Search - Get Reverse Geocoding

Reference

Service:: Maps

API Version:: 2023-06-01

Use to get a street address and location info from longitude and latitude coordinates.

The Get Reverse Geocoding API is an HTTP GET request used to translate a coordinate (example: 37.786505, -122.3862) into a human understandable street address. Useful in tracking applications where you receive a GPS feed from the device or asset and wish to know the address associated with the coordinates. This endpoint will return address information for a given coordinate.

GET https://atlas.microsoft.com/reverseGeocode?api-version=2023-06-01&coordinates={coordinates}

With optional parameters:

GET https://atlas.microsoft.com/reverseGeocode?api-version=2023-06-01&coordinates={coordinates}&resultTypes={resultTypes}&view={view}

URI Parameters

Name	In	Required	Type	Description
api-version	query	True	string	Version number of Azure Maps API.
coordinates	query	True	number[]	The coordinates of the location that you want to reverse geocode. Example: &coordinates=lon,lat
resultTypes	query		ReverseGeocodingResultTypeEnum[]	Specify entity types that you want in the response. Only the types you specify will be returned. If the point cannot be mapped to the entity types you specify, no location information is returned in the response. Default value is all possible entities. A comma separated list of entity types selected from the following options. Address Neighborhood PopulatedPlace Postcode1 AdminDivision1 AdminDivision2 CountryRegion These entity types are ordered from the most specific entity to the least specific entity. When entities of more than one entity type are found, only the most specific entity is returned. For example, if you specify Address and AdminDistrict1 as entity types and entities were found for both types, only the Address entity information is returned in the response.
view	query		string	A string that represents an ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2 region/country code. This will alter Geopolitical disputed borders and labels to align with the specified user region. By default, the View parameter is set to “Auto” even if you haven’t defined it in the request. Please refer to Supported Views for details and to see the available Views.

Request Header

Name	Required	Type	Description
x-ms-client-id		string	Specifies which account is intended for usage in conjunction with the Azure AD security model. It represents a unique ID for the Azure Maps account and can be retrieved from the Azure Maps management plane Account API. To use Azure AD security in Azure Maps see the following articles for guidance.
Accept-Language		string	Language in which search results should be returned. Please refer to Supported Languages for details.

Name

Required

Type

Description

x-ms-client-id

string

Specifies which account is intended for usage in conjunction with the Azure AD security model. It represents a unique ID for the Azure Maps account and can be retrieved from the Azure Maps management plane Account API. To use Azure AD security in Azure Maps see the following articles for guidance.

Accept-Language

string

Language in which search results should be returned.

Please refer to Supported Languages for details.

Responses

Name	Type	Description
200 OK	GeocodingResponse	OK Media Types: "application/geo+json"
Other Status Codes	ErrorResponse	An unexpected error occurred. Media Types: "application/geo+json"

Name

Type

Description

200 OK

GeocodingResponse

Media Types: "application/geo+json"

Other Status Codes

ErrorResponse

An unexpected error occurred.

Media Types: "application/geo+json"

Security

AADToken

These are the Microsoft Entra OAuth 2.0 Flows. When paired with Azure role-based access control it can be used to control access to Azure Maps REST APIs. Azure role-based access controls are used to designate access to one or more Azure Maps resource account or sub-resources. Any user, group, or service principal can be granted access via a built-in role or a custom role composed of one or more permissions to Azure Maps REST APIs.

To implement scenarios, we recommend viewing authentication concepts. In summary, this security definition provides a solution for modeling application(s) via objects capable of access control on specific APIs and scopes.

Note

This security definition requires the use of the x-ms-client-id header to indicate which Azure Maps resource the application is requesting access to. This can be acquired from the Maps management API.
The Authorization URL is specific to the Azure public cloud instance. Sovereign clouds have unique Authorization URLs and Microsoft Entra ID configurations.
The Azure role-based access control is configured from the Azure management plane via Azure portal, PowerShell, CLI, Azure SDKs, or REST APIs.
Usage of the Azure Maps Web SDK allows for configuration based setup of an application for multiple use cases.
For more information on Microsoft identity platform, see Microsoft identity platform overview.

Type: oauth2
Flow: implicit
Authorization URL: https://login.microsoftonline.com/common/oauth2/authorize

Scopes

Name	Description
https://atlas.microsoft.com/.default	https://atlas.microsoft.com/.default

subscription-key

This is a shared key that is provisioned when creating an Azure Maps resource through the Azure management plane via Azure portal, PowerShell, CLI, Azure SDKs, or REST APIs.

With this key, any application is authorized to access all REST APIs. In other words, these can currently be treated as master keys to the account which they are issued for.

For publicly exposed applications, our recommendation is to use server-to-server access of Azure Maps REST APIs where this key can be securely stored.

Type: apiKey
In: header

SAS Token

This is a shared access signature token is created from the List SAS operation on the Azure Maps resource through the Azure management plane via Azure portal, PowerShell, CLI, Azure SDKs, or REST APIs.

With this token, any application is authorized to access with Azure role-based access controls and fine-grain control to the expiration, rate, and region(s) of use for the particular token. In other words, the SAS Token can be used to allow applications to control access in a more secured way than the shared key.

For publicly exposed applications, our recommendation is to configure a specific list of allowed origins on the Map account resource to limit rendering abuse and regularly renew the SAS Token.

Type: apiKey
In: header

Examples

Search point -122.138681, 47.630358

Sample request

HTTP

GET https://atlas.microsoft.com/reverseGeocode?api-version=2023-06-01&coordinates=-122.138681,47.630358

Sample response

Status code:: 200

Content-Type: application/geo+json

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "properties": {
        "address": {
          "countryRegion": {
            "name": "United States"
          },
          "adminDistricts": [
            {
              "shortName": "WA"
            },
            {
              "shortName": "King County"
            }
          ],
          "formattedAddress": "15127 NE 24th St, Redmond, WA 98052",
          "locality": "Redmond",
          "postalCode": "98052",
          "addressLine": "15127 NE 24th St"
        },
        "type": "Address",
        "confidence": "Medium",
        "matchCodes": [
          "Good"
        ],
        "geocodePoints": [
          {
            "geometry": {
              "type": "Point",
              "coordinates": [
                -122.138681,
                47.630358
              ]
            },
            "calculationMethod": "Rooftop",
            "usageTypes": [
              "Display"
            ]
          },
          {
            "geometry": {
              "type": "Point",
              "coordinates": [
                -122.1386787,
                47.6302179
              ]
            },
            "calculationMethod": "Rooftop",
            "usageTypes": [
              "Route"
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      "geometry": {
        "type": "Point",
        "coordinates": [
          -122.138681,
          47.630358
        ]
      },
      "bbox": [
        -122.14632282407,
        47.626495282429325,
        -122.13103917593001,
        47.63422071757068
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Definitions

Name	Description
Address	The address of the result
AdminDistricts	The subdivision name in the country or region for an address. This element is typically treated as the first order administrative subdivision, but in some cases it also contains the second, third, or fourth order subdivision in a country, dependency, or region.
CalculationMethodEnum	The method that was used to compute the geocode point.
ConfidenceEnum	The level of confidence that the geocoded location result is a match. Use this value with the match code to determine for more complete information about the match. The confidence of a geocoded location is based on many factors including the relative importance of the geocoded location and the user’s location, if specified.
CountryRegion
ErrorAdditionalInfo	The resource management error additional info.
ErrorDetail	The error detail.
ErrorResponse	Error response
FeatureCollectionEnum	The type of a FeatureCollection object must be FeatureCollection.
FeaturesItem
FeatureTypeEnum	The type of a feature must be Feature.
GeocodePoints	A collection of geocode points that differ in how they were calculated and their suggested use.
GeocodingResponse	This object is returned from a successful Geocoding call
GeoJsonPoint	A valid `GeoJSON Point` geometry type. Please refer to RFC 7946 for details.
Intersection	The address of the result.
MatchCodesEnum	One or more match code values that represent the geocoding level for each location in the response. For example, a geocoded location with match codes of `Good` and `Ambiguous` means that more than one geocode location was found for the location information and that the geocode service did not have search up-hierarchy to find a match. Similarly, a geocoded location with match codes of `Ambiguous` and `UpHierarchy` implies that a geocode location could not be found that matched all the provided location information, so the geocode service had to search up-hierarchy and found multiple matches at that level. An example of up an `Ambiguous` and `UpHierarchy` result is when you provide complete address information, but the geocode service cannot locate a match for the street address and instead returns information for more than one RoadBlock value. The possible values are: `Good`: The location has only one match or all returned matches are considered strong matches. For example, a query for New York returns several Good matches. `Ambiguous`: The location is one of a set of possible matches. For example, when you query for the street address 128 Main St., the response may return two locations for 128 North Main St. and 128 South Main St. because there is not enough information to determine which option to choose. `UpHierarchy`: The location represents a move up the geographic hierarchy. This occurs when a match for the location request was not found, so a less precise result is returned. For example, if a match for the requested address cannot be found, then a match code of `UpHierarchy` with a RoadBlock entity type may be returned.
Properties
ReverseGeocodingResultTypeEnum	Specify entity types that you want in the response. Only the types you specify will be returned. If the point cannot be mapped to the entity types you specify, no location information is returned in the response. Default value is all possible entities. A comma separated list of entity types selected from the following options. Address Neighborhood PopulatedPlace Postcode1 AdminDivision1 AdminDivision2 CountryRegion These entity types are ordered from the most specific entity to the least specific entity. When entities of more than one entity type are found, only the most specific entity is returned. For example, if you specify Address and AdminDistrict1 as entity types and entities were found for both types, only the Address entity information is returned in the response.
UsageTypeEnum	The best use for the geocode point. Each geocode point is defined as a `Route` point, a `Display` point or both. Use `Route` points if you are creating a route to the location. Use `Display` points if you are showing the location on a map. For example, if the location is a park, a `Route` point may specify an entrance to the park where you can enter with a car, and a `Display` point may be a point that specifies the center of the park.

Address

The address of the result

Name	Type	Description
addressLine	string	AddressLine that includes Street Name and Number
adminDistricts	AdminDistricts[]	The subdivision name in the country or region for an address. This element is typically treated as the first order administrative subdivision, but in some cases it also contains the second, third, or fourth order subdivision in a country, dependency, or region.
countryRegion	CountryRegion
formattedAddress	string	Formatted Address property
intersection	Intersection	The address of the result.
locality	string	locality property
neighborhood	string	neighborhood property
postalCode	string	Postal Code property

AdminDistricts

The subdivision name in the country or region for an address. This element is typically treated as the first order administrative subdivision, but in some cases it also contains the second, third, or fourth order subdivision in a country, dependency, or region.

Name	Type	Description
name	string	The name for the corresponding adminDistrict field, For adminDistrict[0], this could be full name of state such as Washington, For adminDistrict[1], this could be the full name of the county
shortName	string	The short name for the corresponding adminDistrict field, For adminDistrict[0], this could be short name of state such as WA, For adminDistrict[1], this could be the short name of the county

CalculationMethodEnum

The method that was used to compute the geocode point.

Name	Type	Description
Interpolation	string	The geocode point was matched to a point on a road using interpolation.
InterpolationOffset	string	The geocode point was matched to a point on a road using interpolation with an additional offset to shift the point to the side of the street.
Parcel	string	The geocode point was matched to the center of a parcel.
Rooftop	string	The geocode point was matched to the rooftop of a building.

ConfidenceEnum

The level of confidence that the geocoded location result is a match. Use this value with the match code to determine for more complete information about the match.

The confidence of a geocoded location is based on many factors including the relative importance of the geocoded location and the user’s location, if specified.

Name Type Description

High

Name	Type	Description
High	string	If the confidence is set to `High`, one or more strong matches were found. Multiple `High` confidence matches are sorted in ranked order by importance when applicable. For example, landmarks have importance but addresses do not. If a request includes a location or a view, then the ranking may change appropriately. For example, a location query for "Paris" returns "Paris, France" and "Paris, TX" both with `High` confidence. "Paris, France" is always ranked first due to importance unless a user location indicates that the user is in or very close to Paris, TX or the map view indicates that the user is searching in that area.
Low	string
Medium	string	In some situations, the returned match may not be at the same level as the information provided in the request. For example, a request may specify address information and the geocode service may only be able to match a postal code. In this case, if the geocode service has a confidence that the postal code matches the data, the confidence is set to `Medium` and the match code is set to `UpHierarchy` to specify that it could not match all of the information and had to search up-hierarchy. If the location information in the query is ambiguous, and there is no additional information to rank the locations (such as user location or the relative importance of the location), the confidence is set to `Medium`. For example, a location query for "148th Ave, Bellevue" may return "148th Ave SE" and "148th Ave NE" both with `Medium` confidence. If the location information in the query does not provide enough information to geocode a specific location, a less precise location value may be returned and the confidence is set to `Medium`. For example, if an address is provided, but a match is not found for the house number, the geocode result with a Roadblock entity type may be returned.

string

If the confidence is set to High, one or more strong matches were found. Multiple High confidence matches are sorted in ranked order by importance when applicable. For example, landmarks have importance but addresses do not.

If a request includes a location or a view, then the ranking may change appropriately. For example, a location query for "Paris" returns "Paris, France" and "Paris, TX" both with High confidence. "Paris, France" is always ranked first due to importance unless a user location indicates that the user is in or very close to Paris, TX or the map view indicates that the user is searching in that area.

Low

string

Medium

string

In some situations, the returned match may not be at the same level as the information provided in the request. For example, a request may specify address information and the geocode service may only be able to match a postal code. In this case, if the geocode service has a confidence that the postal code matches the data, the confidence is set to Medium and the match code is set to UpHierarchy to specify that it could not match all of the information and had to search up-hierarchy.

If the location information in the query is ambiguous, and there is no additional information to rank the locations (such as user location or the relative importance of the location), the confidence is set to Medium. For example, a location query for "148th Ave, Bellevue" may return "148th Ave SE" and "148th Ave NE" both with Medium confidence.

If the location information in the query does not provide enough information to geocode a specific location, a less precise location value may be returned and the confidence is set to Medium. For example, if an address is provided, but a match is not found for the house number, the geocode result with a Roadblock entity type may be returned.

CountryRegion

Name	Type	Description
ISO	string	ISO of country/region
name	string	name of country/region

ErrorAdditionalInfo

The resource management error additional info.

Name	Type	Description
info	object	The additional info.
type	string	The additional info type.

ErrorDetail

The error detail.

Name	Type	Description
additionalInfo	ErrorAdditionalInfo[]	The error additional info.
code	string	The error code.
details	ErrorDetail[]	The error details.
message	string	The error message.
target	string	The error target.

ErrorResponse

Error response

Name	Type	Description
error	ErrorDetail	The error object.

FeatureCollectionEnum

The type of a FeatureCollection object must be FeatureCollection.

Name	Type	Description
FeatureCollection	string

FeaturesItem

Name	Type	Description
bbox	number[]	Bounding box. Projection used - EPSG:3857. Please refer to RFC 7946 for details.
geometry	GeoJsonPoint	A valid `GeoJSON Point` geometry type. Please refer to RFC 7946 for details.
id	string	ID for feature returned
properties	Properties
type	FeatureTypeEnum	The type of a feature must be Feature.

FeatureTypeEnum

The type of a feature must be Feature.

Name	Type	Description
Feature	string

GeocodePoints

A collection of geocode points that differ in how they were calculated and their suggested use.

Name	Type	Description
calculationMethod	CalculationMethodEnum	The method that was used to compute the geocode point.
geometry	GeoJsonPoint	A valid `GeoJSON Point` geometry type. Please refer to RFC 7946 for details.
usageTypes	UsageTypeEnum[]	The best use for the geocode point. Each geocode point is defined as a `Route` point, a `Display` point or both. Use `Route` points if you are creating a route to the location. Use `Display` points if you are showing the location on a map. For example, if the location is a park, a `Route` point may specify an entrance to the park where you can enter with a car, and a `Display` point may be a point that specifies the center of the park.

GeocodingResponse

This object is returned from a successful Geocoding call

Name	Type	Description
features	FeaturesItem[]
nextLink	string	The is the link to the next page of the features returned. If it's the last page, no this field.
type	FeatureCollectionEnum	The type of a FeatureCollection object must be FeatureCollection.

GeoJsonPoint

A valid GeoJSON Point geometry type. Please refer to RFC 7946 for details.

Name	Type	Description
bbox	number[]	Bounding box. Projection used - EPSG:3857. Please refer to RFC 7946 for details.
coordinates	number[]	A `Position` is an array of numbers with two or more elements. The first two elements are longitude and latitude, precisely in that order. Altitude/Elevation is an optional third element. Please refer to RFC 7946 for details.
type	string: Point	Specifies the `GeoJSON` type. Must be one of the nine valid GeoJSON object types - Point, MultiPoint, LineString, MultiLineString, Polygon, MultiPolygon, GeometryCollection, Feature and FeatureCollection.

Intersection

The address of the result.

Name	Type	Description
baseStreet	string	Primary street for the location.
displayName	string	Complete name of the intersection.
intersectionType	string	Type of intersection.
secondaryStreet1	string	The first intersecting street.
secondaryStreet2	string	If any, the second intersecting street.

MatchCodesEnum

One or more match code values that represent the geocoding level for each location in the response.

For example, a geocoded location with match codes of Good and Ambiguous means that more than one geocode location was found for the location information and that the geocode service did not have search up-hierarchy to find a match.

Similarly, a geocoded location with match codes of Ambiguous and UpHierarchy implies that a geocode location could not be found that matched all the provided location information, so the geocode service had to search up-hierarchy and found multiple matches at that level. An example of up an Ambiguous and UpHierarchy result is when you provide complete address information, but the geocode service cannot locate a match for the street address and instead returns information for more than one RoadBlock value.

The possible values are:

Good: The location has only one match or all returned matches are considered strong matches. For example, a query for New York returns several Good matches.

Ambiguous: The location is one of a set of possible matches. For example, when you query for the street address 128 Main St., the response may return two locations for 128 North Main St. and 128 South Main St. because there is not enough information to determine which option to choose.

UpHierarchy: The location represents a move up the geographic hierarchy. This occurs when a match for the location request was not found, so a less precise result is returned. For example, if a match for the requested address cannot be found, then a match code of UpHierarchy with a RoadBlock entity type may be returned.

Name	Type	Description
Ambiguous	string
Good	string
UpHierarchy	string

Properties

Name	Type	Description
address	Address	The address of the result
confidence	ConfidenceEnum	The level of confidence that the geocoded location result is a match. Use this value with the match code to determine for more complete information about the match. The confidence of a geocoded location is based on many factors including the relative importance of the geocoded location and the user’s location, if specified.
geocodePoints	GeocodePoints[]	A collection of geocode points that differ in how they were calculated and their suggested use.
matchCodes	MatchCodesEnum[]	One or more match code values that represent the geocoding level for each location in the response. For example, a geocoded location with match codes of `Good` and `Ambiguous` means that more than one geocode location was found for the location information and that the geocode service did not have search up-hierarchy to find a match. Similarly, a geocoded location with match codes of `Ambiguous` and `UpHierarchy` implies that a geocode location could not be found that matched all the provided location information, so the geocode service had to search up-hierarchy and found multiple matches at that level. An example of up an `Ambiguous` and `UpHierarchy` result is when you provide complete address information, but the geocode service cannot locate a match for the street address and instead returns information for more than one RoadBlock value. The possible values are: `Good`: The location has only one match or all returned matches are considered strong matches. For example, a query for New York returns several Good matches. `Ambiguous`: The location is one of a set of possible matches. For example, when you query for the street address 128 Main St., the response may return two locations for 128 North Main St. and 128 South Main St. because there is not enough information to determine which option to choose. `UpHierarchy`: The location represents a move up the geographic hierarchy. This occurs when a match for the location request was not found, so a less precise result is returned. For example, if a match for the requested address cannot be found, then a match code of `UpHierarchy` with a RoadBlock entity type may be returned.
type	string	One of: Address RoadBlock RoadIntersection Neighborhood PopulatedPlace Postcode1 AdminDivision1 AdminDivision2 CountryRegion

ReverseGeocodingResultTypeEnum

Specify entity types that you want in the response. Only the types you specify will be returned. If the point cannot be mapped to the entity types you specify, no location information is returned in the response. Default value is all possible entities. A comma separated list of entity types selected from the following options.

Address
Neighborhood
PopulatedPlace
Postcode1
AdminDivision1
AdminDivision2
CountryRegion

These entity types are ordered from the most specific entity to the least specific entity. When entities of more than one entity type are found, only the most specific entity is returned. For example, if you specify Address and AdminDistrict1 as entity types and entities were found for both types, only the Address entity information is returned in the response.

Name	Type	Description
Address	string
AdminDivision1	string
AdminDivision2	string
CountryRegion	string
Neighborhood	string
PopulatedPlace	string
Postcode1	string

UsageTypeEnum

The best use for the geocode point. Each geocode point is defined as a Route point, a Display point or both. Use Route points if you are creating a route to the location. Use Display points if you are showing the location on a map. For example, if the location is a park, a Route point may specify an entrance to the park where you can enter with a car, and a Display point may be a point that specifies the center of the park.

Name	Type	Description
Display	string
Route	string

Share via

Search - Get Reverse Geocoding

URI Parameters

Request Header

Responses

Security

AADToken

Scopes

subscription-key

SAS Token

Examples

Search point -122.138681, 47.630358

Sample request

Sample response

Definitions

Address

AdminDistricts

CalculationMethodEnum

ConfidenceEnum

CountryRegion

ErrorAdditionalInfo

ErrorDetail

ErrorResponse

FeatureCollectionEnum

FeaturesItem

FeatureTypeEnum

GeocodePoints

GeocodingResponse

GeoJsonPoint

Intersection

MatchCodesEnum

Properties

ReverseGeocodingResultTypeEnum

UsageTypeEnum

Additional resources