Nominatim Geocoder & Reverse Geocoder

Nominatim is OpenStreetMap's geocoding software.

It can convert:

• a place or address into geographic coordinates;
• coordinates into a nearby OpenStreetMap place/address representation.

This makes it useful as a geographic candidate-generation tool inside OSINT workflows.

Forward geocoding

Input:

Piazza Maggiore, Bologna

Output can include candidate coordinates and an OpenStreetMap display name.

The result is a geocoder candidate.

It does not prove that a photograph, person or event was located there.

Reverse geocoding

Input:

44.4939, 11.3428

Nominatim returns the nearest suitable OpenStreetMap object represented by its reverse-geocoding logic.

That can differ from the object a human expects.

Always inspect the map/context.

OSINT.dev execution policy

OSINT.dev does not use the public OpenStreetMap Foundation Nominatim endpoint as a generic high-volume backend.

Native execution remains disabled until a dedicated, self-hosted or otherwise compliant Nominatim provider is configured through NOMINATIM_BASE_URL.

This protects both service policy compliance and product reliability.

Attribution

Results derived from OpenStreetMap data require appropriate attribution:

© OpenStreetMap contributors

References

• Nominatim API https://nominatim.org/release-docs/latest/api/Overview/

• OpenStreetMap Foundation Nominatim Usage Policy https://operations.osmfoundation.org/policies/nominatim/