Reverse GeoCoder:Introduction

← Reverse GeoCoder Web Service Reference

Welcome to the Melissa Data Reverse GeoCoder Web Service. This web service provides the closest valid address(s), based on an input latitude and longitude. The user can optionally set the distance from the input coordinates – to reduce the number of returned output addresses, and a maximum number of records to be returned by the service.

In addition to valid addresses, the service will also return location information and an AddressKey. AddressKey can be used by other Melissa Data services to obtain additional information, such as RBDI (Residential/Business Delivery Indicator) or Property information.

Basic Procedures

Using ReverseGeo starts with creating a request. It must include your customer ID which serves as a key for accessing the service. You also need to select any options you want it to use, and how many records you want returned.

The main points in preparing a request for ReverseGeo are:

• Customer ID
• Input (Latitude, Longitude)
• Options (MaxDistance, MaxRecords)

Once the request is finished, you send it to the service and get back the response. The response contains a list of records that are the closest to the coordinates specified in the request. Each record in the response contains a deliverable address.

Options

There are two optional properties that the user can specify in the request: MaxDistance, and MaxRecords. These optional fields allow users to configure how they want the service to behave.

Results

Every response has an output property called Results, which describes the response we sent back. Generally, the codes tell you whether we were able to find a deliverable address(s) at the specified location, the coordinates are out of region (no addresses to return), or a status of any issues with the coordinates/request.

Single Record vs Batch

ReverseGeo web service takes only one record at a time. In other words each request has only one set of geo coordinates (latitude and longitude), but it does return an array of responses if multiple valid addresses are at that particular location.