Reverse Geocoding
Reverse geocoding generates an address from a latitude and longitude.
How it works
The reverse geocoding API does not exactly compute the address for the coordinate it receives. It works by finding the closest suitable OSM object and returning its address information. This may occasionally lead to unexpected results.
First of all, Nominatim only includes OSM objects in its index that are suitable for searching. Small, unnamed paths for example are missing from the database and can therefore not be used for reverse geocoding either.
The other issue to be aware of is that the closest OSM object may not always have a similar enough address to the coordinate you were requesting. For example, in dense city areas it may belong to a completely different street.
Parameters
The main format of the reverse API is
<VECTOR-NOMINATIM-SERVICE_URL>/reverse?lat=<value>&lon=<value>&<params>
where lat and lon are latitude and longitude of a coordinate in WGS84
projection. The API returns exactly one result or an error when the coordinate
is in an area with no OSM data coverage.
Additional parameters are accepted as listed below.
The reverse API used to allow address lookup for a single OSM object by its OSM id. This use is now deprecated. Use the Address Lookup API instead.
Output format
format=[xml|json|jsonv2|geojson|geocodejson]
See Place Output Formats for details on each format. (Default: xml)
json_callback=<string>
Wrap JSON output in a callback function (JSONP) i.e. <string>(<json>).
Only has an effect for JSON output formats.
Output details
addressdetails=[0|1]
Include a breakdown of the address into elements. (Default: 1)
extratags=[0|1]
Include additional information in the result if available, e.g. wikipedia link, opening hours. (Default: 0)
namedetails=[0|1]
Include a list of alternative names in the results. These may include language variants, references, operator and brand. (Default: 0)
Language of results
accept-language=<browser language string>
Preferred language order for showing search results, overrides the value specified in the "Accept-Language" HTTP header. Either use a standard RFC2616 accept-language string or a simple comma-separated list of language codes.
Result limitation
zoom=[0-18]
Level of detail required for the address. Default: 18. This is a number that corresponds roughly to the zoom level used in XYZ tile sources in frameworks like Leaflet.js, Openlayers etc (Please take not that WGS84 zoom level is slightly different). In terms of address details the zoom levels are as follows:
| zoom | address detail |
|---|---|
| 3 | country |
| 5 | state |
| 8 | county |
| 10 | city |
| 14 | suburb |
| 16 | major streets |
| 17 | major and minor streets |
| 18 | building |
Polygon output
polygon_geojson=1polygon_kml=1polygon_svg=1polygon_text=1
Output geometry of results as a GeoJSON, KML, SVG or WKT. Only one of these options can be used at a time. (Default: 0)
polygon_threshold=0.0
Return a simplified version of the output geometry. The parameter is the tolerance in degrees with which the geometry may differ from the original geometry. Topology is preserved in the result. (Default: 0.0)
Other
email=<valid email address>
If you are making a large number of requests, please include an appropriate email address to identify your requests (only relevant when using the service in the internet).
debug=[0|1]
Output assorted developer debug information. Data on internals of Nominatim's "Search Loop" logic, and SQL queries. The output is (rough) HTML format. This overrides the specified machine readable format. (Default: 0)
Examples
/reverse.html?format=xml&lat=31.770454150126838&lon=35.20109340043129&zoom=18&addressdetails=1
<reversegeocode timestamp="Mon, 23 Jan 23 12:44:51 +0000"
attribution="Data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0. http://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright"
querystring="format=xml&lat=31.770454150126838&lon=35.20109340043129&zoom=18&addressdetails=1">
<result place_id="19306678" osm_type="node" osm_id="2260660571" lat="31.7704127" lon="35.2010157"
boundingbox="31.7703627,31.7704627,35.2009657,35.2010657" place_rank="30" address_rank="30">18,
Nave Shaanan, Nayot, Jerusalem, Jerusalem Subdistrict, Jerusalem District, 9218812, Israel</result>
<addressparts>
<house_number>18</house_number>
<road>Nave Shaanan</road>
<suburb>Nayot</suburb>
<city>Jerusalem</city>
<state_district>Jerusalem Subdistrict</state_district>
<state>Jerusalem District</state>
<ISO3166-2-lvl4>IL-JM</ISO3166-2-lvl4>
<postcode>9218812</postcode>
<country>Israel</country>
<country_code>il</country_code>
</addressparts>
</reversegeocode>
Example with format=jsonv2
/reverse.html?format=jsonv2&lat=32.06906022673506&lon=34.778194163532476
{
"place_id": 143009880,
"licence": "Data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0. https://osm.org/copyright",
"osm_type": "way",
"osm_id": 149962182,
"lat": "32.0691986",
"lon": "34.77800567065701",
"place_rank": 30,
"category": "building",
"type": "apartments",
"importance": 0.00000999999999995449,
"addresstype": "building",
"name": null,
"display_name": "109, Rothschild Boulevard, Tel Aviv, Lev Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel Aviv Subdistrict, Tel Aviv District, 6527401, Israel",
"address": {
"house_number": "109",
"road": "Rothschild Boulevard",
"residential": "Tel Aviv",
"suburb": "Lev Tel Aviv",
"city": "Tel Aviv-Yafo",
"state_district": "Tel Aviv Subdistrict",
"state": "Tel Aviv District",
"ISO3166-2-lvl4": "IL-TA",
"postcode": "6527401",
"country": "Israel",
"country_code": "il"
},
"boundingbox": [
"32.0690938",
"32.0693033",
"34.7778663",
"34.778145"
]
}
Example with format=geojson
/reverse.html?format=geojson&lat=31.258847882906082&lon=34.801318450147534
{
"type": "FeatureCollection",
"licence": "Data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0. https://osm.org/copyright",
"features": [
{
"type": "Feature",
"properties": {
"place_id": 161967817,
"osm_type": "way",
"osm_id": 219455608,
"place_rank": 30,
"category": "building",
"type": "yes",
"importance": 0.00000999999999995449,
"addresstype": "building",
"name": "מחלקות ילדים א-ד",
"display_name": "מחלקות ילדים א-ד, אשפוז יום כירורגי, Be'er Sheva Innovation District, Gimel, Beer Sheva, Beersheba Subdistrict, South District, 8452566, Israel",
"address": {
"building": "מחלקות ילדים א-ד",
"road": "אשפוז יום כירורגי",
"commercial": "Be'er Sheva Innovation District",
"suburb": "Gimel",
"city": "Beer Sheva",
"state_district": "Beersheba Subdistrict",
"state": "South District",
"ISO3166-2-lvl4": "IL-D",
"postcode": "8452566",
"country": "Israel",
"country_code": "il"
}
},
"bbox": [
34.8012294,
31.2585054,
34.8016819,
31.2589849
],
"geometry": {
"type": "Point",
"coordinates": [
34.801452912210586,
31.2586442
]
}
}
]
}
Example with format=geocodejson
/reverse.html?format=geocodejson&lat=31.77671359535347&lon=35.234473935516405
{
"type": "FeatureCollection",
"geocoding": {
"version": "0.1.0",
"attribution": "Data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0. https://osm.org/copyright",
"licence": "ODbL",
"query": "31.776713595353,35.234473935516"
},
"features": [
{
"type": "Feature",
"properties": {
"geocoding": {
"place_id": 267010108,
"osm_type": "way",
"osm_id": 817206833,
"type": "house",
"accuracy": 0,
"label": "Western Wall, Wilson's Arch, Jewish Quarter, Old City, Jerusalem, Jerusalem Subdistrict, Jerusalem District, 9511208, Israel",
"name": "Western Wall",
"country": "Israel",
"postcode": "9511208",
"state": "Jerusalem District",
"county": "Jerusalem Subdistrict",
"city": "Jerusalem",
"district": "Old City",
"locality": "Jewish Quarter",
"street": "Wilson's Arch",
"admin": {
"level4": "Jerusalem District",
"level5": "Jerusalem Subdistrict",
"level8": "Jerusalem",
"level9": "Old City",
"level10": "Jewish Quarter"
}
}
},
"geometry": {
"type": "Point",
"coordinates": [
35.23446114230339,
31.776734949999998
]
}
}
]
}