Postal codes in the United Kingdom

UK postal codes are known as postcodes.

UK postcodes use letters and numbers. The British Prime Minister's postcode at 10 Downing Street is SW1A 2AA.

These codes were started by the Royal Mail over a 15-year period from 1959 to 1974 – the full list is now available electronically from the Royal Mail as the Postcode Address File. They were made to help electronically sort mail.

Postcodes are now used for many other purposes such as insurance calculations, and as a way to describe United Kingdom places to sat navs.

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v t e Postal services in the United Kingdom
Postal geography	Postcodes List of postcode areas List of postcode districts Postal counties Post town List of post towns London postal district Postcode Address File Mailsort
Organisations	British Forces Post Office Collect DHL DX FedEx Geopost Evri Parcelforce Post Office Royal Mail TNT UK Mail UPS Whistl Yodel
Study of postage stamps and postal history	Postage stamps and postal history
Infrastructure	Mail centres Integrated mail processing Intelligent Letter Sorting Machines
British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies have different operators and regulatory arrangements.