API Adresse

About API Adresse

API Adresse is a French government geocoding service operated as part of the Base Adresse Nationale (BAN), the national address database. It provides direct geocoding, converting a postal address, place name, or cadastral parcel into geographic coordinates, and reverse geocoding, returning the nearest matching addresses, place names, cadastral parcels, or administrative units from a given latitude/longitude point. Both types of geocoding are available as single unit calls or as batch processing of CSV files, and a CSV geocoding tool is provided on the site.

The service is free and public, aimed at developers and organizations needing to integrate address search and coordinate matching into their own systems. It is noted on the page that this API is deprecated and being merged into a new Geoplateforme geocoding service, with the api-adresse.data.gouv.fr URL scheduled for decommissioning at the end of January 2026; users are advised to migrate to the new service.

Usage is rate-limited to 50 calls per IP per second to ensure fair use of the service; exceeding this limit triggers an HTTP 429 error with a 5-second block indicated via a retry-after header. Public-sector users facing this limitation can request an exemption for public service missions, and users with heavier needs can alternatively self-host an instance of the API on their own servers using Docker with BAN data. The underlying geocoding engine is updated from BAN data twice a week.

Key features

• Direct geocoding: converts a postal address, place name, or cadastral parcel into geographic coordinates
• Bulk geocoding of CSV files via unitary or batch file calls
• Geocoder data refreshed from the BAN twice a week
• Free public service covering the full French address database

Frequently asked questions