DH postcode district map, Durham
Supplier statuses last checked .
The DH postcode area covers 12 districts and 9,174 live postcodes, from DH1 to DH99. It is centred on Durham and also covers Hetton-le-Hole, Chester-le-Street, Consett, Stanley and Houghton-le-Spring.
Districts here average 765 postcodes.
Where the DH districts sit
2 districts are plotted without a label where labels would overlap; every one is in the table below.
Where DH sits
It is administratively fragmented, reaching into County Durham, Sunderland, Northumberland and Gateshead and 0 other authorities.
Water supply across DH
All 12 DH districts are supplied by Northumbrian Water. That makes DH simple in a way many areas are not: one company, one set of rules, one status to check.
No hosepipe ban currently applies anywhere in DH.
The shape of the DH area
The districts are wildly uneven: DH8 holds 1,332 postcodes around Consett and DH98 holds 1, a ratio of about 1332 to one. They divide into 47 sectors.
The numbering is not continuous. DH runs up to 99 but has only 12 districts, so 87 numbers are unused:.
District by district: DH1 serves Durham, DH2 serves Chester-le-Street, DH3 serves Chester-le-Street, DH4 serves Houghton-le-Spring, DH5 serves Hetton-le-Hole, DH6 serves Hetton-le-Hole, DH7 serves Durham, DH8 serves Consett, DH9 serves Stanley, DH97 serves Durham, DH98 serves Durham and DH99 serves Durham.
Several districts share a settlement, which is a common source of confusion when a form rejects an address: DH1, DH7, DH97, DH98 and DH99 all point at Durham, DH2 and DH3 all point at Chester-le-Street and DH5 and DH6 all point at Hetton-le-Hole.
What borders DH
DH sits next to SR (Sunderland) to the east, DL (Darlington) to the south, TS (Middlesbrough) to the south east, NE (Newcastle upon Tyne) to the north and HG (Harrogate) to the south.
Its neighbours run in 4 different directions, so DH is landlocked by other postcode areas on most sides.
DH districts, settlements and water supply
| District | Principal settlement | Water company | Hosepipe ban status |
|---|---|---|---|
| DH1 | Durham | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| DH2 | Chester-le-Street | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| DH3 | Chester-le-Street | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| DH4 | Houghton-le-Spring | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| DH5 | Hetton-le-Hole | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| DH6 | Hetton-le-Hole | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| DH7 | Durham | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| DH8 | Consett | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| DH9 | Stanley | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| DH97 | Durham | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| DH98 | Durham | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| DH99 | Durham | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
Principal settlement is the town or city each district sits in or nearest to, derived from OS Open Names. It is not the Royal Mail post town, which is licensed data and not published openly. Status is resolved live from each company’s own notice.
Water hardness in DH
No water company covering DH publishes hardness figures as open data. The gap is named per district below so you know who to ask.
| District | Hardness | As published | Supply zone | Published by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DH1 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| DH2 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| DH3 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| DH4 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| DH5 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| DH6 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| DH7 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| DH8 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| DH9 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| DH97 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| DH98 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| DH99 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
Hardness is published per census area, not per postcode, so these figures characterise a district rather than measuring one address. They are a scale and taste matter, not a safety one. Hardness data version wessex-water@2022-2025+yorkshire-water@2026.
Download the DH data
No signup, no email wall. GeoJSON carries the district points, the supplier and the live status, so it can be dropped straight into a map.
District positions are averaged postcode centroids from OS Code-Point Open. They show roughly where a district sits, not where its boundary runs, and are not legal boundaries.
Frequently asked questions
How many postcode districts are in the DH area?
There are 12 DH postcode districts, running from DH1 to DH99, and they contain 9,174 live postcodes across 47 sectors.
What towns does the DH postcode area cover?
DH covers Durham, Hetton-le-Hole, Chester-le-Street, Consett, Stanley and Houghton-le-Spring. The area takes its name from Durham, and each district is listed with its settlement in the table on this page.
Which water company supplies DH postcodes?
Northumbrian Water supplies all 12 DH districts. Supply boundaries follow the pipe network rather than postcode geography, so confirm against your water bill if you are near the edge of the area.
Why do DH1 and DH7 both say Durham?
DH1, DH7, DH97, DH98 and DH99 all serve Durham, covering different parts of it. A single town routinely needs more than one postcode district once it passes a few thousand delivery points, so this is normal rather than an error in an address.
Can I download a free DH postcode map?
Yes. This page offers the DH districts as GeoJSON, CSV and SVG, free and with no signup or email address required. The GeoJSON carries each district's position, its water company and its current restriction status, so it can be dropped straight into a mapping tool.
Why is the DH area called Durham when it covers Consett?
DH takes its letters from Durham, where the sorting office that served the area was based when the code was allocated. Consett is the largest settlement in the area today, in DH8, but the area code follows the historic sorting geography rather than current population.
Which councils cover the DH postcode area?
DH reaches into County Durham, Sunderland, Northumberland and Gateshead. A postcode area is not a council area: they were drawn for different purposes and a single district can sit across a council boundary, so your postcode does not tell you which authority you pay.