Open Places API Create a place
Add an account-only place that does not exist in the base results.
Custom layers
Put your own place data on top of Overture.
Open Places API starts with Overture Places, then lets accounts add scoped layers for corrections, private records, suppressions, moved places, duplicates, and presets. Higher layers win when they explicitly target a lower record.
Why layers exist.
Open places data is a strong base, but product teams often have local truth that a shared dataset cannot know: approved vendors, internal facilities, franchise corrections, partner records, closed locations, or places that should not appear for a specific workflow.
Layers let that product-specific truth live above the shared base instead of forking the whole place database.
Bring your existing data in.
Already have a list of corrections, private locations, or places to suppress? Import them into a layer in one call instead of writing them one record at a time. Your spreadsheet of branch locations or your old vendor table becomes a layer you can select on any key.
The layer stack.
| Order | Layer | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Base | Overture-backed place search results. |
| 2 | Open | The Open Places API community layer, where curated corrections can sit above the base data. |
| 3+ | Account layers | Named layers owned or granted to an account. Later account layers have higher precedence than earlier ones. |
What a layer can express.
Patch a place
Update selected fields on a targeted public place while preserving its public ID.
Suppress a place
Hide a base or lower-layer place from the effective result set for that account or preset.
Mark status
Represent closed, moved, or duplicate records without mutating the shared base layer.
Share a layer across accounts.
A layer does not have to stay inside one account. Grant it to another account and they read it by their own alias, with no permission to change what is inside.
One team maintains the truth: approved vendors, verified corrections, a partner's private locations. Everyone they grant it to searches against the same vetted set, composited in at the precedence they pick. Revoke the grant and access stops on the next request.
Presets make layer stacks selectable.
API keys can use a default layer preset, and requests can select a specific preset or explicit ordered layers. That gives teams a stable production stack while still allowing scoped experiments, customer-specific views, or partner-managed records.
GET /v1/places?q=coffee&lat=40.7128&lon=-74.0060&layer_preset=productionCustom layers FAQ.
What is a custom places layer?
A custom places layer is account-owned place data that can add new records or modify how base places appear in search results.
Which layer wins when records conflict?
Higher layers win. The base Overture layer is first, the Open Places API community layer can sit above it, and account layers can sit above both in the order selected by the API key or request.
Can one account share a layer with another account?
Yes. Grant a layer to another account and they read it by a local alias, with no rights to edit it. One account keeps a scoped truth set current, others consume it, and revoking the grant ends access on the next request.
How do I load a lot of records at once?
Run an import against a layer. It writes records in bulk, so you can move an existing place list onto Open Places API in one step instead of per-record writes.
When do layer changes take effect?
On the next request. Create a layer, patch a record, or suppress a place, and the following search reflects it. There is no rebuild step and nothing to redeploy.
Can layers suppress bad base records?
Yes. A layer entry can suppress, mark closed, mark moved, mark duplicate, update fields, or create an account-only place.