The Open Government Licence (OGL) is a copyright licence created by the UK government to make public sector information freely available for anyone to use, copy, adapt, and redistribute, provided that the source is acknowledged. It covers a vast amount of Crown copyright data, including many datasets essential for understanding UK geography, postal addresses, and administrative boundaries. The OGL is designed to encourage transparency, innovation, and economic growth by removing legal barriers to the reuse of official information.
What Is the Open Government Licence?
The OGL is a simple, permissive licence that allows individuals, businesses, and organisations to use public sector information for any lawful purpose, whether commercial or non-commercial. The main conditions are that you must attribute the source of the data (for example, by stating that the data contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right) and that you do not mislead others or misrepresent the data. The licence applies to all Crown copyright works published by UK government departments and agencies, unless otherwise indicated. It is versioned, with OGL v3.0 being the current standard as of 2024.
How Does the OGL Relate to Postcodes and Geography?
Many key datasets that link postcodes to geographic locations are released under the OGL. For instance, Ordnance Survey's Code-Point Open product, which provides a coordinate for each postcode unit in Great Britain, is available under the OGL. Similarly, the National Statistics Postcode Lookup (NSPL) and the OS OpenMap Local, the Boundary-Line collection of administrative and electoral boundaries, are all licensed under the OGL. This means that anyone researching an area can legally download and use these datasets without paying fees, as long as they provide proper attribution.
In the context of the UK postcode system, the OGL is the legal foundation that enables free access to the geographical framework behind every postcode. Without it, many of the online mapping tools, location-based services, and area profiling websites that rely on postcode boundaries would be restricted or require expensive commercial licences.
Why the OGL Matters When Researching an Area
For someone looking into a specific neighbourhood or region, the OGL unlocks a wealth of information. You can combine postcode data with census boundaries, road networks, and land use maps, all under a single licence. This makes it possible to, for example, map deprivation indices by postcode sector, calculate distances to local amenities, or overlay electoral wards on a street map. The OGL also allows researchers to create derivative works such as thematic maps or statistical reports and share them with the public or clients.
Attribution under the OGL is straightforward and usually requires a short statement crediting the source organisation. This low barrier to reuse encourages more people to analyse and visualise local data, fostering better understanding of communities and supporting evidence-based decision making in planning, transport, and public health.
Limitations and Responsibilities
While the OGL is generous, it does not cover all public data. Some datasets, especially those containing personal information or third-party intellectual property, may be excluded. Additionally, users must not use the data in a way that suggests official endorsement. Despite these caveats, the OGL remains the single most important legal mechanism for accessing UK postcode and geographic data freely, and it is a cornerstone of the open data movement in Britain.