On 14th June 2013 the Address Management Unit (AMU) announced new measures to improve access to the Postcode Address File (PAF) for small businesses. For more information please see the official press release.

1. Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered number 4138203.
Registered in England and Wales. Registered office: 100 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y 0HQ
ROYAL MAIL UNVEILS IMPROVED ACCESS TO
POSTCODE ADDRESS FILE
• Royal Mail today unveiled new measures designed in collaboration with
Government to improve access to the Postcode Address File (PAF) for micro
businesses and small charities, encouraging innovation and growth
• These include:
o Free access to PAF for independent small charitable organisations
o Free access to PAF for one year for independent micro businesses to support
them in developing PAF-based products and taking them to market
o An increase in free online address look-ups on Royal Mail’s website from 15 to
50 per day
• Royal Mail will also consult on a wide-ranging package of measures to simplify PAF
licensing and ensure it meets the needs of users and innovators in today’s
marketplace
• Royal Mail introduced the postcode to every UK address almost 40 years ago to
help it route and deliver mail. The Postcode Address file is a vital part of Royal Mail
and will continue to be so
• Since its introduction, the way in which the postcode is used has diversified and
grown. PAF is now at the core of a wide range of systems and solutions which
support many businesses and industries
Working in collaboration with Government, Royal Mail today unveiled new measures to
improve access to the Postcode Address File (PAF) for micro businesses and small charities,
encouraging innovation and growth.
Royal Mail will also consult on a wide-ranging package of measures to transform and
simplify PAF licensing and ensure it meets the needs of users and innovators in today’s
marketplace.
The evolution of the postcode
Royal Mail introduced the postcode to every UK address almost 40 years ago to help it
route and deliver mail. The Postcode Address file is a vital part of Royal Mail and will
continue to be so. Since its introduction, the way in which the postcode is used has
diversified and grown.
PAF is now at the core of a wide range of systems and solutions which support many
businesses and industries. These range from online retailing to financial services, estate
agency to emergency services, local and central government as well as Satellite Navigation
systems.

2. 2
Postcode information is made available to individual members of the public free of charge
through Royal Mail's Postcode Finder service. The Postcode Address File is also made
available to all businesses and organisations through a flexible licensing mechanism that
helps towards paying for the considerable and on-going investment in the maintenance
and provision of the dataset.
Royal Mail and the Government recognise that PAF is also a key component in thousands
of other applications which support business efficiency and growth. We are committed to
driving increased usage of this data-set and thus innovation in the data business
community to the benefit of the UK economy. We recognise that further simplification and
improvement to the current licensing arrangements is required.
Improving access to micro businesses and small charities
From the beginning of July, Royal Mail will provide free access to PAF to micro businesses
and small charities. These measures will encourage innovation and growth for those
businesses and organisations in the crucial first year of operation. The measures are:
• Free access to PAF for independent1
small charitable organisations2
• Free access to PAF for one year for independent1
micro businesses3
to support
them in developing PAF-based products and taking them to market
• An increase in free online address look-ups on Royal Mail’s website from 15 to 50
per day
Consultation on licensing reforms to meet the needs of today’s marketplace
Prior to the introduction of the current PAF licence Royal Mail consulted extensively with
the market and its representatives to develop a framework that offered customers new
features such as pay per click and user-based options.
However, following Ofcom’s consultation document on PAF in February 2013 and feedback
from users, Royal Mail agrees that a simpler approach for PAF licensing is now required.
In July, Royal Mail will undertake a market consultation on a wide-ranging package of
licensing reforms to change the regime to better enable it to meet the needs of users and
innovators in today’s marketplace. Following extensive input from Government and market
representatives, Royal Mail is proposing a licensing framework that:
• Is permissive, rather than the current restrictive licence, and simplifies licensing
concepts such as derived data
• Focuses on the direct licensee and replaces the indirect licensing model
• Minimises on-licensing and places fewer requirements on licensees than exist at
present
• Simplifies pricing, from nearly 40 price points, and instead presents a small
number of licensing choices
• Replaces the 60 pages of licensing terms and conditions with around 10 pages and
uses clear, simple language
Notes:
1
Independent - not associated or affiliated with any existing Solutions Provider
2
Small charitable organisations – less than £10m per annum income who are registered charities or
CICs
3
Micro businesses – 1-9 employees and less than £2m turnover p.a.