Convert GPS Coordinates to Addresses in Excel | Reverse Geocoding Template
Why convert GPS Coordinates to Addresses in Excel?
You have a long list of GPS points from a fleet, a survey, or a CSV export and you need readable addresses. Manually looking up each coordinate is slow and error prone. Using a simple Excel tool you can automate that work and get structured address fields like street, city, state or province, postal code, and country in a few clicks. This post explains a practical way to perform Reverse Geocoding in Excel so you get reliable, structured addresses from latitude and longitude.
How the solution works (plain English)
At its core, the method sends coordinates to the Google Maps API and returns formatted address data. An Excel template wraps that process in a friendly interface: paste coordinates into an input column, click a button, and the sheet fills out the full address plus the individual address components. The template also supports the reverse operation: paste an address and the tool returns latitude and longitude.
What the template accepts
- Coordinate formats: Decimal degrees, DMS, and DDM are all supported.
- Input styles: Single-column “lat,lon” entries or two separate columns (lat and lon).
- Outputs: Full address and separate fields for street, city, state/province, postal code, and country.
Step-by-step setup and use
Explain before you build: you will need a Google Maps API key to query addresses. The API returns high-quality results and the template uses VBA macros in the background, so you must use the desktop version of Excel on Windows or macOS.
- Paste coordinates into the input column.
- Click the “Format Addresses” button. The template will iterate over each row, call Google Maps, and populate address fields.
- Get your Google Maps API key and paste it into the template. Setup is free and quick. Google provides 10,000 free address lookups per month. If you exceed that, the current charge is about 5 US dollars per additional 1,000 requests.
- Important technical note: the Excel file uses VBA macros, so the Desktop version of Excel is required. It works on both Windows and macOS, but not in online or mobile Excel.
Why this approach works
Using Google Maps for Reverse Geocoding in Excel leverages a highly accurate geocoding service while keeping workflow inside Excel. The template handles input normalization, batching, and parsing of results into structured fields. That makes the output useful for reporting, mapping, or joining with other datasets.
Final takeaway
If you need to turn GPS coordinates into usable addresses without leaving Excel, this method offers a fast, reliable path. With the right API key and the desktop Excel template, you can automate thousands of lookups and keep your data clean and structured. Reverse geocoding in Excel becomes a repeatable, low-effort part of your data toolkit.
One last note: the template is a one-time purchase and can be reused indefinitely, so once you have it set up you are ready for many projects ahead. —Sven
Get the template here: Excel Address Formatter
