Are you thinking about sending something to a friend in the capital of the UK, or are you thinking about moving to London? Either way, you will need to understand the addressing system in the UK. So, to help you, I’ve compiled a list of all the London postal codes to make this process as simple as possible.
With that in mind, let’s dive in and find out more about the wonderful world of London postcodes.
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What are London Postal Codes?
First things first, what are London postal codes? Well, simply put, they’re the UK’s equivalent of a zip code.
It goes at the end of the address and helps the postal service send it to the correct office and the right postal route!
There are plenty of streets in London that have the same or similar names, so it can get confusing at the sorting office.
Postal codes, or postcodes as they’re more commonly referred to, help prevent your parcel or letter from going to the wrong place.
They’re made up of numbers and letters, with each section representing different things.
For example, Wimbledon Park has the postcode SW19 7HX. The SW at the start is the postcode area. Each postcode area can have up to 99 postcode districts in them.
That’s what the 19 is – it’s the postcode district.
The second part of the postcode – 7HX, is the postcode sector and this is normally indicative of an individual road, or with some larger places, part of a road or park.
Does London Have Zip Codes?
So, zip codes in the US are five numbers that are specific to the area that you live in. While postcodes in the UK are similar, they are definitely not zip codes.
Zip codes don’t include any spacing or any letters, which are some of the key differences.
If you were to say zip code in London or other parts of the UK, many people would know what you’re talking about, but some people might not have a clue, so stick with postcodes if you’re in the UK and zip codes if you’re in the US!
How Long are London Postcodes?
Unlike US zip codes, the length of a UK postcode can vary. They can be anywhere from five to seven characters long – not including the space in the middle.
That’s because both the postcode district and postcode area can be one or two digits long depending on the area.
For example, Spitalfields Market in East London has a postcode of E1 6AA, whereas Camden Market which is located in North West London has the postcode NW1 8AF. So, postcodes can be anywhere from five to seven digits long.
Are London Postcodes Geographical?
In the case of London, yes the postcode areas tend to signify the geographical location within the city.
So if it’s a NW postcode area, it’s going to be in the North West of the city or if it’s in EC it’s the eastern part of Central London.
This isn’t the case in every place in the UK. By and large, the postcode will align with the county or city that you’re in where possible. For example, some common city area codes are as follows:
Liverpool City Center: L1
Manchester City Center: M1
Birmingham City Center: B1
Bristol City Center: BS1
Edinburgh City Center: EH1
Cardiff City Center: CF10
London Postcodes
Okay, let’s get into the different London postal codes.
I’ve separated them by their postcode areas to keep things simple, and I’ve highlighted some popular locations in each place that you might be interested in. This is by no means an exhaustive list.
There are more named areas within each postcode areas and some places, like Hackney for instance, can spread over two postcode areas because of it’s size and position.
With that in mind, let’s dive in.
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Greater London
We’re starting with the outskirts. London is huge so it doesn’t all fit into the North, South, West, and East postcode areas.
So, you might find yourself on the DLR train heading to Twickenham for the rugby, for instance, and you’ll still be in London, but you’ll be in a completely different postcode area.
There are quite a few popular places like this, especially if you live outside zone three or four on the Tube.
BR: Bromley
CR: Croydon
DA: Dartford
EN: Enfield
HA: Harrow
IG: Ilford
KT: Kingston
RM: Romford
SM: Sutton
TW: Twickenham
UB: Uxbridge
WD: Watford
Central London
Funnily enough, central London doesn’t use a lone C for its postcode area. Instead, it splits the city center in half from east to west.
East Central District
EC1A EC1M EC1N EC1P EC1R EC1V EC1Y : Barbican, Clerkenwell, Finsbury
EC2A EC2M EC2N EC2P EC2R EC2V EC2Y : Moorgate, Liverpool Street Station
EC3A EC3M EC3N EC3P EC3R EC3V : Aldgate, Monument, Tower Hill
EC4A EC4M EC4N EC4P EC4R EC4V EC4Y : Fleet Street, St Paul’s
West Central District
WC1A WC1B WC1E WC1H WC1N WC1R WC1V WC1X: Bloomsbury, Gray’s Inn
WC2A WC2B WC2E WC2H WC2N WC2R: Covent Garden, Holborn, Strand
North London
N1: Barnsbury, Canonbury, Islington
N2: East Finchley
N3: Finchley Central
N4: Finsbury Park
N5: Highbury
N6: Highgate
N7: Holloway
N8: Crouch End, Hornsey
N9: Lower Edmonton
N10: Muswell Hill
N11: Friern Barnet, New Southgate
N12: North Finchley
N13: Palmers Green
N14: Southgate
N15: Seven Sisters
N16: Stamford Hill, Stoke Newington
N17: Tottenham
N18: Upper Edmonton
N19: Archway, Tufnell Park
N20: Totteridge
N21: Winchmore Hill
N22: Alexandra Palace
North West District
NW1: Camden Town, Euston Station, Regent’s Park
NW2: Cricklewood, Neasden
NW3: Hampstead
NW4: Brent Cross, Hendon
NW5: Kentish Town
NW6: Kilburn, Queens Park, West Hampstead
NW7: Mill Hill
NW8: St John’s Wood
NW9: Colindale, Kingsbury
NW10: Harlesden, Kensal Green, Willesden
NW11: Golders Green, Hampstead Garden Suburb
East London
E1: Mile End, Stepney, Spitalfields, Whitechapel
E2: Bethnal Green, Shoreditch
E3: Bow
E4: Chingford, Highams Park
E5: Clapton
E6: East Ham, Beckton
E7: Forest Gate, Upton Park
E8: Hackney, Dalston
E9: Hackney
E10: Leyton
E11: Leytonstone
E12: Manor Park
E13: Plaistow
E14: Isle of Dogs, Millwall, Poplar
E15: Stratford, West Ham
E16: Canning Town
E17: Walthamstow
E18: South Woodford
E20: Olympic Park, Stratford
South London
South East District
SE1: Bermondsey, Borough, Southwark, Waterloo
SE2: Abbey Wood
SE3: Blackheath, Westcombe Park
SE4: Brockley, Crofton Park
SE5: Camberwell
SE6: Bellingham
SE7: Charlton
SE8: Deptford
SE9: Eltham, Mottingham
SE10: Greenwich
SE11: Lambeth
SE12: Grove Park, Lee
SE13: Hither Green, Lewisham
SE14: New Cross, New Cross Gate
SE15: Nunhead, Peckham
SE16: Rotherhithe, South Bermondsey, Surrey Docks
SE17: Elephant & Castle
SE18: Plumstead, Woolwich
SE19: Crystal Palace
SE20: Anerley, Penge
SE21: Dulwich
SE22: East Dulwich
SE23: Forest Hill
SE24: Herne Hill
SE25: South Norwood
SE26: Sydenham
SE27: Tulse Hill, West Norwood
SE28: Thamesmead
South West District
SW1: Belgravia, Pimlico, Westminster
SW2: Brixton
SW3: Brompton, Chelsea
SW4: Clapham
SW5: Earl’s Court
SW6: Fulham, Parson’s Green
SW7: South Kensington
SW8: Nine Elms, South Lambeth
SW9: Brixton, Stockwell
SW10: West Brompton, World’s End
SW11: Battersea, Clapham Junction
SW12: Balham
SW13: Barnes, Castelnau
SW14: East Sheen, Mortlake
SW15: Putney, Roehampton
SW16: Norbury, Streatham
SW17: Tooting
SW18: Earlsfield, Wandsworth
SW19: Merton, Wimbledon
SW20: South Wimbledon
West London
W1: Marylebone, Mayfair, Soho
W2: Bayswater, Paddington Station
W3: Acton
W4: Chiswick
W5: Ealing
W6: Hammersmith
W7: Hanwell
W8: Kensington
W9: Maida Vale Studios
W10: Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington
W11: Notting Hill
W12: Shepherd’s Bush
W13: West Ealing
W14: West Kensington
How Do I Format My London Postcode?
Formatting your London postcode is very important. As postcodes can be anywhere from five to seven digits long, if you put the space in the wrong place, your mail might not get delivered correctly.
You should always put the space after the postcode district. So, for example, King’s Cross Station’s postcode would look like N1 9AL.
If you group it all together like this, N19AL, at a glance in the sorting office it could look like an N19 postcode which is in Archway, miles away from the station!
Where Can I Find the Right Postcode for My Address?
Finding your postcode is super simple – just pop your address into Google and the maps function will show you the full address.
If you’re not 100% sure or the search isn’t clear, you can go on your local council’s website to find out, or it should be on your accommodation’s tenancy agreement paperwork!
Read More About London:
- Is London in the European Union?
- American Companies with Offices in London & UK
- What It’s Like for an American Working in London
- Guide to Moving to London from California
Vanessa Wachtmeister is a travel tech professional and the creator of the wealth & wanderlust platform, Wander Onwards. Vanessa is originally from Los Angeles, California, she is a proud Chicana, and she has been living abroad for the last 9 years. Today, she helps people pursue financial and location independence through her ‘Move Abroad’ Master Class, financial literacy digital products, and career workshops.