Administrative Codes and Classifications
Coding Formats

Note:
NACS - National Administrative Codes Service.
For the National Administrative Codes Service contact details, see Publication Information Contact Details.

Table 1: CODING FORMATS for ORGANISATIONS in ENGLAND

Organisation Type Character Position Code allocated by: Notes/Comments
  1 2 3 4 5    
Strategic Health Authority Q A-9 A-9 0 0 NACS  
Care Trust T A-9 A-9 0 0 NACS The 00 suffix should only be used when a 5- character code is required for a Trust and no other 5-character code is available
Care Trust Site T A-9 A-9 A-9 A-9 NACS  
Primary Care Trust (PCT) 5 A-9 A-9 0 0 NACS The 00 suffix should only be used when a 5-character code is required for a Trust and no other 5-character code is available
Primary Care Trust Site 5 A-9 A-9 A-9 A-9 NACS Treatment Centres should be separately identified and registered with the NACS. TC is the preferred site code; if there is more than one per trust T1, T2, T3 etc are suggested unless already in use by the trust.
Special Health Authority (SpHA) T 0-9 0-9 0 0 NACS  
Other Statutory Authority (OSA) X 0-9 0-9 0 0 NACS  
OSA Site X 0-9 0-9 0-9 0-9 NACS  
NHS Trust R A-9 A-9 0 0 NACS The 00 suffix should only be used when a 5-character code is required for a Trust and no other 5-character code is available
NHS Trust Site R A-9 A-9 A-9 A-9 NACS Treatment Centres should be separately identified and registered with the NACS. TC is the preferred site code; if there is more than one per trust T1, T2, T3 etc are suggested unless already in use by the trust.
Hospices (1) R A-9 0-9 0-9 0-9 NACS A hospice may either be situated at NHS Trust level (1) or be an Independent Provider (2).
  (2) 8 A-9 A-9 A-9 A-9 NACS A hospice may either be situated at NHS Trust level (1) or be an Independent Provider (2).
Independent Provider 8 A-9 A-9 A-9 A-9 NACS Used for Registered and Non-Registered Nursing Homes, Independent Therapists, Independent Hospices and Charities.
Independent Sector Healthcare Provider N T, V, W A-9     NACS  
Independent Sector Healthcare Provider Site N T, V, W A-9 A-9 A-9 NACS Treatment Centres should be separately identified and registered with the NACS who will allocate the codes.
MoD Hospital X M D A, F or N 0-9 NACS A=Army, F=RAF, N=Navy
Private patient V P P 0 0 DH  
Pathology Laboratories 6 A-Z A-Z A-9 A-9 NACS  

Note: A-9 indicates that characters A-Z and 0-9 are valid.

Table 2: CODING FORMATS for ORGANISATIONS in SCOTLAND

Organisation Type Character Position Code allocated by: Notes/Comments
  1 2 3 4 5    
Scottish Health Board S A-Z 9 9 9 ISD, Scotland  
Scottish Health Agency S D 0-9 0-9 0-9 ISD, Scotland 2nd character (D) identifies Scottish Office agencies
Scottish Provider S A-Z A,C,D 0-9 0-9 ISD, Scotland 2nd character identifies the Health Board the organisation reports to; the 3rd character identifies the organisation type:
A= Health Unit
C = Hospital Trust
D = Nursing Home

Table 3: CODING FORMATS for ORGANISATIONS in NORTHERN IRELAND

Organisation Type Character Position Code allocated by: Notes/Comments
  1 2 3 4 5    
NI Health Board Z E,N,S,W 0 0 0 NI HSS Executive E = Eastern
N= Northern
S = Southern
W = Western
NI Provider Z 1,7 0-9 0-9 0-9 NI HSS Executive 2nd character identifies organisation:
1=HSS Trust
7 = Independent Provider

Table 4: CODING FORMATS for ORGANISATION in WALES

Organisation Type Character Position Code allocated by: Notes/Comments
  1 2 3 4 5 -
Local Health Board 6 A-Z 1-9 0 0 NACS The 00 suffix should only be used when a 5-character code is required for a Trust and no other 5-character code is available.
Local Health Board Site 6 A-Z 1-9 A-9 A-9 Health Solutions Wales  
NHS Trust R A-9 A-9 0 0 NACS The 00 suffix should only be used when a 5-character code is required for a Trust and no other 5-character code is available.
NHS Trust Site R A-9 A-9 A-9 A-9 Health Solutions Wales  
Independent Provider 8 W A-9 A-9 A-9 Health Solutions Wales  
Other Statutory Authority (OSA) X 0-9 0-9 0 0 NACS  
OSA Site X 0-9 0-9 0-9 0-9 NACS  
Hospices (1) R A-9 0-9 0-9 0-9 NACS A hospice may either be situated at NHS Trust level (1) or be an Independent Provider (2).
  (2) 8 A-9 A-9 A-9 A-9 NACS A hospice may either be situated at NHS Trust level (1) or be an Independent Provider (2).
MoD Hospital X M D A, F or N 0-9 NACS A=Army, F=RAF, N=Navy
Private patient V P P 0 0 DH  

Note: A-9 indicates that characters A-Z and 0-9 are valid: except B, I, O, S, U and Z (to avoid ambiguity). Please see: NHS Administrative Codes
Note: a 'Regional Code' of W00 for Wales is shown in the NACS files, to enable Welsh organisations to be distinguished from English organisations where the same coding frame is used.