Postcode Address File

Under the conditions of its licence, Royal Mail is obliged to maintain the Postcode Address File (the PAF) file, make it available to any person who wishes to use it on terms that are reasonable, and to establish a Code of Practice that sets out the procedures for making changes to postal addresses on PAF.

Review of the management of PAF

Postcomm has agreed with Royal Mail new safeguards for the future management of the postcode and address data contained in its Postcode Address File (PAF).

The four key issues covered in the decision are:

  • The definition of PAF. What information should Royal Mail be obliged to supply? Postcomm considers that ‘PAF data’ is not only made up of postcode details, but also includes other information needed to allow users to identify specific addresses.
  • The creation of an advisory board. Royal Mail has agreed to set up an advisory board to represent the views of PAF users, and has already started the recruitment process for the board’s independent chairman.
  • Ringfencing of PAF. As competition develops in the mail market – and also with other suppliers of similar address data – it is crucial that Royal Mail ringfences PAF from its other activities, in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
  • Profits. PAF is a unique set of data that it would be almost impossible to replicate. This, combined with the increasing demand for PAF data from a wide range of organisations, puts Royal Mail in a very powerful position where setting prices is concerned. Although PAF does not fall within the ‘price control’ that Postcomm uses to set a pricing and service quality framework for Royal Mail, the company has agreed to aim for an operating profit margin in the range of 8-10%.
  • More information on the PAF Review. 
  • More information on the Postcode Address File from Consumer Focus (external website).
  • Postcomm's series of downloadable factsheets includes a brief guide to our work on Royal Mail's Postcode Address File.

Changing postal addresses

The postcode is used as a routing instruction by Royal Mail to sort and deliver mail more accurately and efficiently.  It is not always a geographically accurate description of where a property is located.  Postal users can be sensitive to changes to their postal address; similarly, there can be significant service and delivery implications for Royal Mail when postal addresses are changed.

In accordance with its licence, Royal Mail has established a Code of Practice setting out the process that postal users must go through in order to modify a postal address held on PAF, and the process for Royal Mail to inform postal users of changes to a postal address.

  • On 28 May 2009, Postcomm  began a two month consultation on changes to the existing PAF Code of Practice which have been proposed by Royal Mail and Consumer Focus in line with Condition 22 of Royal Mail’s Licence and which are subject to agreement by Postcomm.
  • The proposed revisions are not major and they include:
    -  improved information about how to get help with the Code, how customers can raise queries and make complaints and the work of the PAF Advisory Board
    -  providing a more detailed explanation of why, for operational purposes, it is not possible to make changes to post towns
    -  requiring the instigator of a locality or postcode change to obtain clear boundary information on the change to be considered
    -  removing references to Postwatch
    -  clarifying that Royal Mail may make changes for efficiency as well as operational reasons
    -  further criteria for customer-driven change requests
    -  requiring Royal Mail to advise, rather than consult on, changes by local authorities (as it has no discretion on implementing such changes)
    -  new procedures to inform Postcomm of the feedback from ballots
    -  encouraging PAF users to use accurate, up to date versions of PAF
    -  setting the proposed date for the next review of the Code of Practice as September 2014.
    Views of stakeholders are also sought on the use of county information in PAF.
  • Stakeholders are invited to comment on the proposed changes and/or to suggest other changes during the consultation.
  • The Consultation is open for two months and will close on 28 July 2009.

Postcomm does not intervene to resolve disputes over individual postcodes.  If you believe your postcode is incorrect, please contact Royal Mail (external website).