Address (UK)
This pattern was last updated 03/09/2020, this is version 0.8.
Very Experimental
Pattern Created
24/01/2020
Description
An address is one of the most complex pieces of data that we use. The way we expect to read them, record them, and store them are different depending on the context.
They are resilient to inaccuracy for their original use; going to a place or sending an item to a place. This resilience is because the processes in which they are commonly used are mostly manual. A postman knows their route, and with part of an address, or a mostly accurate address can deliver to that address successfully.
The same is true when travelling to an address, if the address is accurate enough people can find a location using context when they arrive. However as the world becomes more automated, good enough will no longer be good enough. A self driving car or drone needs exact information, it cannot use human intuition.
As an example, the first time one of the Data Team went to the Foss House in York, they ended up walking to a nearby block of flats, also called Foss House because the mapping service being used did not know which Foss House was correct.
Another effect of resilience to inaccuracy is the in way that people record their address. Do you include the postcode? Should the house name or number be on the same line as the road? What about a block of flats that share a house number? For example;
P Sherman, Flat 1, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney
Because of this complexity there are three versions of the address pattern;
Display
The Display version of the pattern is how we would display an address to our users. This version of the pattern matches what you would expect an address to look like and is the most human friendly.
Simple
The simple pattern is how an address should be stored when the additional information in the extended version is not required. This address pattern is not user friendly. Some of the fields used will only apply when referencing a business address i.e. Organisation name but should still be included even if no businesses are currently in the list to allow flexibility if this changes in the future.
Extended
The extended version of the pattern is used when we want to record as much information about the address as possible. All addresses stored in the extended pattern must be checked for accuracy. This address pattern is not user friendly and should not be shown to our users in this format.
It is recommended that an address matching service is used when capturing address data from our users in order to ensure the information we are recording is accurate. For more information about the address matching service to be used, and how to use it please contact the Technical Design Authority.
For the patterns in this document, it is assumed that the address matching service used is TBD, If an alternate service has been used please modify the patterns, as detailed in each section, to match the address matching service used.
Display format
The display address consists of five lines as follows. This pattern covers the standard UK address pattern. For delivering mail the minimum requirements would be the addressee, town or city and postcode. This pattern is designed to be user friendly, but not very machine readable.
| Line No | Description | Required | Can be NULL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line 1 | Building and Street | Required | No |
| Line 2 | Optional | Yes | |
| Line 3 | Town or City | Required | No |
| Line 4 | County | Optional | Yes |
| Line 5 | Postcode | Required | No |
Notes
Lines 1 and 2 - Street names should not be abbreviated eg Road, Lane, Street, Avenue should not be abbreviated to Rd, Ln, St or Ave. (use of address matching service would cater for this).
Line 2 is used if there is additional street or locale information eg
Flat 3
15 Sycamore Avenue
or
Heron House
345 London Road
Line 3 is used for the town or city (or locale, see example below), regardless of whether Line 2 has been populated. In the example below, Lines 1 and 2 have been used for the house name and street, followed by a locale on line 3, with the Town or City on line 4
Red Bank Farm
The Shore Bolton Le Sands
CARNFORTH
LA5 8JR
Line 4 - is used for the County, however, it is not actually required for mail delivery but is commonly included as part of the address. Gov.uk shows line 4 as County in their address pattern.
It is possible for County to be missing from an address.
Our minimum requirements are that lines 1, 3 and 5 are populated.
Simple Format
The simple format is how an address should be stored within a database for prototyping and early iterations of services. This format is designed to be machine readable but is not user friendly. Address data stored in the simple format should be presented to users in the display format.
| Field Name | Description | Required | Can be NULL |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPRN | The UPRN is the unique property reference number for an address, more information can be found in the UPRN pattern | No | Yes |
| Organisation Name | Organisation Name for the delivery point at an address | No | Yes |
| Department Name | Department name for an address, can only be used when organisation name is not null | No | Yes |
| Sub Building Name | the sub building name or number for a property | No | Yes |
| Building Name | The name of a building | Yes | Yes |
| Building Number | The number of a building | Yes | Yes |
| Dependent Thoroughfare | A dependent thoroughfare, are named thoroughfares within another named thoroughfare. | No | Yes |
| Thoroughfare | A thoroughfare is the name of the road/ street/ etc used within the address | Yes | No |
| Post Town | The town or the city within the address | Yes | No |
| Dependent Locality | A dependent locality defined an area within a post town i.e. Shirley, Southampton where Shirley is the dependent locality, and Southampton is the post town | No | Yes |
| Post Code | The postcode for an address | Yes | Yes |
Notes
While building name and building number can be NULL, they cannot both be NULL.
These fields are taken from the delivery point address dataset within OS Addressbase. It is the data behind most address matching services which include UPRN data. These are the minimum fields which need to be captured in order to store an address to our standards.
SQL
This SQL will generate the simple pattern, it has been written for Postgres so conversion may be necessary for other databases.
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS simple
(
UPRN FLOAT8,
ORGANISATION_NAME VARCHAR(60),
DEPARTMENT_NAME VARCHAR(60),
SUB_BUILDING_NAME VARCHAR(30),
BUILDING_NAME VARCHAR(50),
BUILDING_NUMBER NUMERIC(4,0),
DEPENDENT_THOROUGHFARE VARCHAR(80),
THOROUGHFARE VARCHAR(80),
DEPENDENT_LOCALITY VARCHAR(35),
POST_TOWN VARCHAR(30),
POSTCODE VARCHAR(8),
);
Extended Format
The extended pattern for an address is the complete list of fields used within the AddressBase delivery point address dataset. A full list can be found in the AddressBase technical specification. The field list starts on page 11 and continues to page 17.
Most geo-coding services source data from Ordnance Survey master data, therefore data fields should be equivalent across services.
SQL
This SQL will generate the extended pattern, it has been written for Postgres so conversion may be necessary for other databases.
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS deliverypointaddress
(
RECORD_IDENTIFIER INTEGER,
CHANGE_TYPE CHAR(1),
PRO_ORDER INTEGER,
UPRN FLOAT8,
UDPRN NUMERIC(8,0),
ORGANISATION_NAME VARCHAR(60),
DEPARTMENT_NAME VARCHAR(60),
SUB_BUILDING_NAME VARCHAR(30),
BUILDING_NAME VARCHAR(50),
BUILDING_NUMBER NUMERIC(4,0),
DEPENDENT_THOROUGHFARE VARCHAR(80),
THOROUGHFARE VARCHAR(80),
DOUBLE_DEPENDENT_LOCALITY VARCHAR(35),
DEPENDENT_LOCALITY VARCHAR(35),
POST_TOWN VARCHAR(30),
POSTCODE VARCHAR(8),
POSTCODE_TYPE CHAR(1),
DELIVERY_POINT_SUFFIX VARCHAR,
WELSH_DEPENDENT_THOROUGHFARE VARCHAR,
WELSH_THOROUGHFARE VARCHAR,
WELSH_DOUBLE_DEPENDENT_LOCALITY VARCHAR,
WELSH_DEPENDENT_LOCALITY VARCHAR,
WELSH_POST_TOWN VARCHAR,
PO_BOX_NUMBER VARCHAR(6),
PROCESS_DATE VARCHAR,
START_DATE CHAR(10),
END_DATE CHAR(10),
LAST_UPDATE_DATE CHAR(10),
ENTRY_DATE CHAR(10)
);