Finding the right postcode can be useful when checking an address, planning a journey, completing an online form or understanding which part of Nottinghamshire a location belongs to. Nottingham and the surrounding county are covered by a number of postcode districts, with NG being the main postcode area associated with Nottingham.
This guide explains the main Nottingham postcodes, how the postcode districts are organised, and what you can expect to find across different parts of Nottinghamshire.
What is the Nottingham postcode area?
The NG postcode area is commonly known as the Nottingham postcode area. It covers Nottingham itself as well as a wide area of Nottinghamshire and parts of neighbouring counties.
Nottingham's central postcode districts begin with NG1, while surrounding districts include NG2, NG3, NG4 and so on. Further out, the NG area reaches towns including Mansfield, Newark-on-Trent, Southwell and Sutton-in-Ashfield.
The postcode system is designed primarily for mail delivery rather than defining exact administrative boundaries. A postcode can therefore cross a council or local-authority boundary, so a postcode should not automatically be treated as the same thing as a council area.
For a specific address, the most reliable approach is to search the complete address rather than relying only on the first part of the postcode.
Nottingham postcode districts explained
The Nottingham urban area is primarily covered by NG1 to NG9. Each district contains numerous smaller postcode sectors and individual unit postcodes.
Postcode district | Main areas commonly associated with the district |
NG1 | Nottingham city centre |
NG2 | The Meadows, Sneinton, West Bridgford and areas south of the centre |
NG3 | St Ann's, Mapperley and Carlton areas |
NG4 | Carlton, Colwick, Netherfield and Gedling |
NG5 | Sherwood, Arnold, Carrington, Bestwood and nearby areas |
NG6 | Bulwell, Bestwood Village and Old Basford |
NG7 | Radford, Lenton, Forest Fields, Hyson Green and New Basford |
NG8 | Wollaton, Bilborough, Aspley, Whitemoor and Strelley |
NG9 | Beeston, Chilwell, Stapleford, Bramcote and nearby areas |
These districts provide a useful way of understanding the broad structure of Nottingham's postal geography. However, they should not be regarded as precise neighbourhood boundaries because individual postcode sectors and unit postcodes can vary considerably.
NG1: Nottingham city centre postcode
If someone asks for the postcode of central Nottingham, NG1 is the district most closely associated with Nottingham city centre.
NG1 covers the heart of the city, including central shopping, business, leisure and civic areas. It is also used for many well-known city-centre addresses.
A complete postcode will contain additional characters after NG1. For example, NG1 is a postcode district, not a complete delivery postcode. UK postcodes consist of an outward code and a three-character inward code.
NG2 to NG9: Nottingham's surrounding areas
Moving away from the city centre, the Nottingham postcode structure becomes more suburban.
NG2 includes areas around the south and south-east of the city, including The Meadows and parts of West Bridgford. NG3 covers locations such as St Ann's, Mapperley and parts of Carlton, while NG4 extends towards Carlton, Colwick, Netherfield and Gedling.
Further north, NG5 includes areas such as Sherwood and Arnold. NG6 covers Bulwell and surrounding neighbourhoods.
The NG7 postcode is strongly associated with areas close to Nottingham's universities, including Lenton and Radford. NG8 extends westwards towards Wollaton and Bilborough, while NG9 covers Beeston, Chilwell, Stapleford and nearby communities.
This makes the first part of a Nottingham postcode useful for identifying the general area, although it should not be used as a substitute for an exact address lookup.
Understanding the map of Nottingham postcodes
When looking at a map Nottingham postcodes, it is helpful to think of the districts as a broad pattern rather than a set of perfectly shaped zones.
The lower-numbered NG districts generally cover Nottingham and its immediate surroundings. Higher-numbered districts extend progressively further into the surrounding towns and countryside.
A simplified view looks like this:
NG1–NG9: Nottingham and the main suburban belt
NG10–NG16: Outer Nottingham, commuter areas and nearby towns
NG17–NG20: Sutton-in-Ashfield, Mansfield and surrounding areas
NG21–NG25: Northern Nottinghamshire towns and rural communities
NG31–NG34: Areas around Grantham and Sleaford
The complete NG postcode area is broader than Nottinghamshire itself. The Office for National Statistics records NG as the postcode area associated with Nottingham and identifies 32 postcode districts in its February 2025 data.
Nottinghamshire postcode areas beyond Nottingham
Nottinghamshire is not simply one continuous postcode district. The county contains a mixture of NG districts and areas where neighbouring postcode areas come into play.
Some of the most recognisable NG districts outside Nottingham include:
- NG10 – Long Eaton and surrounding areas
- NG11 – Clifton, Ruddington and nearby communities
- NG12 – Cotgrave, Radcliffe-on-Trent and surrounding villages
- NG13 – Bingham and nearby areas
- NG14 – Calverton, Lowdham and surrounding villages
- NG15 – Hucknall and nearby areas
- NG16 – Eastwood, Kimberley and surrounding communities
- NG17 – Sutton-in-Ashfield and surrounding areas
- NG18 – NG19 – Mansfield
- NG20 – Warsop and surrounding locations
- NG21–NG22 – Northern Nottinghamshire communities
- NG23–NG24 – Newark and surrounding areas
- NG25 – Southwell
Not every place in Nottinghamshire uses an NG postcode. Postcode geography is based on postal delivery arrangements and does not necessarily follow county or council boundaries.
Nottinghamshire postcode and local authority boundaries
One common mistake is assuming that the postcode tells you exactly which council area an address belongs to.
It does not.
Postcodes are created and maintained for postal delivery, while local authorities have their own administrative boundaries. The ONS explains that postcode information can be linked to administrative areas, but individual postcodes can sometimes straddle boundaries.
For Nottinghamshire, the county includes areas administered by authorities such as Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Broxtowe, Gedling, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood and Rushcliffe. Nottingham itself has its own local-government arrangements separate from Nottinghamshire County Council.
This distinction matters when checking council services, electoral information, planning matters, schools, business registrations or other location-specific information.
How UK postcodes are structured
A complete UK postcode normally contains between five and seven characters, including a space before the final three characters.
For example, a postcode can be broken into:
Outward code + inward code
The outward code identifies the broader postcode area and district, while the inward code helps identify a smaller delivery sector and unit.
The ONS describes four levels within postcode geography: postcode area, postcode district, postcode sector and unit postcode.
This is why searching for Nottingham postcode can produce a broad answer such as NG1, while finding a particular property requires the full postcode.
Finding an exact Nottingham postcode
If you need the postcode for a particular house, business or other address, avoid guessing from the postcode district. Two nearby streets can have completely different unit postcodes.
Royal Mail provides an official Postcode Finder where you can enter part of an address or postcode and select the matching address.
This is particularly useful when:
- completing an online delivery address;
- checking a property postcode;
- confirming a business address;
- preparing correspondence;
- checking whether an address has changed;
- distinguishing between similar Nottingham addresses.
Postcodes can also change as new addresses are created or postal arrangements are updated, so an older postcode list may not always reflect the current position. ONS postcode products are updated quarterly, while Royal Mail maintains the underlying postal addressing system.
Using Nottingham postcode information
A postcode is useful for much more than sending letters. Postcode information is widely used to organise addresses, analyse local areas, link data to geographical boundaries and help people identify where a particular address is situated.
For residents, businesses, researchers and anyone moving around Nottinghamshire, understanding the NG postcode structure makes it easier to distinguish Nottingham city-centre addresses from suburban, town and rural locations.
On UKPostcode.org, you can explore Nottinghamshire postcode information by area and district to make it easier to find the location you need.
