FAQs

FAQs

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Popular questions

There is no need to apply for an Eircode. Each month An Post GeoDirectory provide an update file containing postal addresses and location details for new properties captured in the previous month. If all information is provided, these new addresses are then assigned an Eircode and added to the Eircode Finder.

If your property is newly built or newly occupied, your address and its location must be included in the database we receive each quarter from An Post GeoDirectory DAC (a subsidiary of An Post) to allow us to assign an Eircode.

The address detail contained in the An Post GeoDirectory database must have at least 2 lines of the postal address, a principal post town, and geographic coordinates for an Eircode to be assigned to that address. If information is missing from the database, we would expect it to be included in a future update of the An Post GeoDirectory database.

If a postal address has not been captured, we may need to refer you to An Post Customer Services to have your address captured.

For more information about how and when new Eircodes are assigned visit Getting an Eircode.

Each month - An Post GeoDirectory provide an update file with postal addresses and location details for new properties captured in the previous month. These new addresses are then assigned an Eircode and added to the Eircode Finder.

Each quarter - An Post GeoDirectory provide a full update, which includes addresses and location details for new, repurposed, or renovated properties as well as any changes to existing address information captured in the previous three months. Eircodes are assigned, any changes are applied and added to the Eircode Finder. 
At this point notification letters for all addresses assigned an Eircode in the Quarter are posted to the occupants of the properties.

Eircode also provides updates to licenced businesses and organisations in each monthly and quarterly update. If you are interested in licencing the Eircode database, please visit the Business section of this website for more information.

For more information about the next quarterly update visit Getting an Eircode.

There is no one official address for any location in Ireland and many versions of an address can exist such as geographic, postal, electoral, or historical addresses.

The Eircode Finder contains the geographic and postal address, both addresses are provided to us by An Post GeoDirectory.

Eircode cannot amend or change these addresses.

Firstly, we would recommend you try entering it in a different format – online forms may accept the Eircode either as two separate parts with a space between the Routing Key and Unique Identifier for example A65 F4E2 or as one single seven-character string for example A65F4E2.

The number of organisations updating their systems to recognise Eircodes has continued to increase since Eircodes launched in 2015. We expect that more and more organisations will use Eircodes over time.

Getting an Eircode

To date Eircodes have been assigned to over 2.2m postal addresses. All Eircodes can be found on the Eircode Finder, a public website that allows you to search for an Eircode by address or by finding a property on the map. 

On the Eircode Finder, type in your address or use the map to find your home or business. When you find your property, if there is a building marker (noted by a pink dot), there is an Eircode for this property. Move the map so the target is over the building marker and click ’Get Eircode’. 

More information about how to use the Eircode Finder can be found on our Help page

If you need help or cannot find an Eircode you can contact us and someone from the Eircode Team will be happy to help you

There is no need to apply for an Eircode. Each month An Post GeoDirectory provide an update file containing postal addresses and location details for new properties captured in the previous month. If all information is provided, these new addresses are assigned an Eircode and added to the Eircode Finder.

If your property is newly built or newly occupied, your address and its location must be included in the database we receive from An Post GeoDirectory DAC (a subsidiary of An Post) to allow us to assign an Eircode.

The address detail contained in the An Post GeoDirectory database must have at least 2 lines of the postal address, a principal post town, and geographic coordinates for an Eircode to be assigned to that address. If information is missing from the database, we would expect it to be included in a future update of the An Post GeoDirectory database.

If a postal address has not been captured, we may need to refer you to An Post to have your address captured. 

For more information about how and when new Eircodes are assigned visit Getting an Eircode. 

 


If you are unsure if your address has an Eircode you can use the Eircode Finder to check. If an address search is unsuccessful, you can use the map to find the location of the property. If there is a building marker (noted by a pink dot) on the map, there is an Eircode for the property. 

If there is no pink dot on the map at the location it means, there is no Eircode assigned – there could be several reasons for this.

  • It is possible that your address and its location was not captured yet and thus was not included in the update received from An Post GeoDirectory. 

    For example it can take some time for a new address to be included. When this happens we would expect it to be included in a future update.

  • It is possible that your address and its location was not fully captured. The An Post GeoDirectory database must contain at least 2 lines of the postal address, a principal post town and geographic coordinates for an Eircode to be assigned. 

    For example it can take some time to get all the information for a new build. If any of this information is missing from the database, we would expect it to be included in a future update by An Post GeoDirectory.  

  • It is possible the property is a secondary building that does not have a postal address and thus is not assigned an Eircode. 

    For example a campus with multiple buildings may have post delivered to a central location and then distribute post to other buildings.

For more information visit What gets an Eircode.

If your property has been there for many years and you cannot find an Eircode on the Eircode Finder, please contact us and someone from the Eircode Team will be happy to help you


Each month - An Post GeoDirectory provide an update file with postal addresses and location details for new properties captured in the previous month. These new addresses are assigned an Eircode and added to the Eircode Finder.

Each quarter - An Post GeoDirectory provide a full update, which includes addresses and location details for new, repurposed, or renovated properties as well as any changes to existing address information captured in the previous three months. Eircodes are assigned, and any changes are applied.
At this point notification letters for all addresses assigned an Eircode in the Quarter are posted to the occupants of the properties.

Eircode also provides updates to licenced businesses and organisations monthly and quarterly. If you are interested in licencing the Eircode database, please visit the Business section of this website for more information.

For more information about the next update visit Getting an Eircode.

An Eircode is asssigned to a postal address. 

For residential addresses some examples include each house on a street, each apartment in an apartment building, each house in a rural townland, or each unit in a duplex unit.

For non-residential addresses, some examples include each office building, each unit in a shopping centre, or each unit in a business park.  

For more information visit What gets an Eircode.

Generally, an Eircode is not assigned to each business or tenant in a multi-tenancy building as the Eircode relates to the address for the building, not to the businesses within the building. 

Within multi-unit buildings, an Eircode is normally assigned to each unit, e.g., each shop / unit in a shopping centre. 

For more information visit What gets an Eircode.

Eircodes are not being allocated to PO Box numbers at this time.

More information on about what gets an Eircode can be found here.

Generally, if a halting site has an office that receives post, the office address gets an Eircode. In the case of a halting site with numbered bays, the address for each bay receives an Eircode. If a caravan or mobile home within a bay move, the Eircode does not belong to the caravan, but to the bay in which it resides. 

For more information visit What gets an Eircode.

It is likely that your converted garage does not have a separate postal address. Therefore, the same Eircode as your house will be used for the converted garage.

For more information visit Getting an Eircode.

 

As Eircode is part of the national infrastructure it is not possible to opt out. Additionally, an Eircode is assigned to an address, rather than an individual. You can choose not to use an Eircode.

Using an Eircode

When you receive an Eircode notification letter it means a new Eircode has been assigned to your address. You should take note of the Eircode contained in the letter so that you can refer to it easily when you need to.
Notification letters for all addresses assigned an Eircode since the previous quarterly update are posted February, May, August and November.

An Eircode notification letter is not required to use an Eircode. 

All Eircodes can be found on the Eircode Finder, a public website that allows you to search for an Eircode by address or by finding a property on the map. 

On the Eircode Finder, you can check the location of your Eircode, find other Eircodes, and on a smartphone use the Get Directions option to navigate to an address. You can also print the Eircode so that you can refer to it easily when you need to. 

More information about how to use the Eircode Finder can be found on our Help page.

All Eircodes can be found on the Eircode Finder, a public website that allows you to search for an Eircode by address or map. The Eircode Finder can be used on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. 

More information about how to use the Eircode Finder can be found on our Help page.

All Eircodes can be found on the Eircode Finder. You find an Eircode by searching using an address, or you can also use the map to find the property and view the Eircode for that address.

More information about how to use the Eircode Finder can be found under How do I use the Eircode Finder question below.

It is important to provide the correct Eircode for your address. To ensure the Eircode you are using is correct you, or someone you know that has access to the internet, should check the location of the Eircode on the Eircode Finder. The Eircode Finder can be used on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. 

When you search for an Eircode by address or map you will be able to view the location of the Eircode on a map to confirm if it is correct. The map allows you to zoom in and out and view in satellite mode to help you confirm that the location is correct.  

If you need help or cannot find an Eircode you can contact us and someone from the Eircode Team will be happy to help you

An Eircode should be placed at the end of an address, just below the County. If you are writing to a person in Ireland from overseas, the Eircode should go between the County and Country.

When using the Eircode to post letters or parcels it should be used along with a complete postal address. An Post recommends that you use the postal address and an Eircode for posting items as an incorrect or incomplete address on letters or parcels may lead to delay, mis-delivery, or non-delivery.  

When shopping online or filling out online forms you may be asked for an Eircode as part of your address. Some websites will allow you to enter the Eircode in the postcode field or some may ask you for your Eircode to autofill your address. Online forms may accept the Eircode either as two separate parts with a space between the Routing Key and Unique Identifier for example A65 F4E2 or as a single seven- character string for example A65F4E2.

For more information visit Using an Eircode

The Eircode should be placed at the end of an address, just below the County. If you are writing to a person in Ireland from overseas, the Eircode should go between the County and Country. 

For more information visit Using an Eircode

An Post recommends that you use the postal address and an Eircode for posting items as an incorrect or incomplete address on letters or parcels may lead to delay, mis-delivery, or non-delivery.  

For more information visit Using an Eircode

Firstly, we would recommend you try entering it in a different format – online forms may accept the Eircode either as two separate parts with a space between the Routing Key and Unique Identifier for example A65 F4E2 or as one single seven-character string for example A65F4E2.

The number of organisations updating their systems to recognise Eircodes has continued to increase since Eircodes launched in 2015. We expect that more and more organisations will use Eircodes over time.

Using an Eircode is not mandatory. However, some organisations may request an Eircode to access their products or services. About 35% of addresses in Ireland are not unique but each Eircode is unique to a home or business premises, even those with the same address. So Eircodes help organisations tell non-unique addresses apart. 

For more information about the benefits of using Eircodes visit Benefits.

Using an Eircode is not mandatory, and you are not obliged to provide it when asked. However, many organisations recognise the benefits of using Eircodes to deliver a better customer experience and may require the Eircode to provide their products or services. 

Care has been taken to ensure an Eircode does not contain any offensive words, offensive abbreviations, names, or slang. If you believe the Eircode for your address is inappropriate, please refer to our Code of Practice for information about how to request a review of the Eircode. You can also contact us, and we will be happy to help.

There are many benefits to using an Eircode, for example it helps organisations to accurately identify addresses ensuring faster and more accurate delivery of goods and services. It can also help to make it quicker and easier for emergency services to locate addresses. 

For more information about the Benefits of using Eircodes visit Benefits.

Both the National Ambulance Service and the Emergency Call Answering Service have integrated Eircodes into their systems. 

Providing an Eircode as well as an address means they do not need to ask you for directions as the geographic coordinates in the Eircode database provide the information needed to get to an exact location.

They use the Eircode in addition to the address and not as a replacement so if you do not have your Eircode to hand the operator will still be able to assist you in the same way they would have done before the Eircode was available.

For the general public there is no cost to use an Eircode. 

Businesses and organisations can licence the Eircode database – for more information about Eircode products for businesses and organisations visit our business page.

Addresses

Eircode use addresses and geographic coordinates supplied by An Post GeoDirectory DAC (a subsidiary of An Post). An Post GeoDirectory get their information from Ordnance Survey Ireland, The Placenames Branch (Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht), and the Universal Service Provider for postal services in Ireland, An Post. 

There is no one official address for any location address in Ireland and many versions of an address can exist such as geographic, postal, electoral, or historical addresses. 

Buildings can have several addresses attributed to them by different organisations for different purposes e.g., postal addresses may record an address based on postal routes, or church records may record an address based on parish boundaries. Eircode does not change or replace these addresses.

The Eircode database which you can use with the Eircode Finder contains the geographic and postal address. Both of these addresses are provided to us by An Post GeoDirectory. 

Eircode notification letters, sent when a new Eircode is assigned, have the postal address only, as this is the address that An Post recommends for the safe and efficient delivery of letters.

Eircode cannot amend or change these addresses.

There is no one official address for any location in Ireland and many versions of an address can exist such as geographic, postal, electoral, or historical addresses. 

The Eircode Finder contains the geographic and postal address, both addresses are provided to us by An Post GeoDirectory. 

Eircode cannot amend or change these addresses.

Business names are provided to us by An Post GeoDirectory as part of the postal address and Eircode cannot amend or change this information. If the business name is incorrect, you will need to contact An Post GeoDirectory and request that the address be amended. As they update their information and provide it to us, the changes will be made in the Eircode database and will be displayed on our Eircode Finder after each update.

A building or house name is part of the postal address. All postal addresses are provided to us by An Post GeoDirectory and Eircode cannot amend or change these addresses. If you think the postal address is incorrect, we may need to refer to you to An Post Customer Services to have your postal address reviewed.

Please contact us and someone from the Eircode team will be happy to help you.

This is an address that is uniquely identifiable by a building name or number. For example, a house may have a house number or name that will make it different to every other house on a street or in an estate.

For example – 37 George Street, Kinsale, Co. Cork or Daffodil Ranch, Newtown Road, Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo 

A non-unique address is a property which has the same address as at least one other property in an area. These addresses do not have a unique house name or number to allow someone to identify the correct location. Often a non-unique address can be shared by several properties in the same townland which can make it difficult for businesses and organisations delivering goods or services to these addresses.  

For example – Castletown, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary

One of the benefits of Eircodes is to help locate a specific address in an area where several properties have the same non-unique address.

The same Eircode is used in both the Irish and English version of an address

Addresses were not and will not be changed or replaced. An Eircode is simply added to the end of an existing postal address.

There is no one official address for any location in Ireland and many versions of an address can exist such as geographic, postal, electoral, or historical addresses. 

Buildings can have several addresses attributed to them by different organisations for different purposes e.g., postal addresses may record an address based on postal routes or church records may record an address based on parish boundaries.

Regardless of the address used the geographic coordinates are the same and the Eircode pinpoints its exact location on a map. The addresses used to assign Eircodes are the postal addresses as provided by An Post GeoDirectory.

The Eircode Finder

The Eircode Finder is a public website which allows you to search for an Eircode using an address or by finding a property on a map. You can also search by Eircode to find the location of an address on the map. On a smartphone you can use the Get Directions option to navigate to the location of an Eircode.

The Eircode Finder can be used on a computer, tablet or a smartphone and is available 24/7.

More information about how to use the Eircode Finder can be found on our Help page including some short videos about how to use the Eircode Finder.

The Eircode Finder can be found at www.eircode.ie. It allows you to search for an Eircode using an address or by using the Find on Map function. If you are viewing the Finder on a smartphone, you can also use 'Get Directions' to navigate to the location of an Eircode or chose the 'Use my Location' option to find an Eircode based on your current location.

More information about how to use the Eircode Finder can be found on our Help page including some short videos about how to use the Eircode Finder.

There could be several reasons for this. 

The address being used to search for the Eircode may be slightly different to the address that is contained on the database and therefore you may not be getting any search results. We would recommend searching without the first line of the address or using the map to find your property. When you find your property, if there is a building marker (noted by a pink dot) on the map, there is an Eircode for this property. Move the map so the target is over the building marker and click ‘Get Eircode’. 

If there is no building marker (noted by a pink dot) on the map, it is possible that the address was not captured or fully captured yet and therefore was not included in an update of the An Post GeoDirectory database used to assign Eircodes. 

In some instances, for example if the address is for a new build, it can take some time to receive the address information and geographic coordinates needed to allow us to assign an Eircode. 

It is possible the property is a secondary building that does not have a postal address and thus is not assigned an Eircode. For example a campus with multiple buildings may have post delivered to a central location and then distribute post to other buildings. 

For more information visit What gets an Eircode.  

If you need help or cannot find an Eircode you can contact us and someone from the Eircode Team will be happy to help you. 

It is possible the building you are looking at is a secondary building that does not have a postal address and thus is not assigned an Eircode. Or it could be a new, repurposed or renovated building that does not have a postal address yet. 

If there is no Eircode shown on the Eircode Finder it is likely one one may be assigned in a future update. Once a new complete address is received from An Post GeoDirectory, an Eircode will be assigned and the address and its location will be added to the Eircode Finder.

The Eircode Finder is for the public who occasionally need to look up an address; it is not for commercial use which is why a daily limit has been set. 

If you are a business or organisation interested in becoming licenced Eircode database user more information can be found on our Business page

Eircode for Businesses

Eircodes and more specifically wider Eircode data can be used in several ways in your business and provides many benefits both to the businesses and customers. 

For example, you can use Eircode data for

Logistics planning – route optimisation and delivery schedules

As an Eircode is unique to an address it makes it easier to identify exact delivery and pick up points assisting in timely delivery.

Faster and more accurate address capture

Eircodes provide for more reliable addresses: with faster and more accurate address capture whether through websites or call centres. Great for the business and offers the customer a better interaction.

Better data management

Using Eircode data organisations can cleanse, reconcile and de-duplicate databases that come from different sources. 

All the information about how to access Eircode data, usage scenarios, solutions and pricing can be found on our Business page

Updated Eircode data is provided monthly, either directly to an Eircode end user or to their data provider dependent on the type of licence they hold. These updates are consistent across all sectors.

An Eircode Provider is licensed to integrate Eircode database into their own software solutions and provide those products onwards to end user customers. For more information visit Become a Provider

Eircode Design

Eircode is Ireland’s postcode system, launched in July 2015. An Eircode is a seven-character alphanumeric postcode. Each Eircode is unique to a postal address and its geographic location. 

An Eircode is made up of two parts - a Routing Key and a Unique Identifier. A typical Eircode might read A65 F4E2.  

For more information about how Eircodes work and their design visit What is Eircode.

Eircode is the name for the national postcode system in Ireland. Other countries have different names for their postcode systems. In the US they are called 'zip codes', in France 'code postal’ is used, in Germany the abbreviated 'PLZ' is used and in the UK the term 'postcode' is used. 

For more information visit What is Eircode.

Having a unique Eircode for every address helps to solve two significant problems with addresses in Ireland. The first is that over 35% of the addresses in Ireland are non-unique, where a property has the same address as a least one other property. The second is that an address can have several different forms. Applying a unique Eircode to every address helps to solve these two problems. 

For more information visit What is Eircode.

The design has allowed for the increase of residences and business premises across the country as well as the change of use of buildings. In each Routing Key there is plenty of capacity to allow for anticipated growth. 

For more information about how Eircodes work and their design visit What is Eircode.

Eircodes are not sequential by design. As buildings are built, altered, and demolished, Eircodes are assigned or retired, which would cause sequential codes to fall out of sequence very quickly.  For example:

  • When a new building is built between two existing buildings

  • When an existing building is split into multiple flats or business premises

  • When an existing building split into multiple flats is converted into a single residence or business premises

As Eircodes are not sequential the assignment or retirement of an Eircode does not affect any Eircodes already assigned in the area. 

Certain characters have been excluded from the character set used for Eircodes to avoid visual and verbal confusion. The number zero is included in the character set used for Eircodes, but the letter ‘O’ is not. This was a deliberate design decision to ensure that two visually similar characters don’t appear in an Eircode.

Systems that use Eircodes are advised to follow the technical guidelines provided by Eircode which would result in the number zero, or a letter ‘O’ being read and interpreted correctly as the number zero, even in cases where someone has incorrectly provided the Eircode using a letter ‘O’. 

For more information about how Eircodes work and their design visit What is Eircode.

The order of the alphanumeric characters in an Eircode is reviewed to ensure slang names, offensive abbreviations or offensive words have been excluded. 

For more information about how Eircodes work and their design visit What is Eircode.

Eircodes are not linked to a county or city, except for Dublin where the postal districts have been in use for many years. Introducing county or city details in the wider Eircode design would have limited the available alphanumeric combinations. 

For more information about how Eircodes work and their design visit What is Eircode.

The existing Dublin postal district numbers are part of the Eircode design e.g., 1 to 24 and 6W are retained in the Routing Key as D01 to D24. These Dublin districts have been in existence for many years and the public is very familiar with them. 

For more information about how Eircodes work and their design visit What is Eircode.

All addresses are assigned an Eircode which is assigned to the address rather than the individual and it cannot be changed or personalised. If you move, you do not take the Eircode with you.

Miscellaneous

Eircode does not currently have an App. However, you can create a shortcut to the Eircode Finder onto the screen of your smartphone device. This will allow you to quickly access the Eircode Finder from your smartphone to search for an Eircode, an address, or get directions to the location of an Eircode.

This can be done in a few very simple steps and while it does not have the same functionality as an app it is a quick and convenient way to access the Eircode Finder from a smartphone device.

Follow the steps outlined here to create a shortcut on an iOS or Android device.

The Eircode database and Eircode Finder do not hold personally identifiable information. They contain the addresses and Eircodes of over 2.2 million properties throughout the country. Some addresses may include business names, which in some cases may be the name of an individual, particularly for a small business or sole trader. The information in the Eircode database and on the Eircode Finder is based on information received from An Post GeoDirectory. 

Eircode do not intend to set up or endorse a postcode lottery.

We are unable to re-issue the original Eircode letter, you can however, find the Eircode using the Eircode Finder. The Eircode Finder is a public website which allows you to search for an Eircode by address or map and to search for an address by Eircode or map. It also allows you to print the Eircode and the associated address. 


If you would prefer to receive your Eircode by letter you can contact us and someone from the Eircode Team will be happy to confirm the Eircode in writing.


If you need help you can send us a query online, email us at hello@eircode.ie, or call us on 0818 300 005 or 01 901 2232 and someone from the Eircode Team will be happy to help you.