The POSTCODE of the ADDRESS nominated by the PATIENT with ADDRESS ASSOCIATION TYPE 'Main Permanent Residence' or 'Other Permanent Residence'.

If a PATIENT has no fixed abode this should be recorded with the appropriate code (ZZ99 3VZ).

For overseas visitors the POSTCODES OF USUAL ADDRESS field must show the relevant country pseudo postcode commencing ZZ99 plus space followed by a numeric, then an alpha character, then a Z. For example, ZZ99 6CZ is the pseudo-postcode for India. Pseudo-Country postcodes can be found in the NHS Postcode Directory.

The 8 characters field allows a space to be inserted to differentiate between the inward and outward segments of the code, enabling full use to be made of Royal Mail postcode functionality.  See NHS Postcode Directory and Contact Details.

The e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF) standard POSTCODE should be used for all new and developing systems and for XML messages.

References:
The e-GIF version approved for use in NHS England is:
Government Data Standards Catalogue: (GDSC), Version 2.1, Agreed 1 September 2002.
GDSC: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/govtalk/schemasstandards/e-gif/datastandards.aspx.

This data element is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	POSTCODES OF USUAL ADDRESS