Canadian · Converter
Plus code converter: plus code to lat long and back.
Turn a Plus Code (Open Location Code) into latitude and longitude, turn coordinates into a code, or recover a short code by giving a reference location. This checks format only: a Plus Code has no check digit, so it cannot tell you a place is named or inhabited. Everything runs in your browser: nothing you type is transmitted anywhere.
Inputs
Result
Enter a Plus Code or coordinates and press a convert button.
How Plus Codes work
A Plus Code is the everyday name for an Open Location Code (OLC), a public-domain scheme published by Google. It is a grid reference: the world is split into 20-degree blocks, each block into 20 by 20 squares, and so on, one pair of characters per level (20°, 1°, 0.05°, 0.0025° and 0.000125°). A + is written after the 8th character. The first 10 characters name a cell about 14 by 14 metres; up to 5 more characters subdivide it on a 4 by 5 grid.
Codes use only 20 characters: 23456789CFGHJMPQRVWX. There are no vowels, so codes cannot spell words, and look-alikes such as 0/O and 1/I/L are avoided. The character 0 appears only as padding, and only for codes shorter than 8 digits, such as 8FVC0000+.
Short codes and the reference location
A short code drops its first 2, 4 or 6 characters, for example 9G8F+6W. To convert it you enter a nearby reference point, such as the centre of a town. The tool fills in the missing prefix from that point, then moves the result by one grid step if a closer cell exists. The reference must be within roughly half a grid step of the true place (about 0.5 degrees for a 4-character short code), or the recovered code can be a different, nearer-looking cell.
Worked example
8FVC9G8F+6W decodes to a cell whose centre is close to latitude 47.36, longitude 8.52 (Zurich). Dropping the first four characters gives 9G8F+6W; with a reference such as 47.4, 8.5 the tool recovers the full code again.
Not sure where to start? Press Use example above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a Plus Code to latitude and longitude?
Paste the full Plus Code (for example 8FVC9G8F+6W) into the decode box and press Convert. The tool returns the centre point and the bounding box of the code's grid cell. A 10-digit code is a cell about 14 by 14 metres.
What is a short Plus Code, and why does it need a reference location?
A short code drops the first 2, 4 or 6 characters, for example 9G8F+6W. The missing characters are recovered from a nearby reference location, such as a town centre. The result is the full code closest to that reference, so a reference that is too far away can recover the wrong place.
Does this tool prove a Plus Code is a real address?
No. It checks that the code is well-formed and converts it. A Plus Code has no check digit, and every well-formed code points at some grid cell on Earth, whether or not anything is there. The tool cannot say the place is named, mapped or inhabited.
Which letters can a Plus Code use?
The 20 characters 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 C F G H J M P Q R V W X. Vowels and look-alike characters are left out so codes do not spell words and are harder to misread. A + sits after the 8th character, and 0 is used only as padding before it.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. The conversion is JavaScript running in your browser. Nothing you type is transmitted, stored or logged.
Sources: Open Location Code specification, google/open-location-code reference implementations and test data (Apache-2.0), and Wikipedia, Open Location Code.
What a valid Plus Code does and doesn’t tell you
This tool checks format only and converts the code to coordinates. A Plus Code has no check digit, so a well-formed code cannot be told apart from a mistyped one that happens to be well-formed. It cannot confirm the place is named, mapped or occupied. Nothing you type is transmitted, stored, or logged: the tool runs entirely in your browser.