Autocomplete Great Britain

Beta

Autocomplete a British address.

OpenAPI reference
GEThttps://api.pro6pp.nl/v2/autocomplete/gb

Overview

Validates that an address with the provided fields exists, and provides additional information about it.

If you do not have all required parameters, use the suggest call to gather them first.

If the input identifies a unique address, all available information about that address is returned.

  • To validate if an address has either a street number or a premise, query through the streetNumberAndPremise field.
  • To validate if an address exists with a certain street number, use the streetNumber field.
  • To validate if an address exists with a certain premise, use both the streetNumber and premise fields.
  • Either streetNumberAndPremise or streetNumber is required. If both are given, only streetNumber is used.

British house numbers are the source's labels and are returned as strings, such as "1" or a complete range like "81-87". Every address from the British dataset carries its source addressId and, where the source names the building (addr:housename), its buildingName.

  • When the fields describe several source addresses (two buildings of one house number, for instance), the response is a 400 that lists their addressId values; select one by its location or building name and retry with addressId.
  • An addressId alone resolves that exact address. Fields sent along with it must match the selected address.

Note: the GB country code denotes the United Kingdom (ISO 3166-1 GB). Address data coverage is currently limited to England; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not yet included and will be added as coverage expands.

ParametersQuery string

authKeystringRequired

Every request needs an API key, which you can get in the portal.

When you call the API from a browser, visitors can see your API key. Limit it to your own domains in the portal, or send the requests through your own server so the key stays hidden.

postalCodestring

The address's postal code: a complete unit postcode such as B1 2JB, with or without the space.

Example
B1 2JB
Pattern
^[A-Za-z]{1,2}[0-9][0-9A-Za-z]? ?[0-9][A-Za-z]{2}$
settlementstring

The address's settlement (city, town, village, or hamlet).

Example
Birmingham City Centre
streetstring

The address's street name.

Example
Brindley Place
streetNumberAndPremisestring

The address's street number and premise (extension/addition).

streetNumberstring

The address's street number.

Example
1
premisestring

The address's premise.

Example
A
addressIdstring

The addressId of an address-level suggestion. It selects that one source address, including an address without a house number, and is required when the other fields describe several addresses. Any other field sent along with it is checked against the selected address.

Responses

200Address found
FieldTypeExample valueDescription
countrystring"United Kingdom"

English name of the country: "United Kingdom".

countryCodestring"GB"

ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code of the country: "GB".

postalCodestring"B1 2JB"

The unit postcode as the source spells it, with its space.

settlementstring"Birmingham City Centre"

The main town or area of the address's postcode district, the outward part of its postal code.

streetstring"Brindley Place"

The name of the street the address is on.

streetNumberstring"1"

The source house number, such as "1" or a complete range "81-87".

premisestring"A"

The letter that follows the house number, such as "A" in "12A"; absent when the address has none.

latnumberNullable52.47784

Latitude of the address in WGS84 decimal degrees; null when the dataset holds no location for the address.

lngnumberNullable-1.91448

Longitude of the address in WGS84 decimal degrees; null when the dataset holds no location for the address.

districtstring"Birmingham"

The local authority district the address lies in; absent where a unitary authority governs the area.

addressIdstring"626325677"

The source id of the address; selects it on a later call.

buildingNamestringNullablenull

The building's name where the source has one.

Example response
{
  "addressId": "626325677",
  "buildingName": null,
  "country": "United Kingdom",
  "countryCode": "GB",
  "district": "Birmingham",
  "lat": 52.47784,
  "lng": -1.91448,
  "postalCode": "B1 2JB",
  "premise": "A",
  "settlement": "Birmingham City Centre",
  "street": "Brindley Place",
  "streetNumber": "1"
}

Errors

Fields of an error response
FieldTypeDescription
error_idstring

The reason the request failed, such as INVALID_VALUE. The response lists the reasons this operation returns.

errorsarray of object

One entry per problem found in the request.

errors[].messagestring

A readable explanation of the problem, in English.

errors[].helpstring

A link to the documentation section that covers the problem.

errors[].parameterany

The parameter the problem is about. Usually its name; a list when several parameters are involved, or a name with the values to choose from when the request must select one.

errors[].valueany

The value the request sent for parameter, when it has one.

400Bad request
MISSING_PARAMETER

A parameter the request needs is missing, or the fields match several addresses. In that case parameter holds the missing parameter and the values to choose from.

MISSING_PARAMETER
{
  "error_id": "MISSING_PARAMETER",
  "errors": [
    {
      "message": "Required parameter premise is missing. This address needs a premise alongside with the specified streetNumber: 1. Available premises for this address: a, b",
      "help": "https://pro6pp.nl/docs/v2/redoc",
      "parameter": [
        "premise",
        [
          "a",
          "b"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ]
}
INVALID_VALUE

A value is malformed, or does not match the address that addressId selects.

INVALID_VALUE
{
  "error_id": "INVALID_VALUE",
  "errors": [
    {
      "message": "value is invalid",
      "help": "https://pro6pp.nl/docs/v2/redoc",
      "parameter": "postalCode",
      "value": "invalid"
    }
  ]
}
401Unauthorized
UNAUTHORIZED

The API key is missing, unknown, revoked or expired, its subscription is not active, the request does not match the key's allowlist, or the subscription does not include this call.

UNAUTHORIZED
{
  "error_id": "UNAUTHORIZED",
  "errors": [
    {
      "message": "No authorization token provided",
      "help": "https://pro6pp.nl/docs/v2/redoc#section/Authentication"
    }
  ]
}
404No result
NO_RESULTS_FOUND

No result matches the parameters the request sent.

NO_RESULTS_FOUND
{
  "error_id": "NO_RESULTS_FOUND",
  "errors": [
    {
      "message": "No results found",
      "help": "https://pro6pp.nl/docs/v2/redoc"
    }
  ]
}

Code examples

curl "https://api.pro6pp.nl/v2/autocomplete/gb?postalCode=B1+2JB&settlement=Birmingham+City+Centre&street=Brindley+Place&streetNumber=1&premise=A&authKey=YOUR_API_KEY"

We encourage you to request example code in the language you prefer.

Step by step

Set up a quick form to try out the Great Britain Autocomplete functionality by following the steps below.

  1. Build the HTML page

    We start by creating an empty HTML page, containing a minimal web page structure. Create a new .html file named pro6pp_great-britain_autocomplete.html. Add the following code between the <body> and </body> tags. It adds the input fields for entering the address.

    pro6pp_great-britain_autocomplete.html
    <form class="form" id="form">
      <div>Call</div>
      <div>
        <label for="postalCode">postalCode:</label>
        <input id="postalCode" class="postalCode" placeholder="B1 2JB"/>
        <label for="settlement">settlement:</label>
        <input id="settlement" class="settlement" placeholder="Birmingham City Centre"/>
        <label for="street">street:</label>
        <input id="street" class="street" placeholder="Brindley Place"/>
        <label for="streetNumberAndPremise">streetNumberAndPremise:</label>
        <input id="streetNumberAndPremise" class="streetNumberAndPremise" placeholder=""/>
        <label for="streetNumber">streetNumber:</label>
        <input id="streetNumber" class="streetNumber" placeholder="1"/>
        <label for="premise">premise:</label>
        <input id="premise" class="premise" placeholder="A"/>
        <label for="addressId">addressId:</label>
        <input id="addressId" class="addressId" placeholder="" readonly/>
      </div>
      <div>
        <span style="color: red" class="message"></span>
      </div>
      <div>
        <button type="submit">Submit</button>
      </div>
      <br />
      <div>Response</div>
      <br />
      <div>Full Response</div>
      <pre class="jsonResponse"></pre>
    </form>
  2. Add interaction

    Add the following JavaScript code in a separate pro6pp_great-britain_autocomplete.js file. The IDs and Class names of the HTML elements should match with the ones specified in this JavaScript file in order to get the correct results.

    pro6pp_great-britain_autocomplete.js
    document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() {
        const pro6ppAuthKey = "AUTH_KEY"; // Replace with your actual authorization key
    
        let messageSpan = document.querySelector(".message");
        let jsonResponseSpan = document.querySelector(".jsonResponse");
        const BASE_URL = "https://api.pro6pp.nl/v2";
    
        function fetchAddress(authKey) {
            const queryParams = {
                authKey: authKey
            };
            const optionalQueryParams = [
                "postalCode",
                "settlement",
                "street",
                "streetNumberAndPremise",
                "streetNumber",
                "premise",
                "addressId",
            ];
            for (const name of optionalQueryParams) {
                const value = document.getElementById(name).value;
                if (value !== "") {
                    queryParams[name] = value;
                }
            }
    
            let encodedUrl = new URL(`${BASE_URL}/autocomplete/gb`);
            encodedUrl.search = new URLSearchParams(queryParams);
    
            fetch(encodedUrl)
                .then(async (response) => {
                    const data = await response.json();
                    if (data) {
                        messageSpan.textContent = "";
                        jsonResponseSpan.textContent = JSON.stringify(data, null, 2);
                    }
                })
                .catch((error) => {
                    console.error("Error fetching: ", error);
                    messageSpan.textContent = error.message;
                });
        }
    
        const form = document.getElementById("form");
        form.onsubmit = function (event) {
            event.preventDefault();
            fetchAddress(pro6ppAuthKey);
        }
    });
  3. Make it work

    Link the JavaScript file inside the pro6pp_great-britain_autocomplete.html right before closing the </body> tag.

    pro6pp_great-britain_autocomplete.html
      ...
      <script src="pro6pp_great-britain_autocomplete.js"></script>
     </body>
    </html>

    To access the Pro6PP web service, you need to request your personal authorization key. This key is emailed to you right after signing up. Replace the above placeholder AUTH_KEY with your personal authorization key.

    If you don’t have an account yet, sign up for a free 2-month trial. After creating your account, go to your Subscription details and copy your AUTH_KEY. You’ll need this key to authenticate your requests.

  4. See it in action

    Once you’ve completed the previous steps, it’s time to run the form locally in your browser. You should now have two files in the same folder on your computer:

    • pro6pp_great-britain_autocomplete.html - the HTML page with the form.
    • pro6pp_great-britain_autocomplete.js - the JavaScript file that handles the interaction.

    You can now open the HTML file in your browser by simply double-clicking it in your file explorer (e.g., Finder on macOS or File Explorer on Windows). Alternatively, you can open it manually in the browser using the full file:/// path. For example:

    Example file paths
    file:///C:/Users/YourName/Documents/pro6pp_great-britain_autocomplete.html
    file:///Users/yourname/Desktop/pro6pp_great-britain_autocomplete.html

    Once the page opens, start typing in the form fields and hit Submit to see the API response displayed in the “Full Response” section.