How To Get Google Maps API Keys – Changes October 2018

You will need google maps api key to make the geolocation and search work on any website or mobile app. You can easily generate an api key from your google or gmail account. Its simple you can follow the below instructions.

Note – This is updated method since October 2018 – Prior to this the interface and the api’s creation links were completely different. Also all keys created prior to October 2018 without enabling payment account have been completely deleted by google without any warning and owners of these maps api’s key will be facing issues in their website/apps functionalities.

Important Note:- I have seen that people try multiple times and yet are unsuccessful in creating active key(they get the key but it is never activated). The main reason behind this is that usually your payment details do not get associated with the key. The best way to associate the payment details with key is to ensure that the payment details are validated(google will do a small amount swipe to validate the payment details and refund it later) during the key creation itself. If your payment details are not validated during the key creation then most probably your key will not work. This issue happens even when you have a billing account enabled for your google account thats why the best why to ensure working api key is to validate payment method during key creation.

(1) Login to your gmail/google account and open the below link.

https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/?apis=maps

(2) On this page, in the top right hand corner you will see a blue button saying – Get Started

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(3) After you click on Get Started a Pop-Up will come up – In this pop-up click all 3 options i.e. Maps, Routes & Places. Enabling this will enable all 17 apis – see details of each api’s under each of the options at the bottom of this page.

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(4) On the next page you have to give a name to your project. This can be any name but it will make sense to keep the same name as your website or app project so that you can easily identify if you have multiple projects in your account.

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(5) Next Google will ask you to enable billing. – Just click on CREATE BILLING ACCOUNT

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(6) The next 2 pages will be for your billing details in the first page you have to select you country and contact/notifications preferences and in the 2nd page your billing details like individual/Business account, tax and your payment details. Note that google provides different payment methods to different countries so this you need to check for your country. Also though you will not be charged immediately google will make a charge to your payment method to verify your details.

(7) Thats all. In the next page after filling and verifying your payment details you will get your Google Maps Api key.

Thats All your google maps api key is ready.

Along with the Maps Api key you will also need Project Id. This is a numeric key so plz make sure you note the project Id. also.

Each of the main Api’s enables total of 17 sub Api’s – these sub api’s are:-

MAPS