What council am I in?

Enter a postcode to see which council it is in: the district, borough or city council, which is its local authority, and the county council where there is one. You also get the ward and the parliamentary constituency. It covers England, Scotland and Wales.

Free. No account needed. England, Scotland and Wales.

Example: what you get for PE29 3BU

PE29 3BU is in two council areas: Huntingdonshire (its district, borough or city council) and Cambridgeshire (its county council).

ONS places a whole postcode in one council, one ward and one constituency, from a single point. A few postcodes cross a boundary, so an address at the edge can belong to the one next door. Your council tax bill or your poll card settles it for your address.

See the full check for PE29 3BU

Why might I have two councils?

Many parts of England have two councils for the same address: a county council, and a district, borough or city council.

In other parts of England one council provides all the local services. These are unitary authorities, London boroughs and metropolitan boroughs.

Scotland and Wales have one council for each area. In the data we hold, Scotland has 32 council areas and Wales has 22 council areas.

We work out which you have from the ONS data. Where it gives a county for a postcode, there are two councils. Where it gives none, there is one.

Is a borough or a local authority the same as a council?

Yes. “Local authority” is another name for a council. A London borough and a metropolitan borough are councils too. So the council this page gives for a postcode is its local authority, and in London it is its borough.

What does each kind of council do?

A district, borough or city council

  • Rubbish collection
  • Recycling
  • Council tax collection
  • Housing
  • Planning applications

A county council

  • Education
  • Transport
  • Planning
  • Fire and public safety
  • Social care
  • Libraries
  • Waste management
  • Trading standards

Where there is one council, it does both lists. Many places also have a parish, community or town council, for things like allotments, bus shelters and play areas.

These lists are GOV.UK's, and its guide is for councils in England. How your council works, on GOV.UK

How do I find my council’s website?

Enter your postcode above. Each council in the answer links to its page here, with its website and its own pages for bin days, council tax, planning and reporting a problem. We checked that each of those links opens on 14 October 2026.

If you know the council's name, it is in the list of every council.

Councils A to Z
What ward am I in? The ward for a postcode, with its council, constituency and parish. What constituency am I in? The parliamentary constituency for a postcode, with its council and ward. Who to tell when moving house Grouped by when to tell them, each with its official link.

Council, ward and constituency: Office for National Statistics (ONS) Postcode Directory, August 2026. What each council does, and each council's own pages: GOV.UK. See all our data sources

Something wrong on this page? Report an error and we will check it against the source.