The Council is legally responsible for assigning any addresses. Please see the information on our webpage, which includes a link to our application form.
The best time to assign addresses for new properties tends to be a couple of months before building work starts, but definitely well before completion, so that addresses are available for utility companies etc in good time.
If your property already has a number, you can use an additional name, but please ensure that it is not offensive and does not duplicate an existing name nearby. We would strongly recommend that the name includes a suitable suffix/ending (e.g. ‘House’) which helps to indicate that it is the name of a building; see national guidancefor a list of examples.
If the name meets our guidelines (for full details see our Policy document, we can add it to our records as an informal/alias name and inform Royal Mail. You can contact us to make this request. National address datasets should then, in due course, have the ability to include both the official address and the unofficial address.
The number is the main identifier for the property and must be used, whereas the building name will be an additional/unofficial identifier. The name must not replace the number, and both the number and name should be displayed at the property entrance.
Royal Mail’s website searches their main database of ‘live’ addresses which is called the ‘Postcode Address File’. Addresses for properties which are under construction are held in a different database called the ‘Not Yet Built’ file. This is to ensure that post officers are only attempting to access properties which are safe and have an accessible mail delivery point.
Royal Mail can move addresses to the ‘Postcode Address File’ when properties are complete (no Health and Safety issues to obstruct delivery and it has a mail-box/letterbox) and occupied. When the property is ready to receive mail, please inform Royal Mail by one of the following routes:
Report a Missing Address form: https://www.royalmail.com/personal/receiving-mail/update-your-address (fill in the address details exactly as registered, and under ‘What’s The Problem’, select “I have moved into a newly built property”)
- Telephone: 03456 011110
- or Email: addressmaintenance@royalmail.com
For Developers
If you need to request a large number of properties to be moved to the Postcode Address File, this link can be used for a bulk update: https://help.royalmail.com/s/addressdevelopment
My new-build address does appear on Royal Mail’s website but does not appear on other address lists online, e.g. for utility connections
It can take some months for new addresses to filter down to all organisations which use address data. You may need to contact the company directly as it is their responsibility to source up-to-date address information.
See How does my address end up on national address databases?
If you have moved into a property on a newly built street, it may have a brand new postcode. It can take some time for the new postcode’s geographical location to be assigned before it appears on online mapping systems. Unfortunately, we don’t have any involvement in this process, but you may find it helpful to submit information to online mapping providers directly e.g. ‘Add a missing place’ on Google Maps.
If we haven’t received information that the property is complete, then the address may still be recorded in the Council’s address database as provisional/under construction.
Please contact us so that the address can be updated to approved/complete.
Please note, that you will need a Council Tax account before applying for a Parking Permit.
Please see details on the following government webpage:
If changing from residential to commercial, you will need to complete a Proposal Form and return it to the Valuation Office Agency:
Please ensure that any relevant Planning or Building Control permissions are in place.
Further information is given on Nottingham City Council’s Business Rates pages.
The online application form for Council Tax can be found here:
Manage your Council Tax - Nottingham City Council
Click on the ‘Tell us you have moved house’ dropdown, then on ‘Tell us you have moved’ and choose the most relevant option. You will need to provide names and occupation start dates.
Please contact Address Management if the property address doesn’t appear in the search list.
The online application form for a bin request can be found here:
Bin Request - Nottingham City Council
Please contact Address Management if the property address doesn’t appear in the search list.
Land Registry use the address that is given to them at the time of setting up the Registered Title, which may not match the address held by the Council. Some of the Council’s addresses have been through our official ‘Street Naming and Numbering’ process and others have not. Please use our Address Finder toolto check the approved address that we hold for your property, and contact us if you think there is a problem.
Land Registry are not able to make changes to the property’s address/description without direct contact from the owner. Complete form AP1 to change the property's address (complete panels 1-7 and 15 only, verification of your identity is not required, and a fee is also not required). The form and the address to send it to can be found here:
Registering land or property with HM Land Registry: Update or correct the register - GOV.UK
Local Authorities (i.e. Local Councils) are legally responsible for assigning addresses. Our addresses are updated daily to a group called GeoPlace who manage Great Britain’s definitive, national database of addresses and streets. GeoPlace validate and collate the data before passing it on to Ordnance Survey (OS) who make it available through their AddressBase® range of products. You can search GeoPlace’s national address database here:
We also send all new addresses to Royal Mail, who assign a postcode and add the address either to ‘Not Yet Built’ file if under construction or ‘Postcode Address File’ if complete/existing. It takes roughly one week* between our notification being sent to Royal Mail to an address appearing in Royal Mail’s data.
Many organisations buy updates from the databases mentioned above, but there are differences in how often this happens, and some may use a different address provider. It may take some months.
*Please note, Royal Mail have experienced technical difficulties meaning the process is currently taking 4-6 weeks (as of 2025)
Royal Mail’s ‘Alias’ file contains additional address information such as a name that a building is known by. Organisations can purchase this file/dataset from Royal Mail alongside their main ‘Postcode Address File’. More information can be found here:
Individual addresses are added to Royal Mail’s ‘Multiple Residence’ file when properties share a single delivery point, for example flats with one shared letterbox, or a central reception service for a large block which receives and distributes post. Only the overall address for the building is held in Royal Mail’s ‘Postcode Address File’. Organisations which use Royal Mail’s data can purchase both files/datasets. More information can be found here:
Royal Mail are not able to add addresses for non-postal properties. For example, communal areas within a block of flats do not require a separate delivery of mail so cannot be included in Royal Mail’s data.
The service provider should instead use the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) for the building shell. UPRNs are assigned and recorded by the Council, so can be requested by contacting Address Management.
Any mail relating to the supply can be sent to the landlord's address.
- (See: Knowledge Hub
An MPAN (Meter Point Administration Number) is a 21 digit reference to uniquely identify metering points for premises. MPANs are assigned by National Grid who are the electricity distribution network operator for our region.
A property needs to have a full postal address and postcode for National Grid to be able to issue an MPAN. It’s also sometimes known as a ‘supply number’ or ‘S number’.
Below is the webpage for anyone needing new connections from National Grid:
Feedback submitted to us on this form is monitored but you won’t receive a reply. If you need a response please contact us.
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