Nominatim

Nominatim is an open-source (BSD-2-Clause) search engine for OpenStreetMap data, supporting forward geocoding (address to coordinates), reverse geocoding (coordinates to address), and address lookup by OSM ID. The OpenStreetMap Foundation runs a free public instance at nominatim.openstreetmap.org under a published usage policy, and the project is also widely self-hosted and resold by commercial providers (MapTiler, LocationIQ, Geocode Earth).

Nominatim publishes 7 API contracts indexed on the APIs.io network, including Deletable API, Details API, Lookup API, and 4 more. Tagged areas include Geocoding, OpenStreetMap, Maps, Location Services, and Open Source.

The Nominatim catalog on APIs.io includes 1 JSON-LD context and 2 Spectral governance rulesets.

Nominatim’s developer surface includes documentation, tooling, engineering blog, and 26 more developer resources.

🌐 Visit website 📡 Profile data on GitHub

42.4/100 developing ▬ flat Agent 20/100 agent aware Front door AI 1/6 silent Heartbeat 92/100 alive open core · GPL-3.0 Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-11-06 · rubric v0.27.0 · Show this score on your site →

AccessFree

1 published contract 8 Features 5 Use Cases

Geocoding OpenStreetMap Maps Location Services Open Source Public APIs

Kin Score

Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-11-06 · rubric v0.27.0

Composite quality — 42.4/100 · developing

Contract Quality 11.2 / 19

Developer Ergonomics 3.9 / 15

Access Clarity 2.4 / 15

Operational Transparency 2.8 / 10

Contract Governance 2.5 / 9

Discoverability 5.5 / 8

Regulatory Posture 2.2 / 15

Open Source Surface 8.5 / 10

Agent readiness — 20/100 · agent aware

Machine-Readable Contract 18 / 18

Agentic Access Contract 10 / 10

Documented Reversibility 6 / 6

MCP Server 0 / 12

Machine-Readable Auth 0 / 10

Idempotency 9 / 9

Stable Error Semantics 0 / 8

Request/Response Examples 7 / 7

Rate-Limit Signaling 7 / 7

Typed Event Surface 0 / 6

Agent Skills 0 / 5

Well-Known Catalog 0 / 4

Consent & Bot Identity 0 / 3

A2A Agent Card 0 / 8

Dry-Run / Simulate Mode 4 / 4

Delegated User Identity 0 / 6

Protected Resource Metadata 0 / 5

Registration Without a Human 0 / 6

Agentic Commerce Well-Known Document 0 / 5

Pagination 0 / 5

Distinct Operations 3 / 3

MCP Tool Quality 6 / 6

Regulatory Posture applies to this provider. Its tags matched the Horizontal (data, software, accessibility, platform) regime, so Regulatory Posture carries 15 points of the composite. If this regime is wrong for your business, say so on your provider repo — the applicability map is public and we will correct it.

Open Source Surface applies to this provider. This product is open source and we read its repository directly, so Open Source Surface carries 10 points of the composite. It is scored from what the repository actually publishes — a security policy, a contribution guide, a release history, a code of conduct — read live from the provider rather than inferred from our own catalog pointers. This facet adds; nothing was taken away to make room for it. An open-source project is not excused from the commercial facets, because exemption would strip it of the points it does earn. If we have the wrong repository, or this product is not open source, say so on your provider repo and we will drop the facet rather than have you publish against it.

Create-or-Update Ergonomics does not apply to this provider. The published contracts declare no write operations, and a read-only API cannot create-or-update. The facet is excluded from this provider's denominator entirely — not scored zero. A reference or data API is not deficient for being unable to upsert.

The six quality facets above are damped to 75 points between them, because both conditional facets apply and carry 25 points together. That is why each facet's contribution is shown against a damped maximum: raising a quality facet moves the composite by 75% of its nominal weight, not 100%. The full arithmetic is at apis.io/rating/.

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Agent readiness — checks not met, largest first (exact, from this profile):

MCP Server +12 pts — deployment.mode + probe verdict on the mcp/ manifest, not the pointer; an unprobed slug falls back to authorship
Machine-Readable Auth +10 pts — a served openid-configuration/oauth-authorization-server carrying `issuer` (served), else the securitySchemes class in the provider OpenAPIs — bound (mutualTLS, DPoP, Signature) > negotiable (oauth2 authorizationCode/clientCredentials, openIdConnect) > bearer (http bearer, apiKey)
Stable Error Semantics +8 pts — OpenAPI $refs a shared error schema across 4xx/5xx responses (verified), else common[].type includes ErrorCatalog / ErrorCodes / DeclineCodes
A2A Agent Card +8 pts — a2a/-a2a.yml manifest, graded on conformance.grade against A2A 1.0.0
Registration Without a Human +6 pts — a `registration_endpoint` in the served RFC 8414 / OIDC discovery document
Delegated User Identity +6 pts — a served discovery document listing authorization_code in grant_types_supported (served), else an oauth2 authorizationCode flow or openIdConnect declared in an OpenAPI (documented)

7 more unmet checks in the Agent Readiness table above.

Kin Score — facets with the most composite points still available (weight × headroom):

Access Clarity scores 15.8 — up to +16.8 composite points
Developer Ergonomics scores 26.2 — up to +14.8 composite points
Contract Quality scores 59.8 — up to +10.1 composite points

Each check links to what satisfies it. Publish the artifact, or tell us where it already lives, and the score moves on the next scoring run.

Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. Every facet and dimension name above is a link: it opens that measurement's own page — what it means, the exact checks that feed it, how the whole catalog distributes on it, and the providers at the top of it. This rating is computed from the provider profile at artifacts.apis.io/nominatim/apis.yml: open an issue on github.com/api-evangelist/nominatim to ask a question or point us at an artifact you publish. Submit an artifact on GitHub — free → Manage your own listing — the Influence plan, $499/mo →

Markets this provider is in provisional

The Kin Score Market layer reads a provider inside its market: its position, and how deep its integrations go. Depth is only comparable within a position. Provisional and unweighted: not part of the Kin Score or agent readiness.

Market	Position	Depth	Registered MCP server	Declares compatibility
Geospatial and Maps (OGC standards)	unknown	2.5 (thin)	-	-
Obsidian Community Plugins (third-party APIs the Obsidian plugin ecosystem integrates)	unknown	2.5 (thin)	-	-
Overture Maps Foundation (members + data contributors)	unknown	2.5 (thin)	-	-

Registered MCP server and declares compatibility are report only — not weighted. Undeclared means we found nothing we can read, so there is no number: we never infer integrations.

Standards implemented 1

Standards this provider implements or carries. De facto ones are profiled and measured by the API Commons; formal ones come from the standards directory and are linked by the provider's own tags. The evidence column says how each claim was established — not that it was made.

OpenAPI

measured — observed by APIs.io (published)

APIs 7

Individual APIs this provider publishes, each with its own machine-readable definition.

Nominatim Deletable API

Objects removed from OpenStreetMap but retained in Nominatim.

Nominatim Details API

Internal place details, intended for debugging.

Nominatim Lookup API

Look up address details for OSM objects by their OSM ID.

Nominatim Polygons API

Problematic polygon data detected by the system.

Nominatim Reverse API

Reverse geocoding — find the closest OSM object to a coordinate.

Nominatim Search API

Forward geocoding — search OSM objects by name or address.

Nominatim Status API

Service and database status reporting.

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Open Collections 8

Open, tool-agnostic API collections (OpenAPI-derived and Bruno).

Nominatim Deletable API

OPEN COLLECTION

Nominatim Deletable Details API

OPEN COLLECTION

Nominatim Deletable Lookup API

OPEN COLLECTION

Nominatim Deletable Polygons API

OPEN COLLECTION

Nominatim Deletable Reverse API

OPEN COLLECTION

Nominatim Deletable Search API

OPEN COLLECTION

Nominatim Deletable Status API

OPEN COLLECTION

Nominatim API

OPEN COLLECTION

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Nominatim API pricing

Not yet checked against Nominatim's own pricing page. Compiled by API Evangelist; confirm before you rely on a figure. A free plan or tier is listed.

Plan	Price
OSMF Public Nominatim free	—
Self-Hosted Nominatim foss	—

Plan details, limits and sources →

Pricing Plans 1

Published pricing tiers and plan structures.

Nominatim Plans Pricing

2 plans

PLANS

Rate Limits 1

Documented rate limits and quota policies.

Nominatim Rate Limits

0 limits

RATE LIMITS

Service Levels 1

Uptime the provider promises or reports, as SLA4OAI. Read from its own pages; APIs.io runs no monitors.

Nominatim

SLA

Features 8

Notable capabilities this provider offers.

Forward Geocoding

Convert free-form or structured addresses into coordinates and full place metadata.

Reverse Geocoding

Identify the closest OSM feature to a coordinate at a chosen administrative zoom level.

OSM Object Lookup

Resolve up to 50 OSM nodes/ways/relations to detailed address breakdowns per call.

Multi-Format Output

Returns json, jsonv2, geojson, geocodejson, and xml from a single endpoint via `format`.

Polygon Geometry

Optional geometry output as GeoJSON, KML, SVG, or WKT with a simplification tolerance.

Country And Layer Filtering

Bias or restrict results by ISO country code, viewbox, layer (address/poi/etc.), or feature type.

Service Health

/status endpoint exposes data freshness, software version, and database version for monitoring.

Self-Hostable

Install on your own infrastructure from a planet.osm.pbf import; BSD-2-Clause licensed.

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Semantic Vocabularies 1

JSON-LD contexts and semantic vocabularies used across these APIs.

Nominatim Context

33 classes · 3 properties

JSON-LD

Spectral Rules 2

Spectral governance rulesets for linting and validating these APIs.

Nominatim — jsonschema rules

5 rules · 4 warnings 1 info

SPECTRAL

Nominatim API Rules

9 rules · 5 errors 3 warnings 1 info

SPECTRAL

JSON Schema 4

Standalone JSON Schema definitions for this provider's data models.

Address

16 properties

JSON SCHEMA

PlaceDetails

25 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Place

20 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Status

5 properties

JSON SCHEMA

JSON Structure 3

JSON Structure definitions describing this provider's data shapes.

Nominatim Address Structure

0 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Nominatim Place Structure

0 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Nominatim Status Structure

0 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Examples 7

Example request and response payloads for these APIs.

Nominatim Address Example

12 fields

EXAMPLE

Nominatim Details Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Nominatim Lookup Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Nominatim Place Example

17 fields

EXAMPLE

Nominatim Reverse Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Nominatim Search Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Nominatim Status Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

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Security Posture 1

Authentication, domain security, vulnerability disclosure, and trust-center signals.

Nominatim Domain Security

TLSv1.2 · HSTS · DNSSEC · DMARC

SECURITY

Agentic Access 1

Recommended x-agentic-access execution contracts for AI agents.

Nominatim Agentic Access

7 operations

7 operations · 0 acting

AGENTIC

Use Cases 5

What developers build with this provider.

Map Search Box

Power "find a place" search boxes in OSM-based map applications.

Reverse Geocoding For Telemetry

Attach human-readable addresses to coordinates collected from devices, vehicles, or sensors.

Civic Tech And Open Data

Provide geocoding for public-interest tools where commercial pricing is a barrier.

Background Address Normalisation

When self-hosted, normalize address strings in pipelines without per-call costs.

AI Agents With Map Tools

Ground LLM agents in real-world places via an MCP server backed by Nominatim.

Integrations 8

Pre-built integrations with other platforms and tools.

geopy

Python geocoding library shipping a built-in Nominatim adapter.

GeoDjango

Django GIS framework with Nominatim geocoder support.

Leaflet Control Geocoder

Leaflet plugin offering a Nominatim geocoder out of the box.

OpenLayers

Web mapping library frequently paired with Nominatim for search.

QGIS MMQGIS

Desktop GIS plugin that batch-geocodes via Nominatim.

MapTiler Cloud Geocoding

Commercial hosted Nominatim-style API from MapTiler.

LocationIQ

Commercial Nominatim-compatible geocoding/routing platform.

Geocode Earth

Commercial Pelias deployment (Nominatim-compatible workloads).

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Solutions 3

Packaged solutions this provider offers.

OSMF Public Instance

Free hosted Nominatim under the OSMF Usage Policy (1 req/sec ceiling).

Self-Hosted Nominatim

BSD-2-Clause stack you import a planet dump into; no upstream rate limits.

Commercial Hosted Nominatim

Paid hosted offerings from MapTiler, LocationIQ, Geocode Earth and others.

Resources

Documentation 2

Reference material describing how the API behaves

ContributionGuide

ContributionGuide

Documentation

Documentation

Agent Surfaces 1

MCP servers, agent skills, and machine-readable catalogs

AgenticAccess

AgenticAccess

Design & Contract 2

Pagination, idempotency, versioning, errors, and events

Vocabulary

Vocabulary

SpectralRules

SpectralRules

Build 14

SDKs, sample code, and the tooling you integrate with

GitHubOrganization

GitHubOrganization

Nominatim core (Python)

GitHubRepository

Nominatim debug UI (Svelte)

GitHubRepository

Data Analyser QA tool

GitHubRepository

Wikipedia/Wikidata preprocessing

GitHubRepository

US Census TIGER preprocessing

GitHubRepository

GB postcode preprocessing

GitHubRepository

Country grid preprocessing

GitHubRepository

Secondary importance raster builder

GitHubRepository

osmmcp — OpenStreetMap MCP Server (Nominatim + Overpass + OSRM)

Tools

geocoding-ai/mcp — Nominatim Geocoding MCP Server (Node.js)

Tools

geocode-mcp — Nominatim Geocoding MCP Server (Python)

Tools

open-streetmap-mcp — OpenStreetMap MCP Server

Tools

Unofficial Nominatim OpenAPI spec

Tools

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Access & Security 2

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

SecurityPolicy

SecurityPolicy

DomainSecurity

DomainSecurity

Operate 3

Status, limits, changes, and where to get help

IssueTracker

IssueTracker

Releases

Releases

RateLimits

RateLimits

Commercial 3

Pricing, plans, and the legal terms of use

License

License

Nominatim Usage Policy

TermsOfService

Plans

Plans

Company 2

The organization behind the API

Website

Website

Blog

Blog

Source (apis.yml)

aid: nominatim
name: Nominatim
description: Nominatim is an open-source (BSD-2-Clause) search engine for OpenStreetMap data, supporting forward geocoding
  (address to coordinates), reverse geocoding (coordinates to address), and address lookup by OSM ID. The OpenStreetMap Foundation
  runs a free public instance at nominatim.openstreetmap.org under a published usage policy, and the project is also widely
  self-hosted and resold by commercial providers (MapTiler, LocationIQ, Geocode Earth).
url: https://nominatim.org/
deliveryModel:
  model: open-core
  license: GPL-3.0
  open_source: true
  commercial: true
  callable_host: true
  label: Open core · an OSS project plus a commercial hosted product
  confidence: high
  source:
  - license
  - openapi
  - pricing
  generated: '2026-08-28'
  method: derived
accessModel:
  pricing: free
  onboarding: unknown
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Free
  confidence: low
  source:
  - plans
  - security
  generated: '2026-11-06'
  method: derived
image: https://nominatim.org/theme/images/osm-logo.svg
specificationVersion: '0.23'
created: '2026-05-28'
modified: '2026-05-29'
x-source: public-apis/public-apis
x-type: opensource
x-category: Geocoding
x-tier: 3
x-tier-reason: bulk-registered-from-public-apis
x-license: BSD-2-Clause
x-governance: OpenStreetMap Foundation (operations)
tags:
- Geocoding
- OpenStreetMap
- Maps
- Location Services
- Open Source
- Public APIs
tags_raw:
- Geocoding
- OpenStreetMap
- Maps
- LocationServices
- OpenSource
- Public APIs
- Open-Source
apis:
- aid: nominatim:nominatim-deletable-api
  name: Nominatim Deletable API
  description: Objects removed from OpenStreetMap but retained in Nominatim.
  humanURL: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  baseURL: https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org
  tags:
  - Deletable
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/nominatim-deletable-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Search/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-address-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-details-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-status-schema.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-place-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-address-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-status-structure.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: json-ld/nominatim-context.jsonld
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-search-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-reverse-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-lookup-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-details-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-status-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-place-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-address-example.json
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/nominatim-rate-limits.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/nominatim-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/nominatim-api/
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/geopy/
- aid: nominatim:nominatim-details-api
  name: Nominatim Details API
  description: Internal place details, intended for debugging.
  humanURL: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  baseURL: https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org
  tags:
  - Details
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/nominatim-details-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Search/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-address-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-details-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-status-schema.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-place-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-address-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-status-structure.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: json-ld/nominatim-context.jsonld
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-search-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-reverse-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-lookup-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-details-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-status-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-place-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-address-example.json
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/nominatim-rate-limits.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/nominatim-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/nominatim-api/
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/geopy/
- aid: nominatim:nominatim-lookup-api
  name: Nominatim Lookup API
  description: Look up address details for OSM objects by their OSM ID.
  humanURL: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  baseURL: https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org
  tags:
  - Lookup
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/nominatim-lookup-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Search/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-address-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-details-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-status-schema.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-place-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-address-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-status-structure.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: json-ld/nominatim-context.jsonld
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-search-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-reverse-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-lookup-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-details-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-status-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-place-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-address-example.json
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/nominatim-rate-limits.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/nominatim-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/nominatim-api/
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/geopy/
- aid: nominatim:nominatim-polygons-api
  name: Nominatim Polygons API
  description: Problematic polygon data detected by the system.
  humanURL: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  baseURL: https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org
  tags:
  - Polygons
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/nominatim-polygons-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Search/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-address-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-details-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-status-schema.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-place-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-address-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-status-structure.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: json-ld/nominatim-context.jsonld
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-search-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-reverse-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-lookup-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-details-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-status-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-place-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-address-example.json
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/nominatim-rate-limits.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/nominatim-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/nominatim-api/
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/geopy/
- aid: nominatim:nominatim-reverse-api
  name: Nominatim Reverse API
  description: Reverse geocoding — find the closest OSM object to a coordinate.
  humanURL: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  baseURL: https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org
  tags:
  - Reverse
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/nominatim-reverse-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Search/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-address-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-details-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-status-schema.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-place-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-address-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-status-structure.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: json-ld/nominatim-context.jsonld
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-search-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-reverse-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-lookup-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-details-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-status-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-place-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-address-example.json
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/nominatim-rate-limits.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/nominatim-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/nominatim-api/
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/geopy/
- aid: nominatim:nominatim-search-api
  name: Nominatim Search API
  description: Forward geocoding — search OSM objects by name or address.
  humanURL: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  baseURL: https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org
  tags:
  - Search
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/nominatim-search-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Search/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-address-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-details-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-status-schema.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-place-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-address-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-status-structure.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: json-ld/nominatim-context.jsonld
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-search-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-reverse-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-lookup-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-details-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-status-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-place-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-address-example.json
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/nominatim-rate-limits.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/nominatim-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/nominatim-api/
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/geopy/
- aid: nominatim:nominatim-status-api
  name: Nominatim Status API
  description: Service and database status reporting.
  humanURL: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  baseURL: https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org
  tags:
  - Status
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/nominatim-status-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Overview/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/api/Search/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-address-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-place-details-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/nominatim-status-schema.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-place-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-address-structure.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/nominatim-status-structure.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: json-ld/nominatim-context.jsonld
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-search-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-reverse-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-lookup-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-details-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-status-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-place-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/nominatim-address-example.json
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/nominatim-rate-limits.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/nominatim-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/nominatim-api/
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/geopy/
common:
- type: IssueTracker
  url: https://github.com/osm-search/Nominatim/issues
- type: Releases
  url: https://github.com/osm-search/Nominatim/releases
- type: SecurityPolicy
  url: https://github.com/osm-search/Nominatim/blob/master/SECURITY.md
- type: ContributionGuide
  url: https://github.com/osm-search/Nominatim/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md
- type: License
  name: GPL-3.0
  url: https://github.com/osm-search/Nominatim/blob/master/LICENSE
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/nominatim-agentic-access.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/nominatim-domain-security.yml
- type: Website
  url: https://nominatim.org/
- type: Documentation
  url: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/develop/
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/osm-search
- type: GitHubRepository
  url: https://github.com/osm-search/Nominatim
  title: Nominatim core (Python)
- type: GitHubRepository
  url: https://github.com/osm-search/nominatim-ui
  title: Nominatim debug UI (Svelte)
- type: GitHubRepository
  url: https://github.com/osm-search/Nominatim-Data-Analyser
  title: Data Analyser QA tool
- type: GitHubRepository
  url: https://github.com/osm-search/wikipedia-wikidata
  title: Wikipedia/Wikidata preprocessing
- type: GitHubRepository
  url: https://github.com/osm-search/TIGER-data
  title: US Census TIGER preprocessing
- type: GitHubRepository
  url: https://github.com/osm-search/gb-postcode-data
  title: GB postcode preprocessing
- type: GitHubRepository
  url: https://github.com/osm-search/country-grid-data
  title: Country grid preprocessing
- type: GitHubRepository
  url: https://github.com/osm-search/secondary-importance
  title: Secondary importance raster builder
- type: TermsOfService
  url: https://operations.osmfoundation.org/policies/nominatim/
  title: Nominatim Usage Policy
- type: RateLimits
  url: rate-limits/nominatim-rate-limits.yml
- type: Plans
  url: plans/nominatim-plans-pricing.yml
- type: Vocabulary
  url: vocabulary/nominatim-vocabulary.yml
- type: SpectralRules
  url: rules/nominatim-rules.yml
- type: Tools
  url: https://github.com/NERVsystems/osmmcp
  title: osmmcp — OpenStreetMap MCP Server (Nominatim + Overpass + OSRM)
- type: Tools
  url: https://github.com/geocoding-ai/mcp
  title: geocoding-ai/mcp — Nominatim Geocoding MCP Server (Node.js)
- type: Tools
  url: https://github.com/X-McKay/geocode-mcp
  title: geocode-mcp — Nominatim Geocoding MCP Server (Python)
- type: Tools
  url: https://github.com/jagan-shanmugam/open-streetmap-mcp
  title: open-streetmap-mcp — OpenStreetMap MCP Server
- type: Tools
  url: https://github.com/sparkfabrik/nominatim-openapi
  title: Unofficial Nominatim OpenAPI spec
- type: Features
  data:
  - name: Forward Geocoding
    description: Convert free-form or structured addresses into coordinates and full place metadata.
  - name: Reverse Geocoding
    description: Identify the closest OSM feature to a coordinate at a chosen administrative zoom level.
  - name: OSM Object Lookup
    description: Resolve up to 50 OSM nodes/ways/relations to detailed address breakdowns per call.
  - name: Multi-Format Output
    description: Returns json, jsonv2, geojson, geocodejson, and xml from a single endpoint via `format`.
  - name: Polygon Geometry
    description: Optional geometry output as GeoJSON, KML, SVG, or WKT with a simplification tolerance.
  - name: Country And Layer Filtering
    description: Bias or restrict results by ISO country code, viewbox, layer (address/poi/etc.), or feature type.
  - name: Service Health
    description: /status endpoint exposes data freshness, software version, and database version for monitoring.
  - name: Self-Hostable
    description: Install on your own infrastructure from a planet.osm.pbf import; BSD-2-Clause licensed.
- type: UseCases
  data:
  - name: Map Search Box
    description: Power "find a place" search boxes in OSM-based map applications.
  - name: Reverse Geocoding For Telemetry
    description: Attach human-readable addresses to coordinates collected from devices, vehicles, or sensors.
  - name: Civic Tech And Open Data
    description: Provide geocoding for public-interest tools where commercial pricing is a barrier.
  - name: Background Address Normalisation
    description: When self-hosted, normalize address strings in pipelines without per-call costs.
  - name: AI Agents With Map Tools
    description: Ground LLM agents in real-world places via an MCP server backed by Nominatim.
- type: Integrations
  data:
  - name: geopy
    description: Python geocoding library shipping a built-in Nominatim adapter.
  - name: GeoDjango
    description: Django GIS framework with Nominatim geocoder support.
  - name: Leaflet Control Geocoder
    description: Leaflet plugin offering a Nominatim geocoder out of the box.
  - name: OpenLayers
    description: Web mapping library frequently paired with Nominatim for search.
  - name: QGIS MMQGIS
    description: Desktop GIS plugin that batch-geocodes via Nominatim.
  - name: MapTiler Cloud Geocoding
    description: Commercial hosted Nominatim-style API from MapTiler.
  - name: LocationIQ
    description: Commercial Nominatim-compatible geocoding/routing platform.
  - name: Geocode Earth
    description: Commercial Pelias deployment (Nominatim-compatible workloads).
- type: Solutions
  data:
  - name: OSMF Public Instance
    description: Free hosted Nominatim under the OSMF Usage Policy (1 req/sec ceiling).
  - name: Self-Hosted Nominatim
    description: BSD-2-Clause stack you import a planet dump into; no upstream rate limits.
  - name: Commercial Hosted Nominatim
    description: Paid hosted offerings from MapTiler, LocationIQ, Geocode Earth and others.
- url: https://nominatim.org/feed.xml
  type: Blog
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com

Nominatim API — frequently asked questions

Does Nominatim have an API?

Yes. APIs.io lists 7 APIs from Nominatim, including Nominatim Deletable API, Nominatim Details API and Nominatim Lookup API, and 4 more.

Is there an OpenAPI specification for the Nominatim API?

Yes. APIs.io indexes 7 OpenAPI specifications for Nominatim, each linked for download from this page.

How much does the Nominatim API cost?

APIs.io lists 2 pricing plans for Nominatim, with each plan's price, limits and inclusions under Pricing on this page.

Is the Nominatim API ready for AI agents?

Nominatim has a Kin Score of 42.4 out of 100 (developing) and an Agent Readiness score of 19.9 (agent-aware), scored by API Evangelist on 2026-11-06.

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