The address type indicator helps identify what kind of property level data will be needed to capture a full address. For example it may need a property name or number or an apartment name or number. This is useful with street level solutions (such as AFD Postcode or AFD Plotter) in assisting (say) call centre agents to ask the right kind of questions when completing address property details.

Together these two new pieces of information provide even more intelligence about the address you are dealing with – so that you can better target the service you provide to your contacts – and the good news is, they’re free of charge!

Available using:

• Postcode
• Postcode Plotter
• Postcode Plus
• Names & Numbers
• Refiner

AFD Software helps organisations, large and small, to validate and cleanse address data.

The occupancy indicator gives an indication of the type of occupants of properties on the selected postcode. It can be helpful in determining whether a given postcode is more likely to relate to a business or private residence, or if a given address is more likely to be in a more industrial or town centre type of setting or in a residential street. You should note that there is always the possibility of an address not being present on PAF, or an incorrect postcode being given. This means that you may be given business or residential details which contradict this field, so it should be used as a guide as to what to expect rather than being treated as authoritative. The types returned are as follows:

Large User Organisation

This indicates that this is a business postcode which is not shared between different delivery points (letterboxes). The organisation is a large user of Royal Mail deliveries. No private residences should share this postcode and the Royal Mail Postcode Address File will only contain one business entry at this postcode. This can include PO Box addresses which always have a single postcode allocated to them.

Examples:

• • B6 4AA Used by the organisation ‘Royal Mail’ only.
  • B16 9XQ PO Box postcode. Used by the organisation ‘Zurich Commercial’.

Small User Organisation

All the properties on this postcode are likely to be businesses (i.e. not private addresses). There may well be multiple businesses and buildings sharing this same postcode.

Examples:

• • B2 5EP Used by multiple organisations such as ‘Toni & Guy’, ‘Slater Menswear’, and ‘Jigsaw’.
  • B2 4ND Contains the Organisation ‘Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Special Needs Transport Ltd’ only. In this case there is only as single organisation residing on this postcode but it is not a large user postcode and there is always the possibility that other properties could be added to the same postcode in the future.

Mostly Organisations

Most of the addresses on this postcode are businesses. However residential addresses are also present.

Examples:

• B28 9HH Contains mostly organisations such as ‘European Vision Ltd’, ‘UK Migration Lawyers’, etc. but also contains a few residential properties such as a Flat.
• B15 3AA Contains a large number of business addresses, but also contains a number of residential properties too.

Mixed

This postcode contains a mixture of both business and residential addresses with no one type of address in a significant majority.

Examples:

• B15 3TR Contains quite a number of both businesses and residential addresses
• B17 9QH Again contains a number of both business and residential addresses, neither is dominant on this postcode.

Mostly Residential

Most of the addresses on this postcode are residential. However business addresses are also present.

Examples:

• B9 5XF Contains mostly residential addresses, however a construction company, opticians and garage are also present.

B14 5LY Contains residential addresses with the sole exception of a corner shop.

Residential

All the properties on this postcode are likely to be residential addresses.

Examples:

• B5 7PY Contains residential addresses only.
• B1 1TW Contains residential addresses, all of which are apartments.

The address type indicator gives an indication of the type of property level data you will need to capture to have the full delivery address for properties on the selected postcode. It can be helpful in determining the necessary additional property information you will need to capture to complete the full deliverable address. You should note that there is always the possibility of an address not being present on PAF, or an incorrect postcode being given. This means that you may be given property details which contradict this field, so it should be used as a guide as to what to expect rather than being treated as authoritative. The types returned are as follows:

Numbered

This indicates that all addresses on this postcode consist purely of a number. So the only information that needs to be captured for a complete address (in addition to the street address returned by Postcode), is the house number. It should be noted that some people may give out and wish to use a house name instead, despite that not being their official address as held by Royal Mail.

Examples:

• • B6 5BL Contains numbered houses only on Clifton Road in Aston, Birmingham.

B11 3QL Also contains numbered houses only in Sunningdale Road, Birmingham

Numbered and Named

This indicates that a mixture of addresses exist on this postcode, some needing a house number and some needing a property name. There can also be those that require both or include alphanumeric numbering such as 16b. More care therefore has to be taken in capturing the property details than with a purely numbered or named postcode.

Examples:

• B3 1BA Contains three addresses with one address with both the Property as well as the number.

B3 1EU Contains some addresses with a house number only, some with both a house number and property name, and one with a property name only.

Numbered and Named, Likelihood of Multiple Occupancy

This category is the same as that above (Numbered and Named), except that the address details indicate that it is likely that some or all of the addresses on this postcode are multiple occupancy (such as a flat).

Examples:

• B1 1LR Contains flats on 20 Marshall Street in Birmingham.

B20 3PR Consists mainly of numbered properties, however some flats are also present.

Named

All the properties on this postcode have a house or building name, not a number. You are therefore normally expecting to capture a name rather than a number when capturing addresses on this postcode.

Examples:

• B6 4AA Birmingham Mail Centre.

B26 3QN Contains nine addresses each with a property name and no house number present.

Non-Standard Address Format

This refers to postcodes where one or more addresses is not in a common address format. It is therefore important with this address type to carefully check and enter the property details. This includes addresses which do not have a street field at all, or have multiple street names on the same postcode. It also includes addresses with numbered localities (no street but a house number which goes in with the locality field).

Examples:

B13 9JD Some properties on this postcode have a dependant street in the street field giving, ‘Fernside Gardens, Yardley Wood Road’, while others only have ‘Yardley Wood Road’. You therefore need to check you have selected the appropriate street level record in Postcode before adding property information.

No Property Information

When this indicator is present, the address or addresses on this postcode do not have any property information present. So in this case you are only required to capture an organisation or resident name to complete a fully deliverable address.

Examples:

• • B1 1HH This is a ‘Holiday Inn’ on Holiday Street in Birmingham. No other property information is present in the fully deliverable address.
  • B29 5AA This contains addresses for ‘Lodge Hill Cemetery’ and ‘Lodge Hill Cemetery, The Caretaker’, both on Weoley Park Road in Birmingham. Again no other property information is present.