FindFullAddress

Finds addresses using a fuzzy free-text search and retrieves all the details.

This service is hosted in multiple countries. Select your preferred country to see the appropriate endpoint URLs.

Changing the hosting country does not affect the data returned by the service. However you may wish to select a particular country based on your data residency requirements or network latency.

JSON

Open API

SOAP

Description

Finds details of an address matching the search criteria. The search is performed using the town, street and building parameters. The town parameter is required, and at least one of the street and building parameters must also be specified.

The search is performed using fuzzy matching, so some amount of misspelling is allowed, although exact matches will be preferred.

Credit Usage

Each request to this method consumes 1 AddressCapture credit.

Parameters

The following parameters can be supplied to this method

username	username See the available authentication methods. If you are using username & password authentication, specify the username to authenticate as. If you are using API Key authentication and you are not using the JSON, Javascript or ADO APIs, use your API Key here with the prefix `apikey-`, e.g. `apikey-ABCD-1234-EFGH-5678`
password	password If you are using username & password authentication, specify the password to use for authentication. Otherwise leave this blank.
licence	licence As the Royal Mail PAF database can be licensed in multiple ways, this parameter indicates under which license you are accessing the data. This must match the variant you have a license or credits for - if you are unsure which option to choose, please contact your account manager
town	town The name of the town to search in.
street	street The name of the street to find in the `town`
building	building The name of the building or organisation to find in the `town` or `street`
options	options An array of options that control further details of how this method operates. See the Advanced Options section below for more information.

Advanced Options

The following options can be specified as part of the option parameter. Each option is specified as a key/value pair. The list of available names is shown below, along with a description of the allowable values for that name.

Common Options
Name	Description
ApplicationName	ApplicationName Gives the name of the calling application - used to break down usage by application in the usage reports on the dashboard
Service-Specific Options
Name	Description
Formatter	Formatter Pick from one of the available formatters to control how the raw address is converted into a human-readable address: `DefaultFormatter` `PafStandardFormatter` `NoOrganizationFormatter`
FixTownCounty	FixTownCounty `true` to ensure the town and county are returned in the last two address lines, or `false` if they should appear in the first available line.
MaxLines	MaxLines The number of lines to format the address over. An additional line will be included in the result for the postcode.
MaxLineLength	MaxLineLength The maximum number of characters that can appear in each address line.
NormalizeCase	NormalizeCase Converts all text in the address except the town name to proper case.
NormalizeTownCase	NormalizeTownCase Converts the town name to proper case
ExcludeCounty	ExcludeCounty Excludes the county, if any, from the formatted address
UseAnyAvailableCounty	UseAnyAvailableCounty Uses any available county to populate the formatted address, not just the postal county
UnwantedPunctuation	UnwantedPunctuation A string containing any punctuation characters to be removed from the formatted address
FixBuilding	FixBuilding Ensures the building name/number is always placed in the first line
IncludeUDPRN	IncludeUDPRN Set to `true` to have the `UniqueReference` field of each returned address populated with the UDPRN
IncludeLocation	IncludeLocation Set to `true` to have the `Location` field of each returned address populated with the geocoding details for the address
ReturnResultCount	ReturnResultCount Indicates if the `ResultCount` field in the result should be populated with the total number of addresses returned.

Results

This method returns an object containing the following fields:

Status

Status	Status Indicates whether the method call was successful, or if some error occurred. If the `Success` field is `true`, the other results described below can be used to get the results of the method. If `Success` is `false`, some error occurred in calling the method, such as the authentication failed or the account is out of credits. The details of the error can be obtained from the `ErrorMessage` field, and any other results should be ignored
ResultCount	ResultCount Contains the number of addresses in the `Results` field. This field is only populated if the `ReturnResultCount` option is set to `True`
Results	Results Contains an array of addresses that match the query. A formatted version of each address in the array is available in the `Address` field, and a structured version of the address is available in the `RawAddress` field.

Status

Indicates whether the method call was successful, or if some error occurred. If the Success field is true, the other results described below can be used to get the results of the method. If Success is false, some error occurred in calling the method, such as the authentication failed or the account is out of credits. The details of the error can be obtained from the ErrorMessage field, and any other results should be ignored

ResultCount

ResultCount

Contains the number of addresses in the Results field. This field is only populated if the ReturnResultCount option is set to True

Results

Results

Contains an array of addresses that match the query. A formatted version of each address in the array is available in the Address field, and a structured version of the address is available in the RawAddress field.

Live Demo

licence

town

street

building

options

Name	Value
Common Options
ApplicationName
Service-Specific Options
Formatter
FixTownCounty
MaxLines
MaxLineLength
NormalizeCase
NormalizeTownCase
ExcludeCounty
UseAnyAvailableCounty
UnwantedPunctuation
FixBuilding
IncludeUDPRN
IncludeLocation
ReturnResultCount

Sample Code

<!-- Import the Integr8 Ajax API -->
<!-- NOTE: Get your own API key to use in the following script tag from: -->
<!-- https://www.data-8.co.uk/ValidationAdmin/AjaxAPIKey -->
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://webservices.data-8.co.uk/Javascript/Loader.ashx?key=your-api-key&load=AddressCapture">
</script>

<script type="text/javascript">

function FindFullAddress(licence, town, street, building) {
  /// <param name="licence">string. One of the following values: WebServerFull, WebClickFull, WebClickThoroughfare, InternalUserFull, InternalUserThoroughfare, SmallUserFull, SmallUserThoroughfare, Lookup, InternalServerFull, InternalServerThoroughfare, FreeTrial, FreeTrialThoroughfare, InternalUserFullArea, InternalUserThoroughfareArea, WebServerThoroughfare</param>
  /// <param name="town">string</param>
  /// <param name="street">string</param>
  /// <param name="building">string</param>
  var addresscapture = new data8.addresscapture();
  
  addresscapture.findfulladdress(
    licence,
    town,
    street,
    building,
    [
      new data8.option('Formatter', 'DefaultFormatter'),
      new data8.option('FixTownCounty', 'true'),
      new data8.option('MaxLines', '6'),
      new data8.option('MaxLineLength', '255'),
      new data8.option('NormalizeCase', 'true'),
      new data8.option('NormalizeTownCase', 'false'),
      new data8.option('ExcludeCounty', 'false'),
      new data8.option('UseAnyAvailableCounty', 'false'),
      new data8.option('UnwantedPunctuation', ''),
      new data8.option('FixBuilding', 'false'),
      new data8.option('IncludeUDPRN', 'true'),
      new data8.option('IncludeLocation', 'true'),
      new data8.option('ReturnResultCount', 'true')
    ],
    showFindFullAddressResult
  );
}

function showFindFullAddressResult(result) {
  // Check that the call succeeded, and show the error message if there was a problem.
  if (!result.Status.Success) {
    alert('Error: ' + result.Status.ErrorMessage);
  }
  else {
    // TODO: Process method results here.
    // Results can be extracted from the following fields:
    // result.ResultCount
    //   Contains the number of addresses in the `Results` field. This field is only populated if the `ReturnResultCount` option is set to `True`
    // result.Results
    //   Contains an array of addresses that match the query.
    //   A formatted version of each address in the array is available in the `Address` field, and a structured version of the address is available in the `RawAddress` field.
  }
}

</script>

// NOTE: A Service Reference to the web service must be added to use this sample code.
private void FindFullAddress(AddressCaptureLicence licence, string town, string street, string building)
{
    // Declare the required options.
    Option Formatter = new Option();
    Formatter.Name = "Formatter";
    Formatter.Value = "DefaultFormatter";
    Option FixTownCounty = new Option();
    FixTownCounty.Name = "FixTownCounty";
    FixTownCounty.Value = "true";
    Option MaxLines = new Option();
    MaxLines.Name = "MaxLines";
    MaxLines.Value = "6";
    Option MaxLineLength = new Option();
    MaxLineLength.Name = "MaxLineLength";
    MaxLineLength.Value = "255";
    Option NormalizeCase = new Option();
    NormalizeCase.Name = "NormalizeCase";
    NormalizeCase.Value = "true";
    Option NormalizeTownCase = new Option();
    NormalizeTownCase.Name = "NormalizeTownCase";
    NormalizeTownCase.Value = "false";
    Option ExcludeCounty = new Option();
    ExcludeCounty.Name = "ExcludeCounty";
    ExcludeCounty.Value = "false";
    Option UseAnyAvailableCounty = new Option();
    UseAnyAvailableCounty.Name = "UseAnyAvailableCounty";
    UseAnyAvailableCounty.Value = "false";
    Option UnwantedPunctuation = new Option();
    UnwantedPunctuation.Name = "UnwantedPunctuation";
    UnwantedPunctuation.Value = "";
    Option FixBuilding = new Option();
    FixBuilding.Name = "FixBuilding";
    FixBuilding.Value = "false";
    Option IncludeUDPRN = new Option();
    IncludeUDPRN.Name = "IncludeUDPRN";
    IncludeUDPRN.Value = "true";
    Option IncludeLocation = new Option();
    IncludeLocation.Name = "IncludeLocation";
    IncludeLocation.Value = "true";
    Option ReturnResultCount = new Option();
    ReturnResultCount.Name = "ReturnResultCount";
    ReturnResultCount.Value = "true";
    // Invoke the web service method.
    AddressCaptureSoapClient proxy = new AddressCaptureSoapClient();
    AddressOutput results = proxy.FindFullAddress("your-username", "your-password", licence, town, street, building, new Option[] {
                Formatter,
                FixTownCounty,
                MaxLines,
                MaxLineLength,
                NormalizeCase,
                NormalizeTownCase,
                ExcludeCounty,
                UseAnyAvailableCounty,
                UnwantedPunctuation,
                FixBuilding,
                IncludeUDPRN,
                IncludeLocation,
                ReturnResultCount});
    // Check that the call succeeded, and show the error message if there was a problem.
    if ((results.Status.Success == false))
    {
        MessageBox.Show(("Error: " + results.Status.ErrorMessage));
    }
    else
    {
        // TODO: Process method results here.
        // Results can be extracted from the following fields:
        // result.ResultCount
        //   Contains the number of addresses in the `Results` field. This field is only populated if the `ReturnResultCount` option is set to `True`
        // result.Results
        //   Contains an array of addresses that match the query.
        //   A formatted version of each address in the array is available in the `Address` field, and a structured version of the address is available in the `RawAddress` field.
    }
}

'NOTE: A Service Reference to the web service must be added to use this sample code.
Private Sub FindFullAddress(ByVal licence As AddressCaptureLicence, ByVal town As String, ByVal street As String, ByVal building As String)
    'Declare the required options.
    Dim Formatter As [Option] = New [Option]()
    Formatter.Name = "Formatter"
    Formatter.Value = "DefaultFormatter"
    Dim FixTownCounty As [Option] = New [Option]()
    FixTownCounty.Name = "FixTownCounty"
    FixTownCounty.Value = "true"
    Dim MaxLines As [Option] = New [Option]()
    MaxLines.Name = "MaxLines"
    MaxLines.Value = "6"
    Dim MaxLineLength As [Option] = New [Option]()
    MaxLineLength.Name = "MaxLineLength"
    MaxLineLength.Value = "255"
    Dim NormalizeCase As [Option] = New [Option]()
    NormalizeCase.Name = "NormalizeCase"
    NormalizeCase.Value = "true"
    Dim NormalizeTownCase As [Option] = New [Option]()
    NormalizeTownCase.Name = "NormalizeTownCase"
    NormalizeTownCase.Value = "false"
    Dim ExcludeCounty As [Option] = New [Option]()
    ExcludeCounty.Name = "ExcludeCounty"
    ExcludeCounty.Value = "false"
    Dim UseAnyAvailableCounty As [Option] = New [Option]()
    UseAnyAvailableCounty.Name = "UseAnyAvailableCounty"
    UseAnyAvailableCounty.Value = "false"
    Dim UnwantedPunctuation As [Option] = New [Option]()
    UnwantedPunctuation.Name = "UnwantedPunctuation"
    UnwantedPunctuation.Value = ""
    Dim FixBuilding As [Option] = New [Option]()
    FixBuilding.Name = "FixBuilding"
    FixBuilding.Value = "false"
    Dim IncludeUDPRN As [Option] = New [Option]()
    IncludeUDPRN.Name = "IncludeUDPRN"
    IncludeUDPRN.Value = "true"
    Dim IncludeLocation As [Option] = New [Option]()
    IncludeLocation.Name = "IncludeLocation"
    IncludeLocation.Value = "true"
    Dim ReturnResultCount As [Option] = New [Option]()
    ReturnResultCount.Name = "ReturnResultCount"
    ReturnResultCount.Value = "true"
    'Invoke the web service method.
    Dim proxy As AddressCaptureSoapClient = New AddressCaptureSoapClient()
    Dim results As AddressOutput = proxy.FindFullAddress("your-username", "your-password", licence, town, street, building, New [Option]() {Formatter, FixTownCounty, MaxLines, MaxLineLength, NormalizeCase, NormalizeTownCase, ExcludeCounty, UseAnyAvailableCounty, UnwantedPunctuation, FixBuilding, IncludeUDPRN, IncludeLocation, ReturnResultCount})
    'Check that the call succeeded, and show the error message if there was a problem.
    If (results.Status.Success = false) Then
        MessageBox.Show(("Error: " + results.Status.ErrorMessage))
    Else
        'TODO: Process method results here.
        'Results can be extracted from the following fields:
        'result.ResultCount
        '  Contains the number of addresses in the `Results` field. This field is only populated if the `ReturnResultCount` option is set to `True`
        'result.Results
        '  Contains an array of addresses that match the query.
        '  A formatted version of each address in the array is available in the `Address` field, and a structured version of the address is available in the `RawAddress` field.
    End If
End Sub

// NOTE: The php_soap.dll extension must be enabled in the php.ini file.
function FindFullAddress($licence, $town, $street, $building)
{
  $options = array(
    "Option" => array(
      array(
        "Name" => "Formatter",
        "Value" => "DefaultFormatter"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "FixTownCounty",
        "Value" => "true"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "MaxLines",
        "Value" => "6"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "MaxLineLength",
        "Value" => "255"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "NormalizeCase",
        "Value" => "true"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "NormalizeTownCase",
        "Value" => "false"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "ExcludeCounty",
        "Value" => "false"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "UseAnyAvailableCounty",
        "Value" => "false"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "UnwantedPunctuation",
        "Value" => ""
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "FixBuilding",
        "Value" => "false"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "IncludeUDPRN",
        "Value" => "true"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "IncludeLocation",
        "Value" => "true"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "ReturnResultCount",
        "Value" => "true"
      )
    )
  );
  $params = array(
    "username" => "your-username",
    "password" => "your-password",
    "licence" => $licence,
    "town" => $town,
    "street" => $street,
    "building" => $building,
    "options" => $options
  );
  $client = new SoapClient("https://webservices.data-8.co.uk/AddressCapture.asmx?WSDL");
  $result = $client->FindFullAddress($params);
  if ($result->FindFullAddressResult->Status->Success == 0)
  {
    echo "Error: " . $result->FindFullAddressResult->Status->ErrorMessage;
  }
  else
  {
    // TODO: Process method results here.
    // Results can be extracted from the following fields:
    // $result->FindFullAddressResult->ResultCount
    //   Contains the number of addresses in the `Results` field. This field is only populated if the `ReturnResultCount` option is set to `True`
    // $result->FindFullAddressResult->Results
    //   Contains an array of addresses that match the query.
    //   A formatted version of each address in the array is available in the `Address` field, and a structured version of the address is available in the `RawAddress` field.
    //   NOTE: This field contains an array of items, but if it contains only one item,
    //   PHP may not recognise it as an array. To always extract the result of this
    //   field as an array, we recommend you always access it using the
    //   getArrayFromResponse method described at
    //   http://www.php.net/soap_soapclient_soapcall#75797, e.g.
    //   foreach (getArrayFromResponse($result->FindFullAddressResult->Results) as $item)
    //   {
    //     ...
    //   }
  }
}

Request Format

{
  "licence": "WebClickFull",
  "town": "Chester",
  "street": "Stanney Mill Road",
  "building": "Data8",
  "options": {
    "Formatter": "DefaultFormatter",
    "FixTownCounty": true,
    "MaxLines": 6,
    "MaxLineLength": 255,
    "NormalizeCase": true,
    "NormalizeTownCase": false,
    "ExcludeCounty": false,
    "UseAnyAvailableCounty": false,
    "UnwantedPunctuation": "",
    "FixBuilding": false,
    "IncludeUDPRN": true,
    "IncludeLocation": true,
    "ReturnResultCount": true
  }
}

Results Format

{
  "Status": {
    "Success": true,
    "CreditsRemaining": 1000
  },
  "ResultCount": 1,
  "Results": [
    {
      "Address": {
        "Lines": [
          "Data 8",
          "Unit 4",
          "Venture Point, Stanney Mill Road",
          "Little Stanney",
          "CHESTER",
          "",
          "CH2 4NE"
        ]
      },
      "RawAddress": {
        "Organisation": "DATA 8",
        "Department": "",
        "AddressKey": 36402248,
        "OrganisationKey": 3403817,
        "PostcodeType": "S",
        "BuildingNumber": 0,
        "SubBuildingName": "UNIT 4",
        "BuildingName": "VENTURE POINT",
        "DependentThoroughfareName": "",
        "DependentThoroughfareDesc": "",
        "ThoroughfareName": "STANNEY MILL",
        "ThoroughfareDesc": "ROAD",
        "DoubleDependentLocality": "",
        "DependentLocality": "LITTLE STANNEY",
        "Locality": "CHESTER",
        "Postcode": "CH2 4NE",
        "Dps": "1E",
        "PoBox": "",
        "PostalCounty": "",
        "TraditionalCounty": "CHESHIRE",
        "AdministrativeCounty": "CHESHIRE WEST AND CHESTER",
        "CountryISO2": null,
        "UniqueReference": "52418170",
        "Location": {
          "Easting": 341700,
          "Northing": 374500,
          "GridReference": "SJ417745",
          "Longitude": -2.8741531168898122,
          "Latitude": 53.264686310220512,
          "CountyCode": null,
          "County": null,
          "DistrictCode": null,
          "District": null,
          "WardCode": null,
          "Ward": null,
          "Country": null,
          "Constituency": null
        },
        "AdditionalData": null
      }
    }
  ]
}

Depending on your chosen authentication method you will need to modify this request slightly:

Public Sub FindFullAddress(licence As String, town As String, street As String, building As String)
  Dim rs As ADODB.Recordset
  Set rs = New ADODB.Recordset
  rs.Open "https://webservices.data-8.co.uk/recordset.ashx?service=AddressCapture&method=FindFullAddressSimple" &
    "&username=your-username" &
    "&password=your-password" &
    "&licence=" & licence &
    "&town=" & town &
    "&street=" & street &
    "&building=" & building
  If rs.MoveFirst Then
    If rs.Fields(0).Name = "Success" And rs.Fields(0).Value = false Then
      MsgBox "Error: " & rs.Fields(1)
    Else
      'TODO: Process method results here.
      'All the results are available in the first row in the recordset.
      'Results can be extracted from the following fields:
      'ResultCount
      '  Contains the number of addresses in the `Results` field. This field is only populated if the `ReturnResultCount` option is set to `True`
      'Each result is available in a different row in the recordset.
      'Results can be extracted from the following fields:
      'RawAddress_Organisation
      'RawAddress_Department
      'RawAddress_AddressKey
      'RawAddress_OrganisationKey
      'RawAddress_PostcodeType
      'RawAddress_BuildingNumber
      'RawAddress_SubBuildingName
      'RawAddress_BuildingName
      'RawAddress_DependentThoroughfareName
      'RawAddress_DependentThoroughfareDesc
      'RawAddress_ThoroughfareName
      'RawAddress_ThoroughfareDesc
      'RawAddress_DoubleDependentLocality
      'RawAddress_DependentLocality
      'RawAddress_Locality
      'RawAddress_Postcode
      'RawAddress_Dps
      'RawAddress_PoBox
      'RawAddress_PostalCounty
      'RawAddress_TraditionalCounty
      'RawAddress_AdministrativeCounty
      'RawAddress_CountryISO2
      'RawAddress_UniqueReference
      'RawAddress_Location_Easting
      'RawAddress_Location_Northing
      'RawAddress_Location_GridReference
      'RawAddress_Location_Longitude
      'RawAddress_Location_Latitude
      'RawAddress_Location_CountyCode
      'RawAddress_Location_County
      'RawAddress_Location_DistrictCode
      'RawAddress_Location_District
      'RawAddress_Location_WardCode
      'RawAddress_Location_Ward
      'RawAddress_Location_Country
      'RawAddress_Location_Constituency
    End If
  End If
End Sub

FindFullAddress

Description

Credit Usage

Parameters

Advanced Options

Results

Live Demo

Live Demo Results

Sample Code

Request Format

Results Format