GPS Coordinates France: Address to Latitude and Longitude

Converting an address to GPS coordinates and back

A GPS position is written in decimal degrees (48.858370, 2.294481) or in degrees, minutes and seconds (48°51'30.1"N 2°17'40.1"E): 1 degree equals 60 minutes and 1 minute equals 60 seconds. The tool finds the coordinates of an address in France using the French national address database, finds the nearest address to a point, and converts between the two formats.

The formula

From decimal to DMS: the degrees are the whole part, the decimal part × 60 gives the minutes, and the remainder of the minutes × 60 gives the seconds. The other way: degrees + minutes ÷ 60 + seconds ÷ 3,600. A southern latitude or a western longitude is negative in decimal form (S and W in DMS). Latitude runs from −90 to 90 and longitude from −180 to 180.

Example

8 boulevard du Port in Amiens is geocoded at 49.897442, 2.290084. Latitude: 0.897442 × 60 = 53.8465, i.e. 53 minutes; 0.8465 × 60 ≈ 50.8 seconds, hence 49°53'50.8"N. Longitude: 2°17'24.3"E. The other way, the point 48.858370, 2.294481 returns avenue Anatole-France (Paris 7th), about 37 m away (checked on 14/10/2026).

Accepted formats and limits

• Input in decimal degrees, with a dot or a comma, or in DMS with the letters N, S, E, W.
• 6 decimal places of a degree are about 11 cm; 0.1 arc second is about 3 m.
• Address search and reverse lookup only cover France, mainland and overseas. Elsewhere the tool says so but still converts the coordinates.
• The address point usually sits on the entrance or in the middle of the street: allow a few metres of difference.

Sources and dates: Géoplateforme geocoding service (IGN), queried live; French national address database (BAN), Etalab Open Licence 2.0, updated daily (checked on 14/10/2026)

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert decimal degrees to degrees, minutes, seconds?

Keep the whole part as degrees, multiply the decimal part by 60 for the minutes, then the remainder of the minutes by 60 for the seconds. So 49.897442° gives 49°, then 0.897442 × 60 = 53.8465, i.e. 53′, then 0.8465 × 60 ≈ 50.8″: 49°53′50.8″.

In what order are latitude and longitude written?

Latitude (north-south, from −90 to 90) comes first, then longitude (east-west, from −180 to 180). In mainland France, latitude is roughly between 41 and 51 and longitude between −5 and 10. If your two numbers look swapped, your point will land far from France.

How do I find the address that matches GPS coordinates?

Paste the coordinates into the "GPS coordinates → address" field and confirm: the tool queries the French national address database and shows the nearest address with its distance in metres. It works for France, mainland and overseas; elsewhere no address is returned.

How precise are 6 decimal places?

One degree of latitude is about 111 km, so the sixth decimal place (0.000001°) is about 11 cm. That is much finer than a phone GPS, which is accurate to about 5 m in the open. In DMS, a tenth of a second is about 3 m.

Is this tool really free?

Yes, all tools on Kristools are 100% free and accessible without registration.

Is my data protected?

Yes. All processing is performed directly and securely inside your browser. No personal data is sent to our servers.