Unique Property Reference Number

The Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) is a unique number (a geocode) for every addressable location—e.g., a building, a bus stop, a post box, a feature in the landscape, or a defibrillator—in Great Britain^[1] and can be found in Ordnance Survey's AddressBase databases. Over 42 million locations have UPRNs.^[1]

For buildings, a UPRN provides a comprehensive, complete, consistent identifier throughout its life cycle, from planning permission through to demolition. For example, the UPRN for 10 Downing Street is 100023336956,^[2] and that for Bristol Central Library is 000000199356.^[3] UPRNs, of up to 12 digits allocated by OS and local authorities,^[1] do not contain information about the location but identify records in the ONS UPRN Directory (ONSUD).

UPRNs and USRNs (Unique Street Reference Numbers)^[4] are managed by GeoPlace,^[5] a joint venture between the Local Government Association and Ordnance Survey to create a definitive national databases of addresses and streets, now available under an Open Government Licence (OGL).^[6]

The Government Digital Service mandated the UPRN and USRN as "the public sector standard for referencing and sharing property and street information".^[7]