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OS Places API

Address search and geocoding over AddressBase Premium - every UPRN in the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man, with current, provisional, and historic address records and TOID cross-references. Premium or PSGA licensed; no OpenAPI is published.

OS Places API is one of 12 APIs that Ordnance Survey publishes on the APIs.io network, described by a machine-readable OpenAPI specification.

Tagged areas include Addressing, Geocoding, UPRN, and Property Data. The published artifact set on APIs.io includes an OpenAPI specification, API documentation, and an API reference.

This API exposes 7 operations across 7 paths, organized into 7 resource areas, and defines 3 schemas. It is described by OpenAPI 3.0.1, at version v1.0.

Requests are made against a single base URL, https://api.os.uk/search/places/v1.

7 operations 7 paths 3 schemas 6 GET1 POST

Metadata

The identity and technical contract details declared by the specification.

Specification
OpenAPI 3.0.1
API Version
v1.0
Base URL
https://api.os.uk/search/places/v1
Authentication
API Key
Resource Areas
7

Authentication & Security 1

OS Places API declares 1 security scheme for authenticating requests. An API key is passed in the query as key (api-key). By default, every request must be authenticated.

Paths & Operations 7

Across 7 paths, the API surfaces 7 operations — 6 GET, 1 POST. They span 7 resource areas: Bounding box, Find, Nearest, Polygon, Postcode, Radius, UPRN. Each is listed below with its method, path, parameters, and response codes.

Bounding box 1

Find all addresses inside a bounding box.

GET
/bbox
Returns matched addresses within a bounding box.
getBbox 9 params → 200
Find 1

A free text search designed for quick use.

GET
/find
Returns matched addresses based on a free text search.
getFind 11 params → 200
Nearest 1

Find the closest address to a given point.

GET
/nearest
Returns closest addresses to a pair of coordinates (X and Y).
getNearest 8 params → 200
Polygon 1

Find all addresses in a polygon or multi-polygon object.

POST
/polygon
Returns matched addresses within a geoJSON polygon or multi-polygon object.
postPolygon 9 params body → 200
Postcode 1

A search based on a property’s postcode

GET
/postcode
Returns matched addresses based on a property's postcode.
getPostcode 8 params → 200
Radius 1

Find all addresses that intersect a given circle.

GET
/radius
Takes a pair of coordinates as the centre for a circle and returns all addresses that are intersected by it.
getRadius 10 params → 200
UPRN 1

A search that takes a UPRN as the search parameter.

GET
/uprn
Returns matched addresses based on a UPRN.
getUPRN 6 params → 200

Schemas 3

The contract defines 3 schemas that model the data the API accepts and returns. The most detailed are LPI (55 properties), DPA (43 properties), SearchResult (2 properties). Each schema is shown below with its type and property counts.

SearchResult
object
2 properties
DPA
object
43 properties
LPI
object
55 properties

Specification

The full machine-readable OpenAPI contract behind this narrative.

Source

ordnance-survey-places-openapi.json Raw ↑

Other APIs Ordnance Survey publishes across the network.

OS NGD API - Features
OS NGD API - Tiles
OS Downloads API
OS Net API
OS Names API
OS Linked Identifiers API
OS Match & Cleanse API (withdrawn)
OS Features API
OS Maps API
OS Vector Tile API
OS OAuth 2 API
Where this information came from

This is an independent, third-party profile of OS Places API, published by API Evangelist. We do not operate, host, resell, or support these APIs, and we are not affiliated with or endorsed by the company unless stated above. Everything here is built from publicly available information — the company's own site, developer portal, documentation, public repositories, and the specifications it publishes for public use. Nothing is obtained by breaching a system, defeating an access control, or using credentials.

The Kin Score and Agent Readiness rating are independently calculated assessments of a company's public API artifacts, scored against a published rubric. They are not certifications, endorsements, security assessments, or audits.

Corrections, re-scores, and removal are free — no partnership or purchase required, and you do not need to justify the request. A removed company is recorded as unrated, never scored zero for having asked. Acknowledgement within one business day; removal within two.

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