Street naming and numbering

The council is the first point of contact for address issues. We have a duty to provide this service so that postal and emergency services can find properties.

Royal Mail will only accept new or amended address information from a local authority. If your address is not registered with us, it can cause difficulties.

Property name changes

You can change the name of your property or add a name to a numbered property, but the name should not conflict with any other properties in the area. When a property has a number and a name, the number always takes precedence with Royal Mail, the house name will be treated as an 'alias'.

Large developments involving a new road

If you are a developer, you should contact us as soon as you start work on site. You will need to provide a full site plan showing the individual plots and details of the new road or roads required. You are welcome to provide suggestions for the road names. Alternatively, we can provide them. The criteria for naming new roads is:

• the name should not cause confusion
• the name should not be in use somewhere else in the district
• neighbourhood history and local heritage should be considered
• offensive names are not allowed
• names of individuals are not usually approved

We will forward suggestions to your Ward Councillors (and Parish if appropriate) for consultation. When names have been agreed, the details are sent to the Cabinet Member for the Environment for final agreement.

At this point, we'll get the necessary postcodes from Royal Mail. 

The information is then sent to organisations, including the utility companies and the emergency services. You will receive a copy of the naming and numbering schedule, from which we would ask you to inform all your prospective purchasers of their new property address. The developer is responsible for providing the street name plates to our standard design.

Small developments and single properties

A small development will be named or numbered to fit in with the existing properties in the area. The address is then registered as a larger development would be above.

Street renaming and numbering

We will only rename or renumber a street as a last resort when:

• there is confusion over a street name
• a group of residents are unhappy with their street name
• there is a need to renumber to accommodate new properties

View our Fees and Charges information

Street Signs

The Street Naming and Numbering department are not responsible for the erection, replacement or any other issues with street signs. To report an issue with a street sign, please visit Staffordshire County Council website.