In this use the fields are plural, not possessive.
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This sounds like an SQL problem. Databases that use SQL don’t like apostrophes because they are used as delimiters. That is to say, they are used to show where one piece of information ends and another begins. You can seriously mess up a database by inserting an apostrophe. In my working life, I’ve encountered this problem. In a database of names we had to use some devious work-arounds to manage names like O’Neill and deValera. (for instance.) It sounds like nobody has the nous or the clout to enforce a reasonable work-around. IIRC our work-around was to type three apostrophes in a row. It might have been something different. But officialdom will impose its arbitrary rules because officialdom don’t give a damn. Where I live, there is a street called “Wellyhole Street” Which SHOULD be “Well-y-Hole Street”. Try fixing that with a marker pen…
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I just want to know if I am supposed to go to St James’ Park or St James Park.
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Perhaps these bureaucrats would be interested in attending an international conference of street sign orthography, to be held in Hawai‘i.
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This kind of stuff happens all the time.
I have a multiple Italian surname, something like Serbelloni Mazzanti Viendalmare*, and while official documents are OK both in IT and SE, it often gets mangled…added dash, no space, reversed order, missing one part
As a further example, about dashes, a colleague of mine from UK had a dash in his surname, some like Bloke Guy-Dude - no way to enter it in the Italian system.
He initially thought the clerk didn’t want to do it or did not get it, but then was shown that the ‘-’ keys were totally dead on the surname field.
*Extra points for the ones who get the reference 
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Well, you never NEED it, though. It’s a “solution” in search of “problems” it can solve (ie labor it can replace to make some rich asshole into a richer asshole).
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It’s not an apostrophe that’s missing.
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It’s not just antiquated government systems. Try having a hyphen in your name and booking a flight on United airlines
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They need to change should to must in their instructions. Should sounds like a suggestion, if you’re not too busy.
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Extra points for the ones who get the reference
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In context, the recommendation seems much more passive-aggressive than presented:
Local authorities will have their own policy for the naming of streets and the numbering of properties.
GeoPlace does not advise that councils include or remove punctuation in official naming or on the street name plate. Street naming and numbering is a council policy decision.
However, the Data Entry Conventions documentation does state that GeoPlace would prefer not receive data (including street names) with punctuation.
This is for two main reasons:
- machine readability – punctuation can be misinterpreted by computers
- usability – for example, if loaded into say an emergency service command and control system and a caller provides a street name, the search will be faster if the search is entered and returned without punctuation.
Whilst GeoPlace advises that punctuation should not be included in the data provided by local authorities, GeoPlace will process data with punctuation where the council has officially named the street with punctuation.
While #1 seems dumb, and assumes programmers will always be too incompetent to trust, #2 is maybe more interesting.
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The crew of USS Enterprise agree with you.
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The correct way to handle this is to use parameterized queries. Then it doesn’t matter.
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For extra fun, try doing it when your last name is Null.
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If the walk is named in honor of multiple saints named “Mary,” would the proper pluralization be “Saint Marys” or “Saints Mary”?
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Saints Mary if it is named after multiple saints, but Saint Marys if it is named after multiple churches.
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BRB, changing my last name to “’ OR 1=1; DROP TABLE users” and moving to England
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Computer: “No don’t! We’re also the North Yorkshire Council!”
Spock: “Fascinating.”
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and not using parameterized queries is how you get bobby drop tables!
really, you can store anything in sql. store the name as a png using a hex encoded string if you really want to. 
ah gotcha. well, maybe they were just being polite
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This is really just a tempest in a teapot. Anyone concerned about the missing apostrophes may submit a completed form 27B-6 at the local councils administrative offices. The drop-slot is conveniently located in the basement behind the door marked Mind the Leopard.
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