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What is Royal Mail PAF data?

PAF is Royal Mail's Postcode Address File - a database of highly accurate and Postcode information containing 29 million residential and business addresses, and a total of 1.8 million postcodes.

Nationwide coverage

PAF covers the entire UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, and includes BFPO (British Forces Post Office) addresses.

Address data updated daily

PAF constantly changes to reflect new builds, updates and deletions with between 3,000 and 5,000 updates every day.

 

How does the PAF file get updated?

The PAF file is kept up to date through daily updates made by Royal Mail's 90,000 postal workers and consumers informing Royal Mail's address management unit. Partners such as large retailers who deliver in vast quantities, also work with Royal Mail to make sure updates are captured when they notice repeated failed deliveries. At Loqate we make this data available to all our customers as soon as its ready, making the PAF the most up to date and complete address database for the UK.

Why is PAF data important to businesses?

Due to the speed at which addressing data changes, its difficult to keep clean and accurate. On average The Royal Mail say they get an average of 4000-5000 changes to individual address records daily. Therefore between businesses changing name, or people moving house, address data quality can quickly become inaccurate. At Loqate we update our address verification files on a daily basis to ensure our records match The PAF file, so that our customers receive the best quality data.

How is PAF® integrated into address verification?

A benefit of using Loqate address verification services is that daily updates to PAF® are included as standard to all UK customers. Updates run seamlessly in the background meaning your service is never interrupted and you don't need to apply the updates yourself.

What changes are made to Royal Mail's PAF data?

Address changes
Someone moves into a house called 'Cherry Tree Cottage' and doesn’t like the name, they decide to change it and contact Royal Mail. Once the change is approved, it will be updated in PAF®.
New addresses
A property gets divided into two. Property one keeps the address '12 Vine Street', property two gets given the address '12a Vine Street'. The developers inform Royal Mail of the change, who will then add the new address into PAF®.
Deletions
An area of housing is being demolished ready for re-development. There are no longer any buildings in the area, therefore the postcode, and all addresses with that postcode will no longer exist. Royal Mail will be informed of the work and all applicable addresses will be deleted from PAF®.
What is the Multi Residence File?
Multiple Residence data identifies and verifies premises where multiple households share a delivery point. This could be any shared-entry addresses such as flats, halls of residence, and buildings with more than one business in. We are also able to provide you with this data as part of your address lookup service.

Find out more

Complete the form to receive more information on how PAF data could benefit your business?