Postcode Validation: Meaning, Benefits, and How to Validate UK Postcodes?
Royal Mail does an excellent job of delivering your items to the correct recipients on time. There are tons of mailing services for you to select according to your needs.
But, unfortunately, Royal Mail cannot deliver to an address if it is incorrect or invalid. It is your responsibility to mention the correct street address, city name, etc., especially postcodes.
So, what is a postcode? It is an alphanumeric string of characters that we mention at the end of a mailing address. Postcodes represent localities with several addresses or major delivery points.
In recent years, postcode validation has gained a lot of significance because of its innumerable use cases, from determining insurance premiums to delivery route planning. Hence, companies need to verify whether they are using the correct postcodes to enhance operational efficiency and save costs.
Several businesses use postcode validation UK as part of a broader address verification process. It helps them confirm the accuracy of their mailing address and guarantee postal delivery.
Either way, you need a robust mechanism to identify invalid postcodes and modify them. In this blog, we will discuss what a valid UK postcode looks like and how you can correct invalid ones.
Let’s get started!
What is a Valid Postcode?
Before we get to postcode validation, let us understand its format. All UK postcodes have two parts—the outward and the inward code.
Their length is variable and ranges between six to eight characters. The outward and inward codes have a space in between for clear distinction. They represent different geographical areas that help users locate specific places.
The outward code of a valid postcode UK consists of the postcode area and district. And the inward code carries the postcode sector and unit. Here’s an example:
| POSTCODE | |||
| OUTWARD CODE | INWARD CODE | ||
| Area | District | Sector | Unit |
| SW | 1A | 2 | AA |
Other examples include- GU16 7HF, L1 8JQ, PO16 7GZ, and EC1A 1BB.
Please note that some outward codes are not geographic and cannot help you locate a delivery address. However, having valid inward codes is crucial in mailing within postal districts.
A valid UK postcode has the correct outward and inward codes that do not leave room for confusion and misinterpretation. First, it helps you conduct targeted, location-based marketing. For example, if you want to launch a new store on Carnaby Street in London, you would like to promote it to the people living around. Here, postcode validation UK allows you to verify your mailing lists and launch effective promotional campaigns.
Along with marketing, it is also helpful in processing orders on time. Imagine you getting a hundred orders daily with poorly-formatted and invalid postcodes. An efficient postal code validation solution like PostGrid can help you verify them in seconds and continue mailing orders.
How to Validate a UK Postcode?
Royal Mail maintains a database known as the Postal Address File (PAF) that comprises over 30 million mailing addresses. It also features almost two million postcodes to help you validate your mailing lists effortlessly.
You can use the Royal Mail postcode finder to look up addresses and postcodes online. Start typing your address or a part of it in the search box. Then, you get a list of suggestions to select from, provided you entered the correct details.
But, it enables you to search only one valid postcode UK at a time and requires tons of manual effort. Also, it does not solve fuzzy matching problems as PostGrid does.
Businesses can use the PAF, but it is not open for public access, and you may need to acquire a licence. Luckily, PostGrid’s address verification API helps you confirm your list accuracy against this authoritative database without going through any trouble. You don’t need to go anywhere, fill out forms, or pay a licence fee—PostGrid allows you to access valid UK postcode files at your fingertips.
Why Are Your Postcodes Invalid?
There are several reasons for having incorrect and undeliverable postcodes. Most of them are very hard to identify unless you use an address validation service like PostGrid. Below, we have mentioned why your postcode may be invalid:
New Property
It takes a while for Royal Mail to update their database after your building construction. Though the postal workers continuously add and eliminate details from PAF, they might miss out on a few things. Also, it is possible that they didn’t get an address change request yet.
Thus, newly-built properties may show up as invalid in the postcode validation process. You can contact Royal Mail to add your address details to PAF and wait for a couple of days.
Spelling and Typing Errors
Often, the reason for you not getting a valid postcode UK is a simple typo or misspelling. Hence, try to keep an eye out for such manual mistakes.
But, if you process large chunks of data manually, it is hard to keep your database error-free. Therefore, try using address verification solutions like PostGrid to update your lists from time to time automatedly.
Incorrect Abbreviations
Royal Mail PAF supports all standard and popular abbreviations, like ST, RD, AVE, etc. But, it cannot help you with an address search if you enter the wrong abbreviations. As said earlier, it does not have fuzzy matching capabilities to spot and correct such mistakes before postcode validation.
Building Names
Using building names or numbers instead of street addresses can disrupt your postcode validation UK process. It could be because the postcode finder tool is familiar with these names and relies on you to enter the correct details. Hence, always try to enter street addresses instead of property or building names.
Multiple Address Variations
Some properties have a name and number both. So, the tool may know only one of them and invalidate the other. It is advisable to enter the name and number together to find a better match.
Benefits of Postcode Validation
The above reasons for getting invalid postcodes can hold you back and create problems in your day-to-day functioning. But, employing postcode validation can help you reverse these effects in the following ways:
Increase Mailing Efficiency
You no longer need to spend extra time and effort to reship your items. By validating your postcodes beforehand, you can assure guaranteed deliveries the first time itself.
Also, your staff can complete and track orders more efficiently when they carry precise and fully-validated addresses.
Cut Costs
Reshipping, lost mail, delays, misplacements, and mail returns are common shipping problems that you may face. These issues can lead to a lot of wastage and operational malfunctions. But, the worst part is that they are expensive.
You need to access a valid UK postcode database and only use accurate mailing addresses to save costs. It also helps you increase your ROI and manage budgets more systematically.
Make Faster Decisions
A proper postcode validation system can help you access high-quality data at all times. Hence, you can make prompt decisions according to your company’s objectives.
For instance, an updated database helps you draft the outline and make plans almost immediately if you need to conduct a direct mail advertising campaign. On the contrary, invalid postcodes would compel you to avoid making such decisions and buying lists from third parties.
Boost Customer Satisfaction
Completing orders speedily and efficiently helps your brand boost customer satisfaction. You can acquire and retain more customers using an effective postcode validation mechanism that keeps you from sending mail to incorrect addresses.
It has many other advantages, like a positive reputation, increased brand loyalty, higher conversions, etc.
How Can PostGrid’s Address Validation Solutions Help You?
Having valid postcode UK files at your discretion is a must for businesses. It enhances their operational, financial, and marketing capabilities while helping them save costs. PostGrid assists them in achieving these goals by validating their entire mailing list in no time.
All you need to do is upload your list and let PostGrid return an updated data file to you. Or, you can build custom mailing lists from scratch using geo-demographics, such as age, gender, location, income level, preferences, etc.
You can validate any number of postcodes simultaneously with PostGrid as we offer on-demand and bulk verification. Furthermore, you may use our API or software to verify international addresses whenever required.
To sum it up, PostGrid’s address and postcode validation solutions offer:
- Geocoding
- International address validation
- Bulk verification
- PAF-certified addresses
- Multiple deployment options
- Industry-best rates
- Dedicated customer support, etc.
You can click here now to unlock more of our postcode validation features and get access to top-notch quality databases within minutes!
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The post Postcode Validation appeared first on PostGrid UK.
Via https://www.postgrid.co.uk/postcode-validation/
source https://postgridunitedkingdom.weebly.com/blog/postcode-validation
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