The M postcode area, also known as the Manchester postcode area, is a group of postcode districts in the North West of England. The districts are subdivisions of three

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

, and Sale, and cover parts of all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester, primarily the cities of

and

and the majority of the borough of

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes the area of Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sa ...

. The M postcode area is one of six with a population above 1 million. Mail for the M postcode area is processed at Manchester Mail Centre, along with mail for the BL, OL, and SK postcode areas. __TOC__

Coverage

The approximate coverage of the postcode districts: , - ! M1 , MANCHESTER ,

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

City Centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

, Market Street, Gay Village ,

, - ! M2 , MANCHESTER ,

Deansgate Deansgate is a main road (part of the A56) through Manchester City Centre, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mil ...

, Manchester , - !rowspan=2, M3 , MANCHESTER ,

Castlefield Castlefield is an inner-city conservation area in Manchester, North West England. The conservation area which bears its name is bounded by the River Irwell, A34 road, Quay Street, Deansgate and A56 road, Chester Road. It was the site of the Rom ...

, Manchester , - , SALFORD , Blackfriars, Greengate, Trinity ,

, - ! M4 , MANCHESTER , Arndale, Ancoats, Northern Quarter, Strangeways, Shudehill , Manchester , - ! M5 , SALFORD , Ordsall,

Seedley Seedley is an inner city suburb of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. Governance Weaste & Seedley (ward), The electoral ward of Weaste & Seedley is represented in Parliament of the United Kingdom, Westminster by Rebecca Long-Bailey Member ...

Weaste Weaste () is an inner-city suburb of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is bordered by the town of Eccles, Greater Manchester, Eccles to the West and Seedley to the East. In 2014 Weaste and Seedley (ward), Weaste and Seedley ward had a pop ...

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, Salford , - ! M6 , SALFORD , Pendleton,

Irlams o' th' Height Irlams o' th' Height is a suburb of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, on top of the Irwell Valley, on higher ground than Pendleton, Greater Manchester, Pendleton, hence the name. The first part of the name derives from the Irlam family t ...

, Langworthy,

, Charlestown , Salford , - ! M7 , SALFORD ,

Higher Broughton Broughton is a suburb and district of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. Located on the east bank of the River Irwell, it is northwest of Manchester and south of Prestwich. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, the form ...

, Cheetwood, Lower Broughton,

Kersal Kersal is a district of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, northwest of Manchester city centre. History Kersal has been variously known as Kereshale, Kershal, Kereshole, Carshall and Kersall.see'Townships: Broughton', A History of the Coun ...

, Salford , - ! M8 , MANCHESTER ,

Crumpsall Crumpsall is an outer suburb and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, bordered by Cheetham Hill, Blackley, Harpurhey, Broughton, Greater Manchester, Broughton ...

Cheetham Hill Cheetham is an inner-city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England, which in 2011 had a population of 22,562. It lies on the west bank of the River Irk, north of Manchester city centre, close to the boundary with Salford, bounded by Cru ...

, Manchester , - ! M9 , MANCHESTER ,

Harpurhey Harpurhey ( ) is an inner-city suburb of Manchester, England, 2.3 miles northeast of the Manchester city centre, city centre. Historically in Lancashire, the population at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census was 17,652. Areas of Harpurh ...

Blackley Blackley is a suburban area of Manchester, in the county of Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is approximately north of Manchester city centre, on the River Irk. History The hamlet of Blackley was mentioned in the Do ...

, Manchester , - ! M11 , MANCHESTER , Clayton,

Openshaw Openshaw is a suburb of Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, about three miles east of the Manchester city centre. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Lancashire, Openshaw was incorporated into the city of Manchester in 1890. ...

, Beswick , Manchester , - ! M12 , MANCHESTER ,

Ardwick Ardwick is an area of Manchester, England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 19,250. Historically in Lancashire, by the mid-nineteenth century Ardwick had grown from being a village into a pleasant and wealt ...

Longsight Longsight is an inner city area of Manchester, England, south of the Manchester City Centre, city centre, bounded by Ardwick and Gorton, West Gorton to the north and east; Levenshulme to the south; and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Victoria Park, Man ...

Chorlton-on-Medlock Chorlton-on-Medlock is an inner city area of Manchester, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, Chorlton-on-Medlock is bordered to the north by the River Medlock, which runs immediately south of Manchester city cen ...

, Manchester , - ! M13 , MANCHESTER ,

, Manchester , - ! M14 , MANCHESTER ,

Fallowfield Fallowfield is a bustling area of Manchester with a population of 14,869 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east&n ...

Moss Side Moss Side is an Inner city, inner-city area of Manchester, England, south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. It had a population of 20,745 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census. Moss Side is bounded by Hulme to the north, Cho ...

, Ladybarn,

Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, two miles south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. The population of the ward at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorl ...

, Victoria Park,

, Manchester , - ! M15 , MANCHESTER ,

Hulme Hulme () is an inner city area and electoral ward of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, immediately south of Manchester city centre. It has a significant industrial heritage. Historically in Lancashire, the name Hulme is derived from ...

, Manchester Science Park,

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

, Manchester,

, - ! M16 , MANCHESTER , Firswood,

, Whalley Range,

, Manchester,

, - ! M17 , MANCHESTER ,

Trafford Park Trafford Park is an area of the metropolitan borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Manchester city centre and north of Stretford. Until the la ...

, The Trafford Centre , Trafford , - ! M18 , MANCHESTER , Abbey Hey,

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the southeast of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A ...

, Manchester , - ! M19 , MANCHESTER ,

Levenshulme Levenshulme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, bordering Fallowfield, Longsight, Gorton, Burnage, Heaton Chapel and Reddish, halfway between Stockport and Manchester city centre on the A6 road (England), A6. Levenshulm ...

Burnage Burnage is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, south of the city centre and bisected by Kingsway. The population at the 2011 census was 15,227. It lies within the Greater Manchester Metropolitan area, in the historic count ...

, Manchester,

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

, - ! M20 , MANCHESTER ,

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburb of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of ...

Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington had a population at the 2011 ce ...

, Manchester , - ! M21 , MANCHESTER ,

Chorlton-cum-Hardy Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of Manchester, England, southwest of the Manchester city centre, city centre. Chorlton (ward), Chorlton ward had a population of 14,138 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census, and Chorlton Park (w ...

, Barlow Moor , Manchester , - ! M22 , MANCHESTER ,

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is an area of Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a large housing estate there in the 1920s. With an area of approximately , ...

Northenden Northenden is a suburb of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 15,064 at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census. It lies on the south side of the River Mersey, west of Stockport and south of Manchest ...

, Sharston Industrial Area , Manchester , - ! M23 , MANCHESTER ,

Baguley Baguley ( ) is an area and electoral ward of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 14,794. The name ''Baguley'' is derived from the Old English words ''bagga'' (badger, or possibly ref ...

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

, Roundthorn Industrial Estate , Manchester,

, - ! M24 , MANCHESTER , Middleton,

Alkrington Alkrington Garden Village is a suburban area of Middleton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Alkrington lies on the northern edge of the city of Manchester with the suburb of Blackley directly to the south. ...

Chadderton Chadderton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk and Rochdale Canal. It is located in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Oldham, south of Rochdale and north-east of Manchester. The ...

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

, - ! M25 , MANCHESTER , Prestwich, Sedgley Park, Simister , Bury , - ! M26 , MANCHESTER , Radcliffe, Stoneclough , Bury,

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

, - ! M27 , MANCHESTER , Swinton, Clifton,

Pendlebury Pendlebury is a town in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,069. It lies north-west of Manchester, north-west of Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford and south-east of Bolton. Histori ...

, Wardley, Agecroft , Salford , - ! M28 , MANCHESTER ,

Worsley Worsley () is a village in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, which in 2014 had a population of 10,090. It lies along Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county ...

, Walkden,

Boothstown Boothstown is a suburban village in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. Boothstown forms part of the Boothstown and Ellenbrook ward, which had a population at the 2011 Census of 9,599. The village is within the boundaries of ...

, Mosley Common, Wardley Industrial Estate , Salford,

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

, - ! M29 , MANCHESTER ,

Tyldesley Tyldesley () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Lancashire, it is north of Chat Moss near the foothills of the Wes ...

, Astley , Wigan , - ! M30 , MANCHESTER , Eccles,

Monton Monton is a village in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is contiguous with nearby Eccles, Salford and Swinton. Geography and administration Historically in Lancashire, Monton was administered by the municipal borough of E ...

, Peel Green, Winton, Patricroft, Barton-upon-Irwell, Ellesmere Park , Salford , - ! M31 , MANCHESTER , Carrington,

Partington Partington is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It is sited south-west of Manchester city centre. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Ches ...

, Trafford , - ! M32 , MANCHESTER ,

Stretford Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, sited on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal; the Bridgewater Canal bisects the town. The town is located south of Manchester, south of Salfo ...

, Trafford , - ! M33 , SALE , Sale,

, Manchester , - ! M34 , MANCHESTER , Denton, Audenshaw ,

Tameside Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, named after the River Tame, Greater Manchester, River Tame, which flows through it, and includes the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Greater Manchester, Denton, D ...

, - ! M35 , MANCHESTER ,

Failsworth Failsworth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester and south-west of Oldham. The M60 motorway, M60 ring-road motorway skirts it to the east. The population at the United Kingdom C ...

, Oldham , - ! M38 , MANCHESTER ,

Little Hulton Little Hulton is a suburb in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, south of Bolton, northwest of Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, and northwest of Manchester. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, histo ...

, Salford , - ! M40 , MANCHESTER ,

Collyhurst Collyhurst is an inner city area of Manchester, England, northeast of the Manchester city centre, city centre on Rochdale Road (A664) and A62 road, Oldham Road (A62), bounded by Smedley, Manchester, Smedley, Harpurhey and Monsall tram stop, Mo ...

, Miles Platting, Moston, New Moston,

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial ...

, Manchester , - ! M41 , MANCHESTER ,

Urmston Urmston is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, which had a population of 41,731 at the 2021 Census. Historically in Lancashire, it is 5 miles (8.04672 km) southwest of Manchester city centre. The southern boundary is the River M ...

, Davyhulme, Flixton,

, Trafford , - ! M43 , MANCHESTER , Droylsden , Tameside , - ! M44 , MANCHESTER ,

Irlam Irlam is a suburb in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, it had a population of 19,933. It lies on flat ground on the south side of the M62 motorway and the north bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Salf ...

, Cadishead , Salford , - ! M45 , MANCHESTER , Whitefield, Besses o' th' Barn , Bury , - ! M46 , MANCHESTER , Atherton, Over Hulton , Wigan, Bolton , - ! M50 , SALFORD ,

Salford Quays Salford Quays is an area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it faces Trafford across the canal. History Built by the Manchester Ship Canal Company, Sal ...

MediaCityUK MediaCityUK is a mixed-use property development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in City of Salford, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The project was developed by The Peel Group, Peel Media; its principal tenants are Mass media, ...

, Salford , - ! M60
(Sectors 1 and 7) , MANCHESTER , ''Large user and PO Box (located geographically in M1)'' , Manchester , - ! M60
(Sectors 2 and 8) , MANCHESTER , ''Large user and PO Box (located geographically in M2)'' , Manchester , - ! M60
(Sectors 3 and 9) , MANCHESTER , ''Large user and PO Box (located geographically in M3)'' , Manchester , - ! M60
(Sectors 4 and 0) , MANCHESTER , ''Large user and PO Box (located geographically in M4)'' , Manchester , - ! M60
(Sectors 5 and 6) , MANCHESTER , ''Manchester X'' , Manchester , - ! M60
(Sector 9) , SALFORD , ''Large user and PO Box'' , Salford , - ! M61 , MANCHESTER , ''Manchester X'' , Manchester , - ! M90 , MANCHESTER ,

Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2024, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers (the busiest outside of London) ...

, Manchester , - ! M99 , MANCHESTER , Victoria, ''Manchester X'' , Manchester

Changes

*M10 was recoded to M40 in 1993. Today, M10 is the postcode district for the fictional town of

Weatherfield Weatherfield is a fictional town based on Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, which has been the setting for the British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since its inception in 1960. Much of Weathe ...

in the ITV

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', with the eponymous street having the postcode M10 9KC. *Part of M30 was recoded to M44 in 1994 including Cadishead and Irlam. *Part of M31 was recoded to M41 in 1994 including Davyhulme, Flixton and Urmston. *The Trafford Centre was allocated the sector M17 8 (it is surrounded by the M41 district). *The M90 designation has served Manchester Airport since 1994. The M50 district of Salford was formed out of west of M5 in 2002.

Map

Former scheme

Before the introduction of postcodes in the 1960s, Manchester along with other major cities like

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

was divided into numbered postcode districts. With a few exceptions these numbers made up the outcode (the first part of the postcode). The districts were based on Manchester and Salford together and districts outside the city boundaries were also included. For example, the City Centre had postcode districts 1–4 (north-east, south, west and north-west respectively: Manchester 1 was around Piccadilly and 4 was around Victoria). 5, 6, 7 and 8 were in Salford and then the sequence continued across north Manchester and so round to M17 (Trafford Park). M18 onwards were further out still.

References

External links

Royal Mail's Postcode Address FileA quick introduction to Royal Mail's Postcode Address File (PAF)
* {{Postcode areas in the United Kingdom Metropolitan Borough of Bolton Metropolitan Borough of Bury Geography of Manchester Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale City of Salford Tameside Trafford Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Geography of Greater Manchester Postcode areas covering North West England

Coverage

Changes

Map

Former scheme

See also

References

External links