Search Types

  • Search types are used to influence service operation behavior. If no search type is given then the PlaceSearch operation will default to BestMatch.
Name Description
All Instructs the service to return all possible matches.
BestMatch * Instructs the service to try and find the best possible match for the given place or address, allowing the service to use cascading logic to search through various levels of data. This search type is useful if you are unsure of what you are submitting. Sometimes users are unsure if they have a full address, a partial address or simply the name of a place. Use this Search Type to let the service try and figure it out for you if you are unsure. This is the default if no SearchType is given.
Address * Instructs the service to try and find an address level match.
Thoroughfare * Instructs the service to try and find a thoroughfare level match. This search type can be used to search for roads by name or to search for addresses with missing address numbers. It is usually best to not provide additional address elements, such as the address number or postal code as they may interfere with the query.
Locality * Instructs the service to try and find a locality level match. This search type can be use to search for neighborhoods, towns, cities and other various localities by name. It is usually best to not provide additional address elements, such as the address number or thoroughfare as they may interfere with the query.
AdminArea * Instructs the service to try and find an administrative area level match. This search type can be used to search for districts, counties, states, provinces and other various types administrative areas. It is usually best to just provide an admin area and country for this search type.
PostalCode * Instructs the service to try and find a postal code level match. It is usually best to just provide the postal code and country for this search type.
* If a single match cannot be found then more than one result may be returned.

Extras

Name Description
URLs  Enables the inclusion of helpful URLs in the output, such as a Google Maps URL with the coordinates to the location.
Census  Enables US census elements such as the census tract and block ID. Census elements are provided where available.

Status

Name Description
OK Indicates that the search was successful and that a single best match was found.
MULTIPLE Indicates that the search was successful and that multiple matches were found.
AMBIGUOUS Indicates that the search found multiple ambiguous matches and was not able to determine to determine a best match. This can occur when the input address is lacking information.
For example, if the input address was missing a directional such as ‘123 Main St.’ and the service found ‘123 N. Main St.’ and ‘123 S. Main St.’, then both would be equally valid and the service would be unable to choose between the two. Another example would be if the user were to submit a name of a place and a country. More than one match would likely be found and without additional information the service would be unable to choose a best result.
NOTFOUND Indicates that the search was successful, however no match was found for the given input.
ERROR Indicates that an error occurred during the query. See the “Error” output for details.

Note Codes & Descriptions

Name Code Description
CountryMissing 0 Indicates that a country value was not found in the input query.
AdminAreaMissing 1 Indicates that an admin area value was not found in the input query.
PostalCodeMissing 2 Indicates that a postal code value was not found in the input query.
LocalityMissing 3  Indicates that a locality value was not found in the input query.
ThoroughfareMissing 4 Indicates that a thoroughfare value was not found in the input query.
AddressNumberMissing 5  Indicates that an address number value was not found in the input query.
ThoroughfareFuzzyMatch 8 Indicates that the thoroughfare match was fuzzy.

Types

Name Description
POI Indicates that the location is for a Place of Interest or Point of Interest, such as a venue or landmark.
Address Indicates that the location is for an address of a building, resolving up to the primary address number, such as ’27 E Cota St’.
InterpolatedAddress Indicates that the location is for an interpolated address of a building where the address number location was calculated within a known range.
Thoroughfare Indicates that the location is for a street, road or highway.
Locality Indicates that the location is for a city, town, district, neighborhood or other type of community.
AdminArea Indicates that the location is for a state, province, territory , county or other form of administrative area.
PostalCode * Indicates that the location is for a ZIP or postcode.
Country  Indicates that the location is for a country.

Precision Levels

Level Description
1 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for a Country
2 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for an Admin Area or cluster of first order administrative areas.
3 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for an Admin Area. Likely a first order administrative area such as a state, territory or region.
4 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for an Admin Area. Likely a second order administrative area such as a county or cluster of second order administrative areas.
5 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for an Admin Area. Likely a third order administrative area such as a barrio or district.
6 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for an Admin Area. Likely a fourth order administrative area such as a sub-district.
7 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for a Locality such as a city or municipality.
8 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for a Locality, Postal Code or Admin Area.
9 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for a Locality (such as a borough) or Postal Code.
10 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for a Locality( such as an inner district) or Postal Code.
11 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for a Locality (such as a neighborhood or zone) or Postal Code.
12 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for a Locality (such as a campus or compound) or Postal Code.
13 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for a Thoroughfare (such as a street, road, or highway).
14 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for an Interpolated Address.
15 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for the Address of a building.
16 Indicates that the location coordinates represent a known point or centroid for a point of interest or place of interest POI such as a place of business or landmark.