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.
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.
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?
The data model supports layer grants so a layer can be shared across accounts. That lets one account maintain a scoped truth set and another account consume it by alias.
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.