-- Definition -- An address component which represents the name of a unit of administration where a Member State has and/or exercises jurisdictional rights, for local, regional and national governance.
-- Definition -- Identifier or geographic name of a specific geographic area, location, or other spatial object which defines the scope of an address. -- Description -- NOTE 1 Four different subclasses of address components are defined: o Administrative unit name, which may include name of country, name of municipality, name of district o Address area name like e.g. name of village or settlement o Thoroughfare name, most often road name o Postal descriptor In order to construct an address, these subclasses are often structured hierarchically. NOTE 2 It is the combination of the address locator and the address components, which makes a specific address spatial object readable and unambiguous for the human user. EXAMPLE The combination of the locator "13" and the address components "Calle Mayor" (thoroughfare name), "Cortijo del Marqués" (address area name), "41037" (postal descriptor), "Écija", "Sevilla" and "España" (administrative unit names) makes this specific address spatial object readable and unambiguous.
-- Definition -- An address component which represents the identification of a subdivision of addresses and postal delivery points in a country, region or city for postal purposes. -- Description -- NOTE 1 The postal descriptor is specified by means of a post code and/or names of the associated post office, town or area. NOTE 2 In some countries post codes are seen as a proper geographic subdivision of the country, in other countries the post code is regarded only as an attribute that characterizes a (usually small) number of adjacent postal delivery points and addresses. NOTE 3 The postal descriptors are created and developed on the basis of postal requirements (e.g. efficient sorting, logistics, transport and distribution). Consequently, there is not often a tight relationship between the postal areas and administrative units in the same area. NOTE 4 The structure schema and formats of national postal descriptor systems are different. Sometimes (for example in the UK) the post code itself is the only information required for a valid address; in other situations both the post code and the associated name of post office or town is required. Sometimes there is a simple relationship between the code and the name; in other situations a set of postcodes are associated with a single post office or town. NOTE 5 In some countries like e.g. The Republic of Ireland, no post code system currently exists, therefore the postal descriptor is only represented by the name of the post town. EXAMPLE 1 In the UK the post code "EC4M 7DR" is sufficient, as a postal descriptor, while the related town name "London" is informative, but not necessary in the postal address. EXAMPLE 2 In Sweden all postcodes starting with "80" is related to the postal name "Gävle". Therefore in the postal descriptor "802 74 Gävle", the postcode "802 74" bears all postal necessary information, while the town name "Gävle" is extra information. EXAMPLE 3 In Denmark, outside the centre of Copenhagen, each postcode has a 1:1 relationship to one post name only: Postcode "6372" relates to the village "Bylderup-Bov". EXAMPLE 4 In Germany the lowest level of the Postal descriptor (the 5 digit Postleitzahl) often does not fall within an administrative unit (e.g. municipality). The Postleitzahl is handled completely independent from the hierarchal systematic of the addresses. In addition, some "Postleitzahlen" represent not a delivery area, but institutions with a big amount of post.
-- Definition -- An address component which represents the name of a passage or way through from one location to another. -- Description -- NOTE 1 A thoroughfare can, e.g., be a road or a waterway NOTE 2 Thoroughfare names includes names of squares and of cul de sacs, and they can also represent the network of smaller roads or paths e.g. in a small village or settlement.
-- Definition -- An identification of the fixed location of property by means of a structured composition of geographic names and identifiers. -- Description -- NOTE 1 The spatial object, referenced by the address, is defined as the "addressable object". The addressable object is not within the application schema, but it is possible to represent the address' reference to a cadastral parcel or a building through associations. It should, however, be noted that in different countries and regions, different traditions and/or regulations determine which object types should be regarded as addressable objects. NOTE 2 In most situations the addressable objects are current, real world objects. However, addresses may also reference objects which are planned, under construction or even historical. NOTE 3 Apart from the identification of the addressable objects (like e.g. buildings), addresses are very often used by a large number of other applications to identify object types e.g. statistics of the citizens living in the building, for taxation of the business entities that occupy the building, and the utility installations. NOTE 4 For different purposes, the identification of an address can be represented in different ways (see example 3). EXAMPLE 1 A property can e.g., be a plot of land, building, part of building, way of access or other construction, EXAMPLE 2 In the Netherlands the primary addressable objects are buildings and dwellings which may include parts of buildings, mooring places or places for the permanent placement of trailers (mobile homes), in the UK it is the lowest level of unit for the delivery of services, in the Czech Republic it is buildings and entrance doors. EXAMPLE 3 Addresses can be represented differently. In a human readable form an address in Spain and an address in Denmark could be represented like this: "Calle Mayor, 13, Cortijo del Marqués, 41037 Écija, Sevilla, España" or "Wildersgade 60A, st. th, 1408 Copenhagen K., Denmark".
-- Definition -- An address component which represents the name of a geographic area or locality that groups a number of addressable objects for addressing purposes, without being an administrative unit. -- Description -- NOTE 1 In some countries and regions an address area is a true subdivision of an administrative unit (most often a municipality), so that every address area is fully inside the municipality and so that every part of the municipality is within an address area. In other countries, the concept of address area names is less strict and based on local tradition or specific needs. NOTE 2 In some situations an address area name is not required to obtain unambiguousness; instead the purpose is to make the complete address more informative and descriptive, adding a well known place name (e.g. of a village or community) to the address. This is particularly useful if the municipality or post code covers a large area. EXAMPLE 1 In Sweden a "Kommundel" (en: Municipal sub division) is a type of address area names that ensures that street names are unique within the sub division. EXAMPLE 2 In Spain an "Entidad de población" (en: population entity) has the same function. It is the general address area which depending on its characteristics can be classified as "Entidad Singular" (en: singular entity) or "Entidad Colectiva" (en: collective entity). Moreover, according to the population distribution, these areas can contain one or several "Núcleo de población" (en: population core) and/or "Población diseminada" (en: scattered population). EXAMPLE 3 In Denmark "Supplerende bynavn" (en: Supplementary town name) is sometimes compulsory to ensure uniqueness of street names within the post code, sometimes it is just useful extra information, that makes the address more informative.