What is a royal mail postcode

A Royal Mail postcode, also known as a postal code or zip code, is a series of letters and numbers used to identify a specific geographic area in the United Kingdom. It is used by Royal Mail, the UK's postal service, to sort and deliver mail efficiently.

A Royal Mail postcode typically consists of two parts:

  1. The outward code: This is the first part of the postcode, which identifies the area or region. It is usually a combination of letters and numbers, and is often referred to as the "outward code" or "postcode prefix".
  2. The inward code: This is the second part of the postcode, which identifies a specific street or group of streets within the outward code area. It is usually a combination of letters and numbers, and is often referred to as the "inward code" or "postcode suffix".

Examples of Royal Mail postcodes include:

Royal Mail postcodes are used for a variety of purposes, including:

It's worth noting that Royal Mail postcodes are not the same as the National Statistics postcode sectors used by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS). While both systems use a similar format, the ONS postcode sectors are used for statistical purposes and are not used for mail sorting and delivery.