# Parishes & Communities: choose a region

Official GBMaps guide for the classic map maker. VectorMaps has a different interface.

Source: https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=parish-maps
Updated: 2026-11-12

Use parish and community boundaries when your territories need local administrative detail rather than postcodes. Choose the region you need from Map Types.

![Parishes and Communities with nine English regions plus Wales and Scotland](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/help/images/layout-parish-choices-20261112.png)

Map Types → UK & Ireland → Parishes & Communities. Choose a region, then check regional or complete-set access before buying.

## 1. Choose a regional parish map

Open Map Types → UK & Ireland → Parishes & Communities on desktop. Choose one of the nine English regions, Wales or Scotland. On a compact screen, use Map Types in the tool panel and expand Parishes & Communities. This family covers Great Britain; it is not a Northern Ireland parish catalogue.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=parish-maps#parish-maps--choose)

## 2. A region or the complete set

Try the selected regional map first. The purchase choices offer access for that region or the complete set of 11 regions. Check the coverage, number of people, current total and VAT in the purchase box before paying. Owning one region does not unlock every other region; existing complete-set access covers the included regions.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=parish-maps#parish-maps--access)

## 3. Zoom for local names

The overview contains many small boundaries. Zoom in to work with individual parishes and read more names. Design hides tiny labels at wide scales; Print View and exports retain names selected as visible. Use Map details for boundary and label choices.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=parish-maps#parish-maps--detail)

## 4. Use postcodes to place locations

Postcode/place search, postcode dots, marker boxes, radial circles and Distance/Time work on supported parish maps. Check the location falls inside the region you chose before relying on it. A postcode location is a point, not the parish boundary itself.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=parish-maps#parish-maps--locations)

## 5. Colour and save as usual

Select or name a territory in the legend, then colour parish polygons. Save your editable map with active access and check Print View before exporting. Save existing work before opening another regional map; changing regions is not a transfer of all colouring into the new region.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=parish-maps#parish-maps--work)

## Related guides

- [Map Types: choose another map](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=more)
- [Move, zoom & frame the map](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=map-gestures)
- [Labels while zooming, printing and exporting](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=label-visibility)
- [Place postcodes on UK and NHS maps](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=uk-location-tools)
- [Buy, unlock or renew a map](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=payments)
- [Saved maps: access, renewals & new maps](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=saved-access)