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autocomplete/find

Postcoder address autocomplete provides real-time suggestions as a user types in their address. It supports 249 countries and consists of two types of request: one or more find requests to narrow down a list of address suggestions, and a retrieve request to retrieve a full address.

This is the find endpoint and it returns one or more address suggestions. Repeated calls will be needed as a user types (and optionally drills-down through nested suggestions) to find their address. The ID of this suggestion can then be passed to the autocomplete/retrieve endpoint to retrieve the full address.

Ireland and Eircode: Enable access on your API key using the Features page or by contacting us.

Request URL

https://ws.postcoder.com/pcw/autocomplete/find?query={query}&country={countrycode}&apikey={apikey}

Querystring parameters

ParameterDescriptionExample
queryThe URL-encoded search term (minimum of three characters required, returns empty list otherwise)query=1%20birchwood
countryThe 2-character country code, see supported countries below; if your address form has a country selector, use the ipaddress endpoint to preset the country based on the user's IP addresscountry=uk
apikeyYour API keyapikey=PCW45-12345-12345-1234X
singlesummaryReturns address suggestions in a single response field (summaryline) when true, and in two response fields (summaryline and locationsummary) when false (default)singlesummary=true
pathfilterUse to narrow down the search using a URL-encoded suggestion ID (which does not have a type of ADD for address) from a previous requestpathfilter=UK%40STATE%7CGreater%20London%40CTY%7CLondon%40LOC%7CHackney%40LAD%7C%7BWoodberry%20Grove%40STR%2CN%40PCDA%2CN4%40PCDD%7D%40STR%7C%7BN4-1FR%40PCD%2CN4-1%40PCDS%2CBirchwood%20Apartments%40BNA%7D%40BNA
maximumresultsThe maximum number of results to return, choose from 5 to 30 (default)maximumresults=10
enablefacetsGroups some results together geographically when the search term is too vague to make a confident suggestion, making drilling down with pathfilter easier, true (default) or falseenablefacets=false
formatSets the format of the response, xml or json (default unless "application/xml" header is detected)format=json

Supported countries and country codes

The following 249 countries are supported by this endpoint. The address and geocoding levels shown for each country reflect the highest level of data supported. There are three levels:

  • Premise: delivery points and buildings
  • Street: streets and similar levels of geography
  • Locality: villages, towns and cities
If your address form has a country selector, use the ipaddress endpoint to preset the country based on the user's IP address.
Country Code Address level Geocoding level Updated
Afghanistan AF Locality - Quarterly
Aland Islands AX Premise - Quarterly
Albania AL Street - Quarterly
Algeria DZ Street - Quarterly
American Samoa AS Premise - Monthly
Andorra AD Premise - Quarterly
Angola AO Street - Quarterly
Anguilla AI Street - Quarterly
Antarctica AQ Locality - Quarterly
Antigua and Barbuda AG Street - Quarterly
Argentina AR Premise Street Quarterly
Armenia AM Street - Quarterly
Aruba AW Street - Quarterly
Australia AU Premise Street Quarterly
Austria AT Premise Street Quarterly
Azerbaijan AZ Premise - Quarterly
Bahamas BS Premise - Quarterly
Bahrain BH Premise - Quarterly
Bangladesh BD Street - Quarterly
Barbados BB Street - Quarterly
Belarus BY Street - Quarterly
Belgium BE Premise Street Quarterly
Belize BZ Street - Quarterly
Benin BJ Street - Quarterly
Bermuda BM Street - Quarterly
Bhutan BT Street - Quarterly
Bolivia BO Street - Quarterly
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius And Saba BQ Locality - Quarterly
Bosnia and Herzegovina BA Premise - Quarterly
Botswana BW Premise - Quarterly
Bouvet Island BV Street - Quarterly
Br. Indian Ocean Ter. IO Locality - Quarterly
Brazil BR Premise Street Quarterly
Brunei Darussalam BN Premise - Quarterly
Bulgaria BG Premise - Quarterly
Burkina Faso BF Street - Quarterly
Burundi BI Street - Quarterly
Cambodia KH Street - Quarterly
Cameroon CM Street - Quarterly
Canada CA Premise - Quarterly
Cape Verde CV Street - Quarterly
Cayman Islands KY Premise - Quarterly
Central African Rep. CF Street - Quarterly
Chad TD Street - Quarterly
Chile CL Premise Street Quarterly
China CN Street - Quarterly
Christmas Island CX Locality - Quarterly
Cocos (Keeling) Islands CC Locality - Quarterly
Colombia CO Premise - Quarterly
Comoros KM Street - Quarterly
Congo (Dem. Rep.) CD Street - Quarterly
Congo (Rep.) CG Street - Quarterly
Cook Islands CK Street - Quarterly
Costa Rica CR Premise - Quarterly
Côte d'Ivoire CI Locality - Quarterly
Croatia HR Premise - Quarterly
Cuba CU Street - Quarterly
Curacao CW Street - Quarterly
Cyprus CY Premise - Quarterly
Czech Republic CZ Premise - Quarterly
Denmark DK Premise - Quarterly
Djibouti DJ Street - Quarterly
Dominica DM Street - Quarterly
Dominican Republic DO Street - Quarterly
Ecuador EC Premise - Quarterly
Egypt EG Premise - Quarterly
El Salvador SV Street - Quarterly
Equatorial Guinea GQ Street - Quarterly
Eritrea ER Street - Quarterly
Estonia EE Premise - Quarterly
Ethiopia ET Street - Quarterly
Falkland Is. (Malvinas) FK Street - Quarterly
Faröe Islands FO Street - Quarterly
Fiji FJ Street - Quarterly
Finland FI Premise - Quarterly
France FR Premise Street Quarterly
French Guiana GF Premise - Quarterly
French Polynesia PF Street - Quarterly
French Southern Territories TF Locality - Quarterly
Gabon GA Street - Quarterly
Gambia GM Street - Quarterly
Georgia GE Street - Quarterly
Germany DE Premise Street Quarterly
Ghana GH Street - Quarterly
Gibraltar GI Premise - Quarterly
Greece GR Premise - Quarterly
Greenland GL Street - Quarterly
Grenada GD Street - Quarterly
Guadeloupe GP Premise - Quarterly
Guam GU Premise - Monthly
Guatemala GT Street - Quarterly
Guernsey GG Premise Street Daily
Guinea GN Street - Quarterly
Guinea-Bissau GW Street - Quarterly
Guyana GY Street - Quarterly
Haiti HT Street - Quarterly
Heard Island and McDonald Islands HM Street - Quarterly
Honduras HN Street - Quarterly
Hong Kong HK Premise - Quarterly
Hungary HU Premise - Quarterly
Iceland IS Premise - Quarterly
India IN Premise Street Quarterly
Indonesia ID Premise - Quarterly
Iran IR Locality - Quarterly
Iraq IQ Street - Quarterly
Ireland IE Premise Street Quarterly
Isle of Man IM Premise Street Daily
Israel IL Premise - Quarterly
Italy IT Premise Street Quarterly
Jamaica JM Street - Quarterly
Japan JP Premise - Quarterly
Jersey JE Premise Street Daily
Jordan JO Premise - Quarterly
Kazakhstan KZ Premise - Quarterly
Kenya KE Street - Quarterly
Kiribati KI Street - Quarterly
Korea (Dem. Rep.) KP Locality - Quarterly
Korea (Rep.) KR Premise - Quarterly
Kuwait KW Premise - Quarterly
Kyrgyzstan KG Street - Quarterly
Laos LA Locality - Quarterly
Latvia LV Premise - Quarterly
Lebanon LB Premise - Quarterly
Lesotho LS Premise - Quarterly
Liberia LR Street - Quarterly
Libya LY Street - Quarterly
Liechtenstein LI Premise - Quarterly
Lithuania LT Premise - Quarterly
Luxembourg LU Premise - Quarterly
Macao MO Premise - Quarterly
Macedonia, TFYR MK Premise - Quarterly
Madagascar MG Street - Quarterly
Malawi MW Street - Quarterly
Malaysia MY Premise - Quarterly
Maldives MV Street - Quarterly
Mali ML Street - Quarterly
Malta MT Premise - Quarterly
Marshall Islands MH Premise - Monthly
Martinique MQ Premise - Quarterly
Mauritania MR Street - Quarterly
Mauritius MU Street - Quarterly
Mayotte YT Street - Quarterly
Mexico MX Premise - Quarterly
Micronesia FM Premise - Monthly
Moldova MD Street - Quarterly
Monaco MC Premise - Quarterly
Mongolia MN Street - Quarterly
Montenegro ME Premise - Quarterly
Montserrat MS Street - Quarterly
Morocco MA Premise - Quarterly
Mozambique MZ Street - Quarterly
Myanmar MM Street - Quarterly
Namibia NA Premise - Quarterly
Nauru NR Locality - Quarterly
Nepal NP Street - Quarterly
Netherlands NL Premise Street Quarterly
New Caledonia NC Street - Quarterly
New Zealand NZ Premise Street Quarterly
Nicaragua NI Street - Quarterly
Niger NE Street - Quarterly
Nigeria NG Street - Quarterly
Niue NU Street - Quarterly
Norfolk Island NF Street - Quarterly
Northern Mariana Islands MP Premise - Monthly
Norway NO Premise Street Quarterly
Oman OM Premise - Quarterly
Pakistan PK Locality - Quarterly
Palau PW Premise - Monthly
Palestinian Territory PS Locality - Quarterly
Panama PA Premise - Quarterly
Papua New Guinea PG Street - Quarterly
Paraguay PY Premise - Quarterly
Peru PE Premise - Quarterly
Philippines PH Premise - Quarterly
Pitcairn PN Locality - Quarterly
Poland PL Premise Street Quarterly
Portugal PT Premise Street Quarterly
Puerto Rico PR Premise - Monthly
Qatar QA Premise - Quarterly
Réunion RE Premise - Quarterly
Romania RO Premise - Quarterly
Russia RU Premise Street Quarterly
Rwanda RW Street - Quarterly
S. Georgia and S. Sandwich GS Locality - Quarterly
Saint Helena SH Street - Quarterly
Saint Lucia LC Street - Quarterly
Saint Martin MF Street - Quarterly
Saint Pierre and Miquelon PM Street - Quarterly
Saint-Barthélemy BL Premise - Quarterly
Samoa WS Street - Quarterly
San Marino SM Premise - Quarterly
Sao Tomé and Principe ST Street - Quarterly
Saudi Arabia SA Premise - Quarterly
Senegal SN Street - Quarterly
Serbia RS Premise - Quarterly
Seychelles SC Street - Quarterly
Sierra Leone SL Street - Quarterly
Singapore SG Premise - Quarterly
Sint Maarten SX Street - Quarterly
Slovakia SK Premise - Quarterly
Slovenia SI Premise - Quarterly
Solomon Islands SB Street - Quarterly
Somalia SO Street - Quarterly
South Africa ZA Premise - Quarterly
South Sudan SS Street - Quarterly
Spain ES Premise Street Quarterly
Sri Lanka LK Street - Quarterly
St. Kitts and Nevis KN Street - Quarterly
St. Vincent and Grenadines VC Street - Quarterly
Sudan SD Locality - Quarterly
Suriname SR Premise - Quarterly
Svalbard and Jan Mayen SJ Street - Quarterly
Swaziland SZ Street - Quarterly
Sweden SE Premise - Quarterly
Switzerland CH Premise Street Quarterly
Syria SY Locality - Quarterly
Taiwan TW Premise - Quarterly
Tajikistan TJ Street - Quarterly
Tanzania TZ Street - Quarterly
Thailand TH Premise - Quarterly
Timor-Leste TL Locality - Quarterly
Togo TG Street - Quarterly
Tokelau TK Street - Quarterly
Tonga TO Street - Quarterly
Trinidad and Tobago TT Street - Quarterly
Tunisia TN Premise - Quarterly
Turkey TR Premise - Quarterly
Turkmenistan TM Street - Quarterly
Turks and Caicos Is. TC Street - Quarterly
Tuvalu TV Street - Quarterly
Uganda UG Street - Quarterly
Ukraine UA Premise - Quarterly
United Arab Emirates AE Premise - Quarterly
United Kingdom UK Premise Street and Premise Daily
United States Minor Outlying Islands UM Locality - Quarterly
United States of America US Premise - Every two months
United States Virgin Islands VI Premise - Monthly
Uruguay UY Premise - Quarterly
Uzbekistan UZ Street - Quarterly
Vanuatu VU Street - Quarterly
Vatican City VA Street - Quarterly
Venezuela VE Street - Quarterly
Viet Nam VN Premise - Quarterly
Virgin Islands, British VG Street - Quarterly
Wallis and Futuna WF Street - Quarterly
Western Sahara EH Locality - Quarterly
Yemen YE Locality - Quarterly
Zambia ZM Street - Quarterly
Zimbabwe ZW Premise - Quarterly

Example requests and responses

Return UK suggestions for "1 birchwood" in a single summaryline:

https://ws.postcoder.com/pcw/autocomplete/find?query=1%20birchwood&country=uk&apikey=PCW45-12345-12345-1234X&singlesummary=true&format=json
[
	{
		"id": "16291869",
		"type": "ADD",
		"summaryline": "1 Birchwood Hall Cottages, Chathill, Northumberland, NE67 5LG",
		"count": 1
	},
	...
	...
	{
		"id": "UK@STATE|Greater London@CTY|London@LOC|Hackney@LAD|{Woodberry Grove@STR,N@PCDA,N4@PCDD}@STR|{N4-1FR@PCD,N4-1@PCDS,Birchwood Apartments@BNA}@BNA",
		"type": "BNA",
		"summaryline": "Birchwood Apartments, Woodberry Grove, Hackney, London, N4 1FR",
		"count": 66
	}
]

Return UK suggestions for "1 birchwood" across 2 response fields, summaryline and locationsummary:

https://ws.postcoder.com/pcw/autocomplete/find?query=1%20birchwood&country=uk&apikey=PCW45-12345-12345-1234X&format=json
[
	{
		"id": "16291869",
		"type": "ADD",
		"summaryline": "1 Birchwood Hall Cottages",
		"locationsummary": "Chathill, Northumberland, NE67 5LG",
		"count": 1
	},
	...
	...
	{
		"id": "UK@STATE|Greater London@CTY|London@LOC|Hackney@LAD|{Woodberry Grove@STR,N@PCDA,N4@PCDD}@STR|{N4-1FR@PCD,N4-1@PCDS,Birchwood Apartments@BNA}@BNA",
		"type": "BNA",
		"summaryline": "Birchwood Apartments",
		"locationsummary": "Woodberry Grove, Hackney, London, N4 1FR",
		"count": 66
	}
]

Return suggestions from the "Birchwood Apartments" group found above in a single summaryline:

https://ws.postcoder.com/pcw/autocomplete/find?query=1%20birchwood&pathfilter=UK%40STATE%7CGreater%20London%40CTY%7CLondon%40LOC%7CHackney%40LAD%7C%7BWoodberry%20Grove%40STR%2CN%40PCDA%2CN4%40PCDD%7D%40STR%7C%7BN4-1FR%40PCD%2CN4-1%40PCDS%2CBirchwood%20Apartments%40BNA%7D%40BNA&country=uk&apikey=PCW45-12345-12345-1234X&singlesummary=true&format=json
[
	{
		"id": "52752859",
		"type": "ADD",
		"summaryline": "Flat 1, Birchwood Apartments, Woodberry Grove, Hackney, London, N4 1FR",
		"count": 1
	},
	...
	...
	{
		"id": "52752399",
		"type": "ADD",
		"summaryline": "Flat 66, Birchwood Apartments, Woodberry Grove, Hackney, London, N4 1FR",
		"count": 1
	}
]

Response fields

FieldDescriptionExample
idThe ID of the suggestion52752859
typeThe type of suggestion:

ADDAddress (suggestions with this type can used with the autocomplete/retrieve endpoint)
BGNBuilding group
BNABuilding name
CCNCounty
DSTDependent street
LADDistrict borough
LOCPlace
LOC2Dependent place
LOC3Double dependent place
NUMNumber
ORCOrganisation
ORDDepartment
PCDPostcode
PCDAPostcode area
PCDDPostcode district
PCDSPostcode sector
PCDU1Postcode unit 1
POBPO Box
SBNSub building name
STATEState
STRStreet
WORLDWorld
ADD
summarylineThe summary of the suggestion1 Birchwood Hall Cottages
locationsummaryThe location associated with the suggestionChathill, Northumberland, NE67 5LG
countThe number of further suggestions nested within the suggestion50

Integration advice

  • URL encode all special characters (including /) in your request parameters with %xx encoding
  • Verify your request was successful by checking for an HTTP status code of 200; see all HTTP status codes with descriptions
  • Treat all response fields as optional
  • Use the autocomplete="xyz" attribute in your input tag if Chrome's autofill blocks your suggestions
  • Requests to this endpoint are not logged within your usage history
  • Use the /autocomplete/retrieve endpoint to retrieve the full address for a suggestion with type ADD
  • If your address form has a country selector, use the ipaddress endpoint to preset the country based on the user's IP address

Credit cost

This endpoint is free to use providing you use it with the chargeable /autocomplete/retrieve endpoint.

Buy a credit pack or set up a monthly plan to use with all Postcoder endpoints.