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PSMA licensing
Since the start of the PSMA agreement, public sector organisations in England and Wales who are members can benefit from access a selection of Ordnance Survey digital map products.
This page gives help on licensing under the PSMA agreement and offers examples of licensing forms and guidance for specific scenarios and usage of digital map products.
Please Note: An annoucement by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Royal Mail was made in March 2013 regarding PAF® PSL - read the details on this important change here.
For information about which products are available under the PSMA, please visit our public sector products page.
For information about licensing for Scottish public sector organisations, visit the OSMA licensing pages.
Public Sector Mapping Agreement
To start at the beginning and to help you understand the fundementals of the PSMA and the Member Licence, here are the terms and conditions in the documents below.
This document contains the full terms of the agreement between Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Ordnance Survey concerning the provision of mapping data to the public sector in England and Wales.
PSMA Member Licence
If you wish to become a PSMA member, this document sets out the rules of what you can and cannot do with the data you will access through the PSMA. You will need to read this before signing the member licence acceptance form below.
Use our online joining process to progress your membership application.
Help and guidance with Licensing questions
Q) For what purpose can PSMA products be used?
PSMA members can use Ordnance Survey digital map products for a specific purpose. The purpose is known as their 'core business'. For public sector organisations, this typically means the provision of public sector services.
Updates to 'Core business' terms:
The terms in the current agreement replace the previous 'business use' clauses used in previous agreements.
Under this definition, PSMA members are entitled to use data provided through the agreement for any purposes they consider they have to undertake to meet their public service delivery obligations. For example, this includes:
- Creating and monitoring policy
- Operational management of government
- Delivering government business and public services
- Making information available to the public
- Performing any other function required by statute
- Passing derived information and/or data to any other member of the PSMA
Q) Can I share data with other organisations and third-parties?
Yes - As mentioned above, under certain circumstances, provding the correct licenses are in place, geographic information can be shared with other organisations.
The sections below outline how you can do this.
1) Sharing data with your contractors
As with past agreements, you will continue to be able to share data with your contractors. This can either be done via an electronic template provided by us, or by incorporating the relevant clauses contained within the template in your own bespoke licences with your contractors.
Sharing data with contractors (Licences)
PSMA Contractor Licence form field (Updated Jan 2012)
PSMA Contractor Licence read only (Updated Jan 2012)
2) Sharing data with One Scotland Mapping Agreement (OSMA) members
These terms permit you to pass data to a member/s of the One Scotland Mapping Agreement (OSMA) when you are working with them on a recognised joint initiative and which requires the OSMA member/s to use mapping covering areas of England and/or Wales to fulfill their obligations under that initiative.
Sharing data with OSMA
No additional licences are required (But - please see criteria in previous column)
3) Sharing data with infrastructure bodies
An Infrastructure body is an organisation in the gas, electricity, water, rail and telecommunication sectors, as well as transport and airport operators.
Public sector clients and this wider group of customers now have common terms, which permit the exchange of derived data between entities, as long as they are licensed for the same product/s and for the same geographical coverage of the data you intend to share.
You can share data with these organisations, provided that they are licensed for the same data and the same geographic area.
Sharing with infrastructure bodies
No additional licences needed.
4) Sharing data with others - End user licence
This licence permits you to pass data and or derived data to anyone who is supporting you in the delivery of your core business. You do not have to have additional formal arrangements in place with these bodies, so this end user licence helps individuals, voluntary and community groups or other similar bodies who require mapping to deliver and/or support your public task to deliver your core business.
End user licence
PSMA End User Licence form field* (Updated Jan 2012)
PSMA End User Licence read only* (Updated Jan 2012)
Notes:
* We have made two versions available of both the PSMA Contractor and End User Licences.
- The ‘form field’ version is the standard Ordnance Survey licence that allows you to complete and save information within the document itself.
- The ‘read only’ version enables you to copy text from the document, which can then be pasted and saved into a new document that you have created.
Other Licences and notes
PSMA Royal Mail terms (stand-alone Appendix 3) * (Updated Jan 2012)
PSMA Member Licence acceptance form (Updated Jan 2012)
Public Sector Web Mapping Services End User Licence (Published Jan 2012)
Important Notes:
* Where addressing data is being supplied, these Royal Mail terms must be applied and passed on in full to all Contractors and End-users.
Licence help
Please find the following information to help you understand the complex area of product licensing.
PSMA Member Licence user guide
Need more information?
Please visit our licensing FAQs section, we may have an answer to your question.
If you need additional support, please contact us via our public sector support page.