Unifying data for confident decisions: the power of the UPRN

As organisations increasingly rely on precise, authoritative data to improve service delivery, strengthen decision‑making, and streamline operations, the value of the UPRN has become more widely recognised. Since its introduction, the UPRN has helped organisations remain more competitive, by unlocking greater accuracy, interoperability, and insight.

How to use the UPRN effectively

In July 2020, the UK government mandated the use of UPRNs in all public sector systems and processes.

The UPRN was also made open by the government; that decision meant an open identifier that could enable better data sharing across different central government departments and commercial organisations, with all involved benefitting from unified departments and consolidated intelligence.

To that end, OS also provides its own OS Open UPRN product, with a coordinates reference point and UPRN for every addressable location across Great Britain.

The government’s decision was influenced in part by the property sector – the UPRN has been a valuable asset to all organisations involved in land and property, for many reasons. One property can have a multitude of data attached to it; landowners, agents, valuers, surveyors, consultants, architects, developers – all that just one property can accumulate. A UPRN can connect all that data together.

With so much information on properties and locations being managed, maintained, linked, and shared by so many different organisations and agencies, the government mandating a common thread like the UPRN helped improve the interoperability of data. Organisations in the property sector adopted the UPRN, and pushed for it to be embedded in existing processes – such as Zoopla using the UPRN to improve property searches, and help its customers find the home that is right for them.

Other organisations such as The RED Foundation exist to encourage support, increase the adoption of the UPRN, to benefit the sector and wider society. The real power of a common identifier like the UPRN manifests when it is widely adopted across whole sectors.

Property – UPRNs are assigned throughout a property’s lifecycle, from planning through to demolition. Local authorities will assign a UPRN, allowing data to accumulate for that location, even before it’s built.

The location/property can then collect relevant data, united by the UPRN, such as Energy Performance Certificates, Office for National Statistics (ONS) Boundaries, HM Land Registry titles, Valuation Office Data Planning Applications, and many more.

Public services – With the UPRN, government authorities have the accuracy needed to make informed policy decisions. A more granular geography unlocks new insights, such as properties’ access to public transport, healthcare, and waste collection. It helps combat fraud, using a UPRN to validate addresses, and improves the accuracy of the electoral roll.

Utilities – Every property requires access to services such as broadband, water, electricity – utility providers can better manage property portfolios with the UPRN, and plan the shortest connections to reach their customers.

Utilities and telcos providers can also use the UPRN to evaluate coverage, improve services, and plan network upgrades.

Financial services – Insurers can use the UPRN to underwrite and price property insurance more fairly, based on accurate location data integrated with relevant flooding data and other environmental risks. This also enables banking organisations to follow ‘responsible lending’ practices.

Healthcare – Accurate addressing with the UPRN helps in accessing home-delivery medical supplies, and benefits the emergency services when responding to an incident – situations where accuracy and efficiency can help save lives.

What is a UPRN?

The UPRN is a unique numeric identifier, up to 12 digits in length, that denotes a single addressable location. The UPRN is an even more granular level of geography, providing a unique identifier even for non-addressable locations, such as a post-box or electricity substation. Each house, and each individual flat in a block, has its own UPRN.

Adoption of UPRNs has grown exponentially in the last 25 years. More than 400,000 UPRNs are created every year, with more than 42.8 million UPRNs in use across the UK today.

UPRNs are allocated to properties either when construction of a property begins, or street naming and numbering has been carried out – whichever happens first. That UPRN then persists, throughout the lifecycle, with all relevant data attached it until the property/location it denotes is demolished.

The UPRN and unification of data

Organisations perform data entry in different methods, in different formats, and on different platforms. It becomes harder and more time consuming to communicate the same address between them; and harder still, should a query relate to an object that has no literal address.

Using the UPRN as a data reference point makes it possible to collate, share, and connect data from various sources. A machine-readable, consistent reference format means organisations can link records, exchange them, and keep their data consistent, but still within their internal tools and processes.

It helps to achieve unification of data, that enables all users involved to make more confident decisions.

How to access UPRNs

Used across both the public and private sectors, from enhancing the quality of address matching, to improving the integration of location data within complex systems, UPRNs have become a reliable foundation for a broad range of services and applications.

To start improving organisational efficiencies using UPRNs, access OS Addressing data from the National Geographic Database (NGD) by clicking below.