The Geocoding API is a service that provides geocoding and reverse geocoding of addresses.
Geocoding is the process of converting addresses (like a street address) into geographic coordinates (like latitude and longitude), which you can use to place markers on a map, or position the map.
Reverse geocoding is the process of converting geographic coordinates into a human-readable address.
You can also use the Geocoding API to find the address for a given place ID.
Sample request and response
You access the Geocoding API through an HTTP interface. Following are examples of geocoding and reverse geocoding requests.
Geocoding request and response (latitude/longitude lookup)
The following example requests the latitude and longitude of "1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA", and specifies that the output must be in JSON format.
https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=1600+Amphitheatre+Parkway,+Mountain+View,+CA&key=YOUR_API_KEY
You can test this by entering the URL into your web browser (be sure to replace
YOUR_API_KEY with your actual API key).
The response includes the latitude and longitude of the address.
View the developer's guide for more information about building geocoding request URLs and available parameters and understanding the response.
Below is a sample geocoding response, in JSON:
{ "results" : [ { "address_components" : [ { "long_name" : "1600", "short_name" : "1600", "types" : [ "street_number" ] }, { "long_name" : "Amphitheatre Parkway", "short_name" : "Amphitheatre Pkwy", "types" : [ "route" ] }, { "long_name" : "Mountain View", "short_name" : "Mountain View", "types" : [ "locality", "political" ] }, { "long_name" : "Santa Clara County", "short_name" : "Santa Clara County", "types" : [ "administrative_area_level_2", "political" ] }, { "long_name" : "California", "short_name" : "CA", "types" : [ "administrative_area_level_1", "political" ] }, { "long_name" : "United States", "short_name" : "US", "types" : [ "country", "political" ] }, { "long_name" : "94043", "short_name" : "94043", "types" : [ "postal_code" ] } ], "formatted_address" : "1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA", "geometry" : { "location" : { "lat" : 37.4267861, "lng" : -122.0806032 }, "location_type" : "ROOFTOP", "viewport" : { "northeast" : { "lat" : 37.4281350802915, "lng" : -122.0792542197085 }, "southwest" : { "lat" : 37.4254371197085, "lng" : -122.0819521802915 } } }, "place_id" : "ChIJtYuu0V25j4ARwu5e4wwRYgE", "plus_code" : { "compound_code" : "CWC8+R3 Mountain View, California, United States", "global_code" : "849VCWC8+R3" }, "types" : [ "street_address" ] } ], "status" : "OK" }
Reverse geocoding request and response (address lookup)
The following example requests the address corresponding to a given latitude/longitude in Brooklyn, NY, USA. It specifies that the output must be in JSON format.
https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?latlng=40.714224,-73.961452&key=YOUR_API_KEYYou can test this by entering the URL into your web browser (be sure to replace ‘YOUR_API_KEY’ with your actual API key). The response includes a human-readable address for the latitude and longitude location.
View the developer's guide for more information about building reverse geocoding request URLs and available parameters and understanding the response.
Below is a sample reverse geocoding response, in JSON:
{ "plus_code" : { "compound_code" : "P27Q+MC New York, NY, USA", "global_code" : "87G8P27Q+MC" }, "results" : [ { "address_components" : [ { "long_name" : "279", "short_name" : "279", "types" : [ "street_number" ] }, { "long_name" : "Bedford Avenue", "short_name" : "Bedford Ave", "types" : [ "route" ] }, { "long_name" : "Williamsburg", "short_name" : "Williamsburg", "types" : [ "neighborhood", "political" ] }, { "long_name" : "Brooklyn", "short_name" : "Brooklyn", "types" : [ "political", "sublocality", "sublocality_level_1" ] }, { "long_name" : "Kings County", "short_name" : "Kings County", "types" : [ "administrative_area_level_2", "political" ] }, { "long_name" : "New York", "short_name" : "NY", "types" : [ "administrative_area_level_1", "political" ] }, { "long_name" : "United States", "short_name" : "US", "types" : [ "country", "political" ] }, { "long_name" : "11211", "short_name" : "11211", "types" : [ "postal_code" ] } ], "formatted_address" : "279 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211, USA", "geometry" : { "location" : { "lat" : 40.7142484, "lng" : -73.9614103 }, "location_type" : "ROOFTOP", "viewport" : { "northeast" : { "lat" : 40.71559738029149, "lng" : -73.9600613197085 }, "southwest" : { "lat" : 40.71289941970849, "lng" : -73.96275928029151 } } }, "place_id" : "ChIJT2x8Q2BZwokRpBu2jUzX3dE", "plus_code" : { "compound_code" : "P27Q+MC Brooklyn, New York, United States", "global_code" : "87G8P27Q+MC" }, "types" : [ "bakery", "cafe", "establishment", "food", "point_of_interest", "store" ] }, ... Additional results truncated in this example[] ... ], "status" : "OK" }
Start coding with our client libraries
Client libraries make developing with the Google Maps web service APIs easier by providing simple, native implementations of common tasks, such as authentication, request throttling and automatic retry. The Geocoding API is available in the Java Client, Python Client, Go Client and Node.js Client for Google Maps Services.
Authentication, quotas, pricing, and policies
Authentication
To use the Geocoding API, you must first enable the API and obtain the proper authentication credentials. For more information, see Get Started with Google Maps Platform.
Quotas and pricing
Review the usage and billing page for details on the quotas and pricing set for the Geocoding API.
Policies
Use of the Geocoding API must be in accordance with the API policies.
Learn more
There’s more you can do with the Geocoding API. See the Geocoding API developer guide for additional demos, examples, available parameters, status codes and error messages, and other details.
The Geocoding API developer guide describes the Geocoding API web service. It is intended for website and mobile developers who want to use geocoding data within maps provided by one of the Google Maps Platform APIs.