autocomplete/retrieve

Postcoder address autocomplete for the UK and Ireland provides real-time suggestions as a user types in their address. It 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 retrieve endpoint and it returns the full address for a given suggestion ID. Before using this endpoint, use the autocomplete/find endpoint to get address suggestions and their IDs.

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

Request URL

GET https://ws.postcoder.com/pcw/autocomplete/retrieve/?id={suggestionid}&query={query}&country={countrycode}&apikey={apikey}

Querystring parameters

Parameter	Description	Example
`id`	The ID of the suggestion which was found using the /autocomplete/find endpoint	`id=52752859`
`query`	The URL-encoded search term which was used with /autocomplete/find endpoint	`query=1%20birchwood`
`countrycode`	The 2-character country code, use uk for UK or ie for Ireland	`country=uk`
`apikey`	Your API key	`apikey=PCW45-12345-12345-1234X`
`format`	Sets the format of the response, xml or json (default unless "application/xml" header is detected)	`format=json`
`identifier`	Specifies your own meaningful identifier for the request such as "websiteA" or "client123"; you can view usage for each identifier on the Identifier Usage page, which may be helpful when using your API key across multiple websites, apps or clients	`identifier=websiteA`
`lines`	Sets the number of address lines (1-4) to include in the response so you can mirror the layout of your existing address form; use include and exclude below to further customise the address lines	`lines=2`
`include`	Specifies the extra address fields to include within the address lines using a comma-delimited list, supported values: county, posttown, postcode	`include=county,posttown,postcode`
`exclude`	Specifies the address fields to exclude within the address lines using a comma-delimited list, supported values: pobox, organisation, departmentname, buildingname, subbuildingname, number, premise, dependentstreet, street, doubledependentlocality, dependentlocality	`exclude=organisation`
`addtags`	Specifies the extra address fields to include within the response using a comma-delimited list, supported values: latitude, longitude, udprn, deliverypointsuffix, usercategory... see additional response fields below for the full list	`addtags=latitude,longitude`
`callback`	Specifies the name of your JSONP callback function	`callback=jsoncallback`

Example request and response

After finding suggestions using the autocomplete/find endpoint, return the UK address with a suggestion ID of 52752859 and include two address lines in the response:

GET https://ws.postcoder.com/pcw/autocomplete/retrieve?id=52752859&query=1%20birchwood&country=uk&apikey=PCW45-12345-12345-1234X&format=json&lines=2

[
	{
		"addressline1": "Flat 1, Birchwood Apartments",
		"addressline2": "Woodberry Grove",
		"summaryline": "Flat 1, Birchwood Apartments, Woodberry Grove, London, Greater London, N4 1FR",
		"subbuildingname": "Flat 1",
		"buildingname": "Birchwood Apartments",
		"premise": "Flat 1, Birchwood Apartments",
		"street": "Woodberry Grove",
		"posttown": "London",
		"county": "Greater London",
		"postcode": "N4 1FR"
	}
]

Response fields

Field	Description	Example
`summaryline`	A summary of the address, ideal for displaying in a drop-down list	Allies Computing Ltd, 92 St. Faiths Lane, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 1NE
`addressline1`	The first line of the address, where the total number of address lines is defined by the `lines` querystring parameter	Allies Computing Ltd
`addressline2`	The second line of the address	92 St. Faiths Lane
`addressline3`	The third line of the address
`addressline4`	The fourth line of the address
`pobox`	The PO Box number
`organisation`	The organisation name at that address	Allies Computing Ltd
`departmentname`	The department name
`buildingname`	The building name
`subbuildingname`	The sub-building name
`number`	The house or flat number	92
`premise`	The premise, a combination of buildingname, subbuildingname and number	92
`dependentstreet`	The dependent street
`street`	The street	St. Faiths Lane
`doubledependentlocality`	The double dependent locality
`dependentlocality`	The dependent locality
`posttown`	The post town	Norwich
`county`	The county	Norfolk
`postcode`	The postcode	NR1 1NE
`notyetbuilt`	A true or false indicating whether the address is from the Royal Mail Not Yet Built dataset	false
`alias`	A true or false indicating whether the address is a Royal Mail Alias record	false
`recodes`	A colon-separated list of the previous postcode, previous delivery point suffix and the date it changed (YYYYMM format)	CM7 8PX:1A:200112

Additional response fields

The following fields can also be included in the response.

Use the addtags querystring parameter to specify a comma-delimited list of fields that you wish to add.

Example: Add latitude, longitude and udprn into the response:

GET https://ws.postcoder.com/pcw/...?format=json&lines=2&addtags=latitude,longitude,udprn

Field	Description	Example
Coordinate data
`latitude`	ETRS89 latitude (ideal for use with mapping APIs)	52.6299163702
`longitude`	ETRS89 longitude (ideal for use with mapping APIs)	1.3018030246
`latitudeosgb`	OSGB36 latitude	52.6294875459
`longitudeosgb`	OSGB36 longitude	1.3035999409
`grideasting`	Easting OS Grid Reference (1m precision in units of 1m)	623545
`gridnorthing`	Northing OS Grid Reference (1m precision in units of 1m)	308689
Address fields
`deliverypointsuffix`	Delivery Point Suffix	3JS
`uniquedeliverypointreferencenumber`	Unique Delivery Point Reference Number (UDPRN); you can also use `addtags=udprn`	50959190
`multipleoccupancycount`	Multiple Occupancy Count - count of the number of multiple occupancy addresses for the delivery point	0
`administrativecounty`	Administrative County (top tier local government)	Norfolk
`postalcounty`	Former Postal County
`traditionalcounty`	Traditional County	Norfolk
`usercategory`	User Category (residential 'R', Non-residential 'N', or Large 'L')	N
`sortcode`	Sortcode for Royal Mail Mailsort	35529
`countrycode`	Country code within the United Kingdom	064
`country`	Country name within the United Kingdom	England
`welsh_dependentstreet`	Welsh language alternative for dependent street field
`welsh_street`	Welsh language alternative for street field
`welsh_doubledependentlocality`	Welsh language alternative for double dependent locality field
`welsh_dependentlocality`	Welsh language alternative for dependent locality field
`welsh_posttown`	Welsh language alternative for post town field
Census data
`oa11`	2011 Census Output Area	E00136551
`lsoa11`	2011 Census Lower Layer Super Output Area	E01033438
`msoa11`	2011 Census Middle Layer Super Output Area	E02006907
NHS data
`commissioningregioncode_gss`	NHS Commissioning Region Code (ONS GSS)	E40000007
`commissioningregionname`	NHS Commissioning Region Name	NHS England East of England
`areateamcode_nhs`	NHS Area Team Code (NHS)	QMM
`areateamcode_gss`	NHS Area Team Code (ONS GSS)	E54000022
`areateamname`	NHS Area Team Name	NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board
`clinicalcommissioninggroupcode_nhs`	NHS Clinical Commissioning Group Code (NHS)	26A
`clinicalcommissioninggroupcode_gss`	NHS Clinical Commissioning Group Code (ONS GSS)	E38000239
`clinicalcommissioninggroupname`	NHS Clinical Commissioning Group Name	NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB - 26A
Government data
`localauthoritywardcode`	Local Authority Ward Code	33UGGC
`localauthoritycode`	Local Authority Code	E07000148
`localauthorityname`	Local Authority Name	Norwich
`electoralwardcode`	Electoral Ward Code	E05012910
`electoralwardname`	Electoral Ward Name	Thorpe Hamlet
`electoralcountycode`	Electoral County Code	E10000020
`electoralcountyname`	Electoral County Name	Norfolk
`parliamentaryconstituencycode`	Westminster Parliamentary Constituency Code	E14000864
`parliamentaryconstituencyname`	Westminster Parliamentary Constituency Name	Norwich South
`europeanelectoralregioncode`	European Electoral Region Code	E15000006
`europeanelectoralregionname`	European Electoral Region Name	Eastern
`nationalparkcode`	National Park Code	S21000003
`nationalparkname`	National Park Name	The Cairngorms National Park

Integration advice

URL encode all special characters (including /) in your request parameters with %xx encoding
When using your API key across multiple websites, apps or clients, set the identifier querystring parameter to a meaningful value such as "websiteA" or "client123"; you'll then be able to view these identifiers and the number of requests made by each one on the Identifier Usage page
Treat all response fields as optional
Use these fields to create postal addresses:
- UK: addressline1, addressline2, posttown, postcode
- Ireland: addressline1, addressline2, posttown, county, postcode, country

Credit cost

Each request costs the following number of credits:

Country	Standard request	Enhanced request using `addtags`
UK	2 credits	2.4 credits
Ireland	4.5 credits	4.5 credits

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