The Geocoding API v4 provides two core capability families: destination search for rich hyperlocal attributes, and basic geocoding (coordinate-address conversion). Not sure which method to use? See Choose a geocoding method.
- Search for destinations (
SearchDestinations): Retrieves rich arrival details for a destination—including building entrances, routable navigation points, building/grounds outlines, sub-destinations, and nearby landmarks. - Geocoding (
GeocodeAddress): Converts street addresses into latitude and longitude coordinates to place basic markers or center a map. - Reverse geocoding (
GeocodeLocation): Converts geographic coordinates into a human-readable street address. - Place geocoding (
GeocodePlace): Finds the formatted address and coordinates for a known Place ID.
Sample requests and responses
You access the Geocoding API through an HTTP interface. Below are quickstart examples for Search for destinations, forward geocoding, and reverse geocoding.
Search for destinations request and response (hyperlocal arrival data)
The following example sends an HTTP POST request to SearchDestinations for "1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA". Note that SearchDestinations requires an X-Goog-FieldMask header specifying the fields to return:
curl -X POST -d '{ "addressQuery": { "addressQuery": "1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA" } }' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -H 'X-Goog-FieldMask: destinations.primary.displayName,destinations.primary.formattedAddress,destinations.primary.location,destinations.primary.displayPolygon,destinations.entrances,destinations.navigationPoints,destinations.landmarks' \ -H "X-Goog-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \ "https://geocode.googleapis.com/v4/geocode/destinations"
Below is a sample SearchDestinations response showing the building footprint polygon, preferred entrances, routable navigation points, and nearby landmarks:
{ "destinations": [ { "primary": { "displayName": { "text": "Googleplex", "languageCode": "en" }, "formattedAddress": "1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA", "location": { "latitude": 37.4220656, "longitude": -122.0840897 }, "displayPolygon": { "type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [ [ [-122.084958, 37.422145], [-122.084112, 37.422610], [-122.083510, 37.421980], [-122.084958, 37.422145] ] ] } }, "entrances": [ { "location": { "latitude": 37.422189, "longitude": -122.084215 }, "tags": ["PREFERRED"] } ], "navigationPoints": [ { "navigationPointToken": "Eg...", "displayName": { "text": "Amphitheatre Pkwy Dropoff", "languageCode": "en" }, "location": { "latitude": 37.421912, "longitude": -122.084301 }, "travelModes": ["DRIVE"], "usages": ["DROPOFF", "PICKUP"] } ], "landmarks": [ { "place": { "displayName": { "text": "Charleston Park", "languageCode": "en" } }, "relationalDescription": { "text": "Adjacent to Charleston Park", "languageCode": "en" }, "straightLineDistanceMeters": 85.4 } ] } ] }
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.
curl -H "X-Goog-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \ "https://geocode.googleapis.com/v4/geocode/address/1600+Amphitheatre+Parkway,+Mountain+View,+CA"
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, available parameters and understanding the response.
Below is a sample geocoding response, in JSON:
{ "results": [ { "place": "//places.googleapis.com/places/ChIJ2Z2idB66j4ARI43TG-9RoCQ", "placeId": "ChIJ2Z2idB66j4ARI43TG-9RoCQ", "location": { "latitude": 37.4438238, "longitude": -122.0869895 }, "granularity": "ROOFTOP", "viewport": { "low": { "latitude": 37.4424748197085, "longitude": -122.0883384802915 }, "high": { "latitude": 37.445172780291493, "longitude": -122.08564051970852 } }, "formattedAddress": "1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA", "postalAddress": { "regionCode": "US", "languageCode": "en", "postalCode": "94043-1351", "administrativeArea": "CA", "locality": "Mountain View", "addressLines": [ "1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy" ] }, "addressComponents": [ { "longText": "1600", "shortText": "1600", "types": [ "street_number" ] }, { "longText": "Amphitheatre Parkway", "shortText": "Amphitheatre Pkwy", "types": [ "route" ], "languageCode": "en" }, { "longText": "Mountain View", "shortText": "Mountain View", "types": [ "locality", "political" ], "languageCode": "en" }, { "longText": "Santa Clara County", "shortText": "Santa Clara County", "types": [ "administrative_area_level_2", "political" ], "languageCode": "en" }, { "longText": "California", "shortText": "CA", "types": [ "administrative_area_level_1", "political" ], "languageCode": "en" }, { "longText": "United States", "shortText": "US", "types": [ "country", "political" ], "languageCode": "en" }, { "longText": "94043", "shortText": "94043", "types": [ "postal_code" ] }, { "longText": "1351", "shortText": "1351", "types": [ "postal_code_suffix" ] } ], "types": [ "premise", "street_address" ] } ] }
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://geocode.googleapis.com/v4/geocode/location/37.4225508,-122.0846338?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, available parameters, and understanding the response.
Below is a sample reverse geocoding response, in JSON:
{ "results": [ { "place": "//places.googleapis.com/places/ChIJHRNUiQK6j4ARJ__Hrbt6qsE", "placeId": "ChIJHRNUiQK6j4ARJ__Hrbt6qsE", "location": { "latitude": 37.4225657, "longitude": -122.08465439999999 }, "granularity": "ROOFTOP", "viewport": { "low": { "latitude": 37.421214719708509, "longitude": -122.08603273029148 }, "high": { "latitude": 37.423912680291508, "longitude": -122.0833347697085 } }, "bounds": { "low": { "latitude": 37.4225178, "longitude": -122.08484599999998 }, "high": { "latitude": 37.422609600000008, "longitude": -122.0845215 } }, "formattedAddress": "Google Building 40, 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA", "postalAddress": { "regionCode": "US", "languageCode": "en", "postalCode": "94043", "administrativeArea": "CA", "locality": "Mountain View", "addressLines": [ "Google Building 40", "1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy" ] }, "addressComponents": [ { "longText": "Google Building 40", "shortText": "Google Building 40", "types": [ "premise" ], "languageCode": "en" }, { "longText": "1600", "shortText": "1600", "types": [ "street_number" ] }, { "longText": "Amphitheatre Parkway", "shortText": "Amphitheatre Pkwy", "types": [ "route" ], "languageCode": "en" }, { "longText": "Mountain View", "shortText": "Mountain View", "types": [ "locality", "political" ], "languageCode": "en" }, { "longText": "Santa Clara County", "shortText": "Santa Clara County", "types": [ "administrative_area_level_2", "political" ], "languageCode": "en" }, { "longText": "California", "shortText": "CA", "types": [ "administrative_area_level_1", "political" ], "languageCode": "en" }, { "longText": "United States", "shortText": "US", "types": [ "country", "political" ], "languageCode": "en" }, { "longText": "94043", "shortText": "94043", "types": [ "postal_code" ] } ], "types": [ "street_address", "subpremise" ] }, ... Additional results truncated in this example[] ... }
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.