List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom facts for kids

The list of postcode areas in the United Kingdom shows the main areas used by Royal Mail to help deliver mail across the United Kingdom. A postcode area is the biggest part of a postcode, which is like a special address code. It's the first few letters you see in a UK postcode. There are currently 121 postcode areas in the UK. Plus, there are three more for the Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man.

How Postcode Areas are Divided

Each postcode area is split into smaller parts called post towns and postcode districts. On average, there are about 20 postcode districts within one postcode area. However, London is different. Its main post town is actually divided into several postcode areas itself!

What Do Postcode Areas Cover?

The letters used for postcode areas often help you remember the place they cover, like "ED" for Edinburgh. But these postcode areas, post towns, and districts don't follow official government borders. They usually cover much bigger areas than the town or city they are named after. For example, in the PA postcode area, some parts are 140 miles apart! Also, the eight postcode areas for London only cover about 40% of Greater London. The rest of Greater London is covered by parts of twelve other postcode areas around it.

Main Postcode Areas in the UK

Map of postcode areas in the United Kingdom and Crown dependencies, with links to each postcode area

Here's a list of the main postcode areas in the UK:

Postcode Areas for Crown Dependencies

The Crown Dependencies are not part of the UK, but they use similar postcode systems. They have their own postal services.

Postcode Areas That Are No Longer Used

Over time, some postcode areas have been changed or stopped being used.

London's Old Postcode Areas

London used to have postcode areas like NE (North East) and S (South), but these were removed.

Glasgow's Old System

Glasgow also had an old system where it was divided into compass directions (like C for Central, W for West). When new postcodes came in, these old divisions were changed to fit the new "G" postcode area. For example, C1 became G1.

Norwich and Croydon Experiments

In the 1960s, Norwich and Croydon were part of a postcode experiment. Their postcodes looked different, like NOR 07A. This system was later replaced by the current one, and they became CR0 and NR1.

Dublin's "D" Postcode

When Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, Dublin was given the postcode letter "D". Even after Ireland became independent, they kept this "D" for Dublin. The UK has never used "D" for a postcode area since then.

Special Postcodes That Aren't Geographic

Some postcode areas don't point to a specific place on a map. They are used for special purposes.

BF for British Forces

The BF postcode area was created in 2012 for British Forces Post Office addresses. This helps their mail look like other UK addresses. It uses the post town "BFPO" and the postcode district "BF1".

BX for Big Organisations

The BX postcode area is used for addresses that don't have a specific location. This gives large companies flexibility in where they receive their mail. For example, big banks like Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC use BX postcodes. Parts of HM Revenue and Customs (who deal with taxes) also use them.

GIR for Girobank

GIR 0AA is a special postcode made for Girobank in Bootle. Even after Girobank was taken over by other banks, this postcode is still used.

XM for Father Christmas

Yes, you read that right! XM4 5HQ is a postcode created just for Father Christmas.

XX for Returns and Testing

The XX postcode area is used by online shops for customer returns through Royal Mail. It's also used for things like COVID-19 test samples.

Postcodes for Overseas Territories

Some British Overseas Territories have their own postcodes. These are not UK postcodes, even if they look similar. Mail sent from the UK to these territories is treated as international mail.

Territory	Postcode
Anguilla	AI-2640
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha:  Ascension Island  Saint Helena  Tristan da Cunha	ASCN 1ZZ STHL 1ZZ TDCU 1ZZ
British Indian Ocean Territory	BBND 1ZZ
British Antarctic Territory	BIQQ 1ZZ
Falkland Islands	FIQQ 1ZZ
Gibraltar	GX11 1AA
Pitcairn Islands	PCRN 1ZZ
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	SIQQ 1ZZ
Turks and Caicos Islands	TKCA 1ZZ

Other overseas territories have their own, more detailed postcode systems:

Overseas Territory	More information
Bermuda	Postal codes in Bermuda
Cayman Islands	Postal codes in the Cayman Islands
British Virgin Islands	Postal codes in the British Virgin Islands
Montserrat	Postal codes in Montserrat

People living and working in Akrotiri and Dhekelia use Cyprus Postal Services and their Cypriot postal codes.

See also

• List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom by population
• List of postcode districts in the United Kingdom
• Postcodes in the United Kingdom
• UK Postcode Regions by Population
• List of Eircode routing areas in Ireland