Search for an address

Geocoding is the process of converting address or place text into a location. The Geocoding service can search for an address or a place and can also perform reverse geocoding.

In this tutorial, you find the location of an address using the Geocoding service.

Prerequisites

You need an ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online account.

Steps

Create a new pen

If you are using the CDN libraries, to get started.

Get an access token

You need an access token with the correct privileges to access the resources used in this tutorial.

Go to the Create an API key tutorial and create an API key with the following privilege(s):
- Privileges:
  - Location services > Geocoding
Copy the API key access token to your clipboard when prompted.

In CodePen, update the accessToken variable to use your access token.

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const accessToken = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";

const authentication = arcgisRest.ApiKeyManager.fromKey(accessToken);

To learn about the other types of authentication available, go to Types of authentication.

Make the request

Copy and paste the code below, following the steps to make a request to the Geocoding service.

Reference the ArcGIS REST JS libraries either through CDN, ES Modules, or Node JS.
1. Set the accessToken with an API key access token from API key credentials.
Define the parameters needed for the request.
Call the Geocoding service and handle the results.

CDN

ES Modules

Node JS

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    <!-- require ArcGIS REST JS libraries from https://unpkg.com -->
    <script src="https://unpkg.com/@esri/arcgis-rest-request@4/dist/bundled/request.umd.js"></script>
    <script src="https://unpkg.com/@esri/arcgis-rest-geocoding@4/dist/bundled/geocoding.umd.js"></script>

    <script>
      /* when including ArcGIS REST JS all exports are available
    from the same arcgisRest global */

      const accessToken = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";

      const authentication = arcgisRest.ApiKeyManager.fromKey(accessToken);

      arcgisRest
        .geocode({
          address: "1600 Pennsylvania Ave",
          postal: 20500,
          countryCode: "USA",
          authentication
        })
        .then((response) => {
          console.log("Candidates:", response.candidates);
          document.getElementById("result").textContent = JSON.stringify(response.candidates, null, 2);
        });

    </script>
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Result

Below is the response from the service:

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[
  {
    "address": "1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20500",
    "location": {
      "x": -77.03654699820865,
      "y": 38.89767510765125,
      "spatialReference": {
        "wkid": 4326,
        "latestWkid": 4326
      }
    },
    "score": 99.22,
    "attributes": {},
    "extent": {
      "xmin": -77.03754699820865,
      "ymin": 38.896675107651255,
      "xmax": -77.03554699820864,
      "ymax": 38.89867510765125,
      "spatialReference": {
        "wkid": 4326,
        "latestWkid": 4326
      }
    }
  }
]

See full response

What's next?

Learn how to use additional ArcGIS location services in these tutorials:

Find a route and directions

Find a route and directions for an origin and destination by accessing the route service.

Get layer metadata

Access the name, description, type and other properties of a hosted layer.

Find service areas

Create a service area that can be reached from a location within a drive time with the route service.