Geocoding API

POST Reverse Geocode

The reverse geocoding service allows a latitude and longitude to be converted to a location.

Note: For Reverse Geocode native language support to work, the client should pass a header parameter accept-language which takes ISO-2 country codes as its value with the request.

Resource URL

https://www.mapquestapi.com/geocoding/v1/reverse

Resource Information

Response Formats	JSON, XML, CSV
Authentication	Yes (Requires Key)
Rate Limited	Yes

Request Parameters

Request Parameter	Description	Required
key	The API Key, which is needed to make requests to MapQuest services.	Yes
outFormat	Specifies the format of the response. Must be one of the following, if supplied: json xml csv (character delimited) Example: XML response outFormat=xml	optional, defaults to json
callback	A JavaScript function name. The JSON-formatted response will be wrapped in a call to the supplied callback function name to provide JSONP functionality. This functionality might be needed to do cross-site scripting. See the Wikipedia.org entry for JSON for more details. Example: Callback callback=reverseGeocodeResult	optional

Request Body

Request Parameter	Description	Required
location	The latitude,longitude of the point to reverse geocode. Example: latitude,longitude "location": { "latLng": { "lat": 30.333472, "lng": -81.470448}}	Yes
includeNearestIntersection	Returns the nearest cross streets (intersection) to the given points. true: nearest intersection is returned. false: nearest intersection is not returned. Example: Return Nearest Intersection "includeNearestIntersection": true	optional, defaults to false
includeRoadMetadata	Returns speed limit and toll road data, if available. true: speed limit or toll road data is returned. false: speed limit or toll road data is not returned. Example: Road Metadata "includeRoadMetadata": true	optional, defaults to false

Options Object

Request Parameter	Description	Required
thumbMaps	This parameter tells the service whether it should return a URL to a static map thumbnail image for a location being geocoded. true: The response will include a URL to a static map image of the geocoded location. false: The response will not include a static map image URL. Example: Disable Static Map Response "options": {"thumbMaps": false}	optional, defaults to true
delimiter	Specifies the delimiter used in the csv response , | : ; Example: Pipe Delimiter "delimiter": "|"	optional, defaults to none, only in effect if outFormat=csv

Response Object

providedLocation	The provided location properties passed in the geocode request.
latLng	Returns the latitude/longitude for routing and is the nearest point on a road for the entrance.
street	Street address.
adminArea6	Neighborhood name.
adminArea5	City name.
adminArea4	County name.
adminArea3	State name.
adminArea1	Country name.
postalCode	Postal code.
type	Type of location. 's' = stop (default) 'v' = via
roadMetadata	Returns speed limit and toll road data, when available.
nearestIntersection	Returns nearest intersection (street pair) to a given point.
dragPoint	Is location a drag point? This option only applies when making a dragroute call. true = location is a drag point false = location is not a drag point (default)
displayLatLng	A lat/lng pair that can be helpful when showing this address as a Point of Interest.
geocodeQuality	The precision of the geocoded location. Refer to the Geocode Quality reference page for more information.
geocodeQualityCode	The five character quality code for the precision of the geocoded location. Refer to the Geocode Quality reference page for more information.
linkId	String that identifies the closest road to the address for routing purposes.
sideOfStreet	Specifies the side of street. 'L' = left 'R' = right 'M' = mixed 'N' = none (default)
info	This field contains information about the response. The statuscode subfield is an integer return value. Refer to the status codes page for more details about our status codes and error messages. The messages subfield is an array of error messages that describe the status

Example Request

POST https://www.mapquestapi.com/geocoding/v1/reverse?key=KEY

Example Request Body

JSON

{
  "location": {
    "latLng": {
      "lat": 30.333472,
      "lng": -81.470448
    }
  },
  "options": {
    "thumbMaps": false
  },
  "includeNearestIntersection": true,
  "includeRoadMetadata": true
}

XML

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<reverse>
  <location>
    <latLng>
      <lat>30.333472</lat>
      <lng>-81.470448</lng>
    </latLng>
  </location>
  <options>
    <thumbMaps>false</thumbMaps>
  </options>
  <includeNearestIntersection>true</includeNearestIntersection>
  <includeRoadMetadata>true</includeRoadMetadata>
</reverse>

Example Response

JSON

{
  "info": {
    "statuscode": 0,
    "copyright": {
      "text": "© 2023 MapQuest, Inc.",
      "imageUrl": "https://api.mqcdn.com/res/mqlogo.gif",
      "imageAltText": "© 2023 MapQuest, Inc."
    },
    "messages": []
  },
  "options": {
    "maxResults": 1,
    "thumbMaps": false,
    "ignoreLatLngInput": false
  },
  "results": [
    {
      "providedLocation": {
        "latLng": {
          "lat": 30.333472,
          "lng": -81.470448
        }
      },
      "locations": [
        {
          "street": "63 City Hall Sq",
          "adminArea6": "",
          "adminArea6Type": "Neighborhood",
          "adminArea5": "Boston",
          "adminArea5Type": "City",
          "adminArea4": "Suffolk",
          "adminArea4Type": "County",
          "adminArea3": "MA",
          "adminArea3Type": "State",
          "adminArea1": "US",
          "adminArea1Type": "Country",
          "postalCode": "02201-1001",
          "geocodeQualityCode": "L1AAA",
          "geocodeQuality": "ADDRESS",
          "dragPoint": false,
          "sideOfStreet": "L",
          "linkId": "0",
          "unknownInput": "",
          "type": "s",
          "latLng": {
            "lat": 30.333472,
            "lng": -81.470448
          },
          "displayLatLng": {
            "lat": 30.333472,
            "lng": -81.470448
          },
         "nearestIntersection": {
            "streetDisplayName": "Posey Cir",
            "distanceMeters": "851755.1608527573",
            "latLng": {
              "longitude": -87.523761,
              "latitude": 35.013434
            },
            "label": "Danley Rd & Posey Cir"
          },
          "roadMetadata": {
            "speedLimitUnits": "mph",
            "tollRoad": null,
            "speedLimit": 40
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

XML

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<response>
  <info>
    <statusCode>0</statusCode>
    <messages/>
    <copyright>
      <imageUrl>https://api.mqcdn.com/res/mqlogo.gif</imageUrl>
      <imageAltText>&#169; 2023 MapQuest, Inc.</imageAltText>
      <text>&#169; 2023 MapQuest, Inc.</text>
    </copyright>
  </info>
  <results>
    <result>
      <providedLocation>
        <latLng>
          <lat>30.333472</lat>
          <lng>-81.470448</lng>
        </latLng>
      </providedLocation>
      <locations>
        <location>
          <street>12714 Ashley Melisse Blvd</street>
          <adminArea6 type='Neighborhood'></adminArea6>
          <adminArea5 type='City'>Jacksonville</adminArea5>
          <adminArea3 type='State'>FL</adminArea3>
          <adminArea4 type='County'>Duval</adminArea4>
          <postalCode>32225</postalCode>
          <adminArea1 type='Country'>US</adminArea1>
          <geocodeQuality>ADDRESS</geocodeQuality>
          <geocodeQualityCode>L1AAA</geocodeQualityCode>
          <dragPoint>false</dragPoint>
          <sideOfStreet>R</sideOfStreet>
          <displayLatLng>
            <latLng>
              <lat>30.333472</lat>
              <lng>-81.470448</lng>
            </latLng>
          </displayLatLng>
          <linkId>0</linkId>
          <unknownInput/>
          <type>s</type>
          <latLng>
              <lat>30.333472</lat>
              <lng>-81.470448</lng>
          </latLng>
          <mapUrl>
            <![CDATA[https://www.mapquestapi.com/staticmap/v5/getmap?key=KEY&type=map&size=225,160&pois=purple-1,30.3334721,-81.4704483,0,0,|&amp;center=30.3334721,-81.4704483&zoom=15&rand=-553163060]]>
          </mapUrl>
          <nearestIntersection>
            <streetDisplayName>Posey Cir</streetDisplayName>
            <latLng>
              <latitude>35.013434</latitude>
              <longitude>-87.523761</longitude>
            </latLng>
            <distance>851755.1608527573</distance>
            <label>Danley Rd & Posey Cir</label>
          </nearestIntersection>
          <roadMetaData>
            <tollRoad/>
            <speedLimit>40</speedLimit>
            <speedLimitUnits>mph</speedLimitUnits>
          </roadMetaData>
        </location>
      </locations>
    </result>
  </results>
  <options>
    <maxResults>1</maxResults>
    <thumbMaps>true</thumbMaps>
    <ignoreLatLngInput>false</ignoreLatLngInput>
    <boundingBox/>
  </options>
</response>

CSV

"Country","State","County","City","PostalCode","Street","Lat","Lng","DragPoint","LinkId","Type","GeocodeQualityCode","GeocodeQuality","SideOfStreet","DisplayLat","DisplayLng"
"US","FL","Duval","Jacksonville","32225","12714 Ashley Melisse Blvd","30.333472","-81.470448","false","0","s","L1AAA","ADDRESS","R","30.333472","-81.470448"