The Geocoding API is a service that accepts a place as an address, latitude and longitude coordinates, or Place ID. It converts the address into latitude and longitude coordinates and a Place ID, or converts latitude and longitude coordinates or a Place ID into an address.
What you can do with the Geocoding API
You can use the Geocoding API to obtain geocoding data for one or more addresses or places, including the following:
This release of Geocoding API v4 includes the release of the following endpoints:
- (Preview) Geocode an address — Geographic coordinates for addresses. Also called forward geocoding.
- (Preview) Geocode a location — Addresses for sets of latitude and longitude coordinates. Also called reverse geocoding.
- (Preview) Place geocoding — Retrieve an address from a place ID.
- (Preview) Search for destinations — Search for a destination from an address, place ID, or location.
You can control where the results appear and constrain the results to a particular region, county, or postal code.
How the Geocoding API works
The Geocoding API does both geocoding and reverse geocoding:
- Geocoding: Converts addresses such as "1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA" into latitude and longitude coordinates or Place IDs. You can use these coordinates to place markers on a map, or to center or reposition the map within the view frame.
- Reverse geocoding: Converts latitude and longitude coordinates or a Place ID into a human-readable address. You can use addresses for a variety of scenarios, including deliveries or pickups.
The following table summarizes the resources available through the Geocoding API along with the data each endpoint returns.
| Data resources | Data returned | Return format |
|---|---|---|
| Geocoding | Returns address, address components, and address types. See the Geocode response documentation. |
|
| Reverse geocoding | Returns address, address components, and address types. See the Reverse geocoding response documentation. | |
| Place geocoding | Returns address, address components, and address types. See the Place geocoding response documentation. | |
| Destination search | Returns detailed information about various destinations based on different input criteria, such as an address, place ID, or latitude and longitude coordinates. See the Destination search documentation. |
Features in Geocoding API v4
Version 4 of the Geocoding API offers these new features.
Destination search endpoint
v4 introduces a Destination search endpoint that lets you retrieve detailed information about various destinations based on different input criteria, such as an address, place ID, or latitude and longitude coordinates. The response includes AI-powered summaries and navigation point tokens that contain contextual information that can be passed to the Navigation SDK for precise routing.
Implemented on the Google Cloud standard platform
Geocoding API v4 is implemented on the service infrastructure on Google Cloud. This implementation brings with it a more secure and trusted platform with enhanced security options like OAuth. This standard API design brings a level of consistency across the APIs that improve the efficiency of development with Geocoding API v4.
OAuth support added
Geocoding API v4 supports the use of OAuth 2.0 for authentication. Google supports common OAuth 2.0 scenarios such as those for a web server.
Field mask support added
Use field masks to specify what information the response should return. For the Geocode an address, Geocode a location, and Place geocoding endpoints, all fields in the response object are returned by default. For the Search for destinations endpoint, you must specify a field mask in the API request.
No cost for usage during Preview
Geocoding API v4 is in the pre-GA Preview stage, and there is no charge for API usage during Preview. API calls will appear on the Billing page in the Cloud Console, but charges will be $0.
Feedback
This is a Preview feature. We would appreciate feedback at geocoding-feedback-channel@google.com.