Great Britain address formatting

UK Mail

When sending mail to UK addresses we need a full and accurate address complete with postcode.
You do not need to include a County name provided the post town and postcode are used.

Avoid using commas or full stops and do not centre or stagger your lines.

UK International mail

If you’re sending an item abroad, the country name, printed in CAPITALS, must come last. We recommend that you write your address on the back of all mail so that it can be returned to you if there’s a problem delivering it. Do not centre or stagger your lines. Include an Airmail sticker if being sent by Airmail. Ideally, the destination address should contain:

UK Postcodes

Each part of the postcode provides step-by-step information about where the item of mail is heading. From left to right the postcode narrows down its destination.

EC	1V	9	HQ
The first one or two letters is the postcode area and it identifies the main Royal Mail sorting office which will process the mail. In this case EC would go to the Mount Pleasant sorting office in London.	The second part is usually just one or two numbers but for some parts of London it can be a number and a letter. This is the postcode district and tells the sorting office which delivery office the mail should go to.	This third part is the sector and is usually just one number. This tells the delivery office which local area or neighbourhood the mail should go to.	The final part of the postcode is the unit code which is always two letters. This identifies a group of up to 80 addresses and tells the delivery office which postal route (or walk) will deliver the item.