Want the Postcode Address File for free? Just ask (updated)
Some more remarkable achievements by the Showusabetterway website – the competition set up by the UK government asking people to suggest ways to use its data to create mashups and new services, and offering a £20,000 prize for a winner. (Or possibly winners. But read on.)
The latest win: the Royal Mail is joining in, offering its Postcode Address File. Yes, you can argue that it ought to make that available for free anyway, but let’s change the world one piece at a time.
To get the full file, all you need to do – as the site explains – is to email the Royal Mail.
For full access you should email the Address Management Unit at address.management@royalmail.com Put ‘Show Us A Better Way’ in your subject heading so they know to prioritise your request.
Please also in the email say (a) the format you’d like it in (given on the details page) and your physical address, so they can send you the data on CD if you want it.
(The link above will fill in the email with the subject line pre-filled.)
This is a hell of an achievement. As I understand it, the licences will only be valid through to the end of July, so be quick. But if you’ve ever needed to see what the full PAF looks like, here’s your chance.
Obviously, we would not condone using it in ways that breach the Royal Mail licence. We’re aiming to do this legally. But it’s definitely another success for the Power of Information taskforce and Tom Watson in the Cabinet Office. He said he’d have a go on June 29th; now he’s achieved it. Three weeks? For government and licensing regimes, that’s fast.
- The following posts may be related...(the database guesses):
- In today's Guardian: who will address the postcode mess? (13 July 2006; score: 57.14%)
- Postcodes to be free? But which ones? (9 December 2009; score: 50.64%)
- Will the Post Office and Ordnance Survey ever agree about house names? (10 July 2006; score: 45.16%)
- Postcomm makes recommendations on future of Postcode Address File: it should make a profit (19 April 2007; score: 44.91%)
- Revealed: how profitable Royal Mail's Postcode Address File (PAF) really is (26 April 2007; score: 42.55%)
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:55 am
I don’t think it’s the full file – the site says “Sample raw data”.
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:30 am
@Phil – yes, you can get the full file. You have to ask for it using the email address above. I’ve updated the post with some information about what is requested by RM.
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:30 am
No, the Royal Mail have agreed to send out the full PAF file provided you a) ask! and b) agree to use it for the purposes of the ShowUsABetterWay.com competition.
More details here (i’ll rewrite the below to make clearer when i get a mo)
http://www.showusabetterway.co.uk/call/data.html#mail
Make sure you email and ask for the full PAF file if that’s what you want (they’ll give out samples no probs), and expect them to ask you some questions about your intended usage (ie they’ve only agreed to release for use as part of the
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:57 am
Wow! This will open this floodgates. Awaiting my CD now.
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:24 am
I wonder if Ordnance Survey will follow the lead and make its Mastermap dataset for the UK available to everyone!! (…and pigs might fly!)
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:31 pm
A very small step. Looks to be only to be used for developing your ‘competition’ entry… want to do anything else useful with it and you will have to splash the cash.
July 25th, 2008 at 9:46 am
It’s a shame the Postzon (postcode -> lat/lon) data isn’t included – that would potentially be more useful.
July 27th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
[...] The Postcode Address File — this behemoth maps UK postcodes to addresses, including address aliases, Welsh language equivalents and sub-addresses for buildings with more than one. Instructions on how to get a sample are on the Show Us a Better Way website, though amusingly the only way of getting the sample data is on a CD in the post. So much for progress. [...]