Define jurisdictions

This document describes Google's policy and process around defining your operational jurisdiction for Roads Management Insights. A jurisdiction is a series of one or more disjoint polygons that defines a region.

To ensure data is provided appropriately, Google ensures that users can only create and track routes only within their approved jurisdiction.

All customers must define their jurisdiction according to the following policy.

Polygon submission requirements

Any custom or extended jurisdiction polygon that you submit must adhere to the following technical specifications:

  • File Format: GeoJSON RFC7949 (.geojson)
  • File Size: 1 File of Maximum 10MB
  • Multiple polygons: If a jurisdiction is composed of several distinct polygons, they must be combined and submitted as a single GeoJSON file.

The next sections provide details on the submission requirements for the following scenarios:

Public sector customers (e.g., Cities, National and State DoTs)

The following list describes the types of jurisdiction polygons public sectors can submit and their requirements:

  • Default boundary: By default, a customer's jurisdiction is defined by the corresponding Google Maps Geopolitical Feature (e.g., the official city, county, state, country boundary).
    • Customers can refer to Google boundaries coverage to view boundary shape and retrieve Place ID required for onboarding. Google won't provide the polygon file to the customer.
  • Custom polygon: If a customer finds the default Google Maps boundary to be insufficient or inaccurate, they may submit their own polygon file for our team to verify.
    • Max 1 GB GeoJSON file with polygon of your jurisdiction. If there are several polygons, upload one single file for all.

Private customers (e.g., Highway and Utility Providers)

The following list describes the requirements for private customers to define their jurisdiction polygon:

  • Required submission: Private customers are required to provide a polygon file that defines their specific area of operational jurisdiction and a supporting document.
    • Max 1 GB GeoJSON file with polygon of your jurisdiction. If there are several polygons, upload one single file for all.
  • Verification: The submission must be accompanied by a description of the area and supporting documentation (e.g., a link to an official road network map).
  • Exception for full-area coverage: If a customer's operational area matches an official boundary, such as an entire city, state, or country, they may request to use the default Google Maps Geopolitical Feature boundary instead of providing their own file. The submission must be accompanied by a description of the area, supporting documentation, for example, a link to an official road network map, and Place ID(s) for the boundary. Place IDs can be retrieved from Google boundaries coverage.

Extended jurisdiction requests (applies to all customers)

Customers may request data for areas larger than their primary jurisdiction by providing a polygon file and a clear business justification. All such requests are subject to a manual review by our Operations Team.

The Operations Team will evaluate requests based on the following guidelines:

  • Standard review: Requests will be reviewed for approval if the area:
    • Extends no more than 20km from the customer's primary boundary; AND
    • Remains within the customer's national boundaries.
  • Case-by-case review: Requests for areas that exceed the 20km buffer but have a strong, demonstrable impact on the customer's primary jurisdiction will be considered for approval on a case-by-case basis (e.g., a county transportation authority needing visibility into a neighboring region).
  • Requires special approval: Any request for a jurisdiction that crosses national boundaries must be flagged for special review.

Jurisdiction onboarding process

During your onboarding process, a representative from Google reaches out to you for your jurisdiction details.

After sharing your jurisdiction details, the process is as follows:

  1. Review jurisdiction details. The Google representative validates the jurisdiction information to ensure that the jurisdiction boundaries you provide match the region you manage.
  2. Validation. Once approved, Google uploads the jurisdiction into the system.
  3. Jurisdiction upload. The representative confirms the upload.
  4. Create selected routes. You can start creating selected-routes under given jurisdiction.

Talk to your Google Representative if you need to make modifications to your jurisdiction after the validation process.