The UK post codes refer to precise streets, and in some cases there may be several postcodes per street or road. They are formed of two parts, typically with a space between them. The first page would be the SE1 in the post code SE1 1AA. In this example SE1 refers an area of Southwark which contains localities such as Waterloo, London Bridge and Elephant & Castle. The letters refer to large areas that often correspond to cities, regions or in the case of London compass directions within the capital. In this case as this is a London postal code the SE stands for South East London. These areas are broken down into numbers. Very occasionally the numbers may have a further letter after them, for instance WC1A, where areas have been further sub-divided. The 1AA refers to the street within SE1, in this case part of Borough High Street. To send post to that address you’d need to write to the full address including full postcode, for instance:

John Smith,
1 Borough High Street,
London,
SE1 1AA,
United Kingdom

Postal Letters Areas

  • AB Aberdeen
  • AL St Albans
  • B Birmingham
  • BA Bath
  • BB Blackburn
  • BD Bradford
  • BH Bournemouth
  • BL Bolton
  • BN Brighton
  • BR Bromley
  • BS Bristol
  • BT Northern Ireland 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 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 The Fylde
  • G Glasgow
  • GL Gloucester
  • GU Guildford
  • HA Harrow
  • HD Huddersfield
  • HG Harrogate
  • HP Hemel Hempstead
  • HR Hereford
  • HS Outer Hebrides
  • HU Hull
  • HX Halifax
  • IG Ilford
  • 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 Rochester Medway (now sometimes known as Maidstone[4])
  • 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
  • SN Swindon
  • SO Southampton
  • SP Salisbury / Salisbury Plain
  • SR Sunderland
  • SS Southend-on-Sea
  • ST Stoke-on-Trent
  • SW South West London
  • SY Shrewsbury
  • TA Taunton
  • TD Galashiels / Teviotdale
  • TF Telford
  • TN Tonbridge
  • TQ Torquay
  • TR Truro
  • TS Cleveland / Teesside
  • TW Twickenham
  • UB Southall / Uxbridge
  • W West London
  • WA Warrington
  • WC Western Central London
  • WD Watford
  • WF Wakefield
  • WN Wigan
  • WR Worcester
  • WS Walsall
  • WV Wolverhampton
  • YO York
  • ZE Lerwick / Zetland

We will shortly be providing a database of every single postcode area. Here is the first one we’ve made: SW4 and SW8