZ - Saint Helena

Fictional Postcodes

AM - Ambridge, Borsetshire, (The Archers)
E20 - Walford, East London (EastEnders)
FX - Fairfax (Used by the Post Office for training purposes)
RE1 - the city-sized interplanetary vessel Red Dwarf (Red Dwarf) (Probably considered an overseas territory)