geo: URI
The exact spot, not the street.
A location code holds latitude and longitude. Scanning opens the phone's map app at that precise point, which is what you need whenever an address is not specific enough.
live example — scannable
Payload format
The geo: URI
Coordinates are encoded as a geo: URI — a short, universal format that phones hand to whichever map app the person actually uses, rather than forcing one provider. Values outside the valid range are rejected rather than encoded.
geo:19.076,72.8777- geo:
- The scheme. Handed to the device's default map application.
- latitude
- Between -90 and 90. Anything outside is refused.
- longitude
- Between -180 and 180. Anything outside is refused.
How to make one
Two numbers
- 01
Get your coordinates
Long-press the spot in any map app and copy the latitude and longitude.
- 02
Paste them in
Decimal degrees, with a minus for south and west.
- 03
Scan to confirm
Check the pin lands where you meant before printing.
Where it earns its keep
Where coordinates beat an address
- A festival entrance, when the postcode covers a whole field.
- A trailhead or meeting point with no street address at all.
- A delivery entrance round the back of a building.
- A site access point on a construction hoarding.
Questions
Location QR codes, answered
Which map app opens?
Whichever the person has set as default. The geo: scheme is deliberately provider-neutral, so it works with Google Maps, Apple Maps or anything else rather than forcing one.
Where do I find the coordinates?
Long-press a point in almost any map app and it shows the latitude and longitude in decimal degrees, ready to copy.
Can I include a label for the pin?
The geo: scheme supports a query parameter for it, but support is patchy across apps. Printing the place name next to the code is more reliable.
Why was my input rejected?
Latitude must be between -90 and 90 and longitude between -180 and 180. We refuse anything outside those ranges rather than encode a code that points nowhere.