SR postcode district map, Sunderland
Supplier statuses last checked .
The SR postcode area covers 9 districts and 6,881 live postcodes, from SR1 to SR43. It is centred on Sunderland and also covers Peterlee, Seaham and Whitburn.
Districts here average 765 postcodes.
Where the SR districts sit
Where SR sits
It falls across Sunderland, County Durham and South Tyneside.
Water supply across SR
All 9 SR districts are supplied by Northumbrian Water. That makes SR 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 SR.
The shape of the SR area
SR5 is the largest district with 1,050 postcodes around Sunderland, and SR43 the smallest with 197. The area divides into 40 postcode sectors.
The numbering is not continuous. SR runs up to 43 but has only 9 districts, so 34 numbers are unused:.
District by district: SR1 serves Sunderland, SR2 serves Sunderland, SR3 serves Sunderland, SR4 serves Sunderland, SR5 serves Sunderland, SR6 serves Whitburn, SR7 serves Seaham and SR8 serves Peterlee.
Several districts share a settlement, which is a common source of confusion when a form rejects an address: SR1, SR2, SR3, SR4 and SR5 all point at Sunderland.
SR43 is a non-geographic district: it carries no coordinates because it is used for PO boxes and large users rather than for streets. It appears in the table below but cannot be placed on the map.
What borders SR
SR sits next to DH (Durham) to the west, TS (Middlesbrough) to the south east, DL (Darlington) to the south west, NE (Newcastle upon Tyne) to the north west and HG (Harrogate) to the south.
Its neighbours run in 5 different directions, so SR is landlocked by other postcode areas on most sides.
SR districts, settlements and water supply
| District | Principal settlement | Water company | Hosepipe ban status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SR1 | Sunderland | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| SR2 | Sunderland | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| SR3 | Sunderland | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| SR4 | Sunderland | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| SR5 | Sunderland | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| SR6 | Whitburn | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| SR7 | Seaham | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| SR8 | Peterlee | Northumbrian Water | No restrictions |
| SR43 | — | 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 SR
No water company covering SR 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SR1 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| SR2 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| SR3 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| SR4 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| SR5 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| SR6 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| SR7 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| SR8 | Not published by Northumbrian Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| SR43 | 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 SR 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 SR area?
There are 9 SR postcode districts, running from SR1 to SR43, and they contain 6,881 live postcodes across 40 sectors.
What towns does the SR postcode area cover?
SR covers Sunderland, Peterlee, Seaham and Whitburn. The area takes its name from Sunderland, and each district is listed with its settlement in the table on this page.
Which water company supplies SR postcodes?
Northumbrian Water supplies all 9 SR 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 SR1 and SR2 both say Sunderland?
SR1, SR2, SR3, SR4 and SR5 all serve Sunderland, 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.
What is SR43 used for?
SR43 is a non-geographic postcode district. It is used for PO boxes and large users such as banks and government departments that receive enough mail to need their own code, so it has no streets and no position on a map.
Can I download a free SR postcode map?
Yes. This page offers the SR 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.
Which councils cover the SR postcode area?
SR reaches into Sunderland, County Durham and South Tyneside. 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.