About this API
The Base Adresse Nationale (BAN) is France's authoritative, state-maintained address dataset. The Géoplateforme geocoding service exposes it through a simple REST API: for a free-text query (address, place name, cadastral parcel) it returns matching features with coordinates, a normalised address label and a relevance score. Responses are GeoJSON (a FeatureCollection), so they drop straight into mapping libraries and GIS tools without conversion. Single lookups use GET; bulk file geocoding is available over POST, along with reverse geocoding (coordinates to address). The index is refreshed weekly from BAN data. The service is run by IGN as part of the Géoplateforme, and the data is published under the Etalab Open Licence 2.0.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an API key?
No. The API is fully open — no key, registration or authentication is required. A plain HTTP GET request to the /geocodage/search endpoint is enough.
What data does this API return?
For a given address (or place name or cadastral parcel) it returns matching features as GeoJSON: geographic coordinates (WGS84), a normalised address label, the municipality code and name, postcode and a match relevance score. The data comes from the Base Adresse Nationale, France's authoritative address register.
Can this API be called directly from a browser?
Yes. The service returns an open CORS header (Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *), so it works directly from front-end code in the browser — which is why this page has a working “Try it” button.
Who runs this API?
The service is operated by IGN (Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière — France's national institute of geographic and forest information) as part of the Géoplateforme platform. The Base Adresse Nationale data is published under the Etalab Open Licence 2.0.