REST API v1

Search & autocomplete

Convert legal land descriptions, reverse lookup coordinates, and suggest locations.

On this page

Convert Legal Description to Coordinates

Convert a legal land description to geographic coordinates.

Example request

cURL

curl --get "https://developer.townshipcanada.com/search/legal-location" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $TOWNSHIP_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "location=NW-25-24-1-W5"

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
location	string	Required	Legal land description `NW-25-24-1-W5`

Example Response

response.json

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [{
    "type": "Feature",
    "geometry": { "type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [...] },
    "properties": {
      "shape": "grid",
      "search_term": "NW-25-24-1-W5",
      "legal_location": "NW-25-24-1-W5",
      "unit": "Quarter Section",
      "survey_system": "DLS",
      "province": "Alberta"
    }
  }]
}

Convert Coordinates to Legal Description

Get the legal land description for any GPS coordinate.

Example request

cURL

curl --get "https://developer.townshipcanada.com/search/coordinates" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $TOWNSHIP_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "location=-114.648933,51.454928"

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
location	string	Required	Coordinates as lng,lat or lat,lng `-114.648933,51.454928`
survey_system	string	Optional	`DLS` , `NTS` , `River Lot` , `Geographic Township`
unit	string	Optional	`Township` , `Section` , `Quarter Section` , `LSD` , `all`

Smart Suggestions

Get autocomplete suggestions for partial legal land descriptions.

Example request

cURL

curl --get "https://developer.townshipcanada.com/autocomplete/legal-location" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $TOWNSHIP_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "location=NW-2"

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
location	string	Required	Partial LLD `NW-2`
limit	integer	Optional	Max results (1-10, default: 3)
proximity	string	Optional	Bias results toward point (lng,lat) `-114.07,51.04`