Convert ELD GPS Coordinates to Address in Excel — Samsara, Motive, Geotab Pings

Convert ELD GPS Coordinates to Address in Excel — Samsara, Motive, Geotab Pings

Updated September 2026 | By Excel Distance Calculators

You already have the pings. A Samsara, Motive, or Geotab CSV is sitting in Excel as two columns of numbers, and the claims file still says coordinates. This is how to convert ELD GPS coordinates to address in Excel in one pass — without buying another fleet platform, and without dropping pins one at a time on a map website. The export is already a CSV. You need street addresses on the rows you already have.

ELD export → two columns of coordinates

Open the file. You want decimal latitude and decimal longitude — one pair per ping. Headers change by vendor. The shape does not.

  • Samsara — Vehicle location history and GPS stats use latitude, longitude, and time. Some GPS objects also carry reverseGeo.formattedLocation (street-level text such as "Fuller Drive, Boylston, MA, 01505"). That string is not always a door number, and many ping files next to a claim still only have the numbers.
  • Motive — Fleet Admins can export a Location History Report as CSV or PDF from Reports → Vehicles. The vehicle-location feed uses lat, lon, and located_at. The description field is often an approximate label ("6.2 mi N of San Francisco, CA") — a breadcrumb, not a street address a claims desk can file.
  • Geotab — A GPS log record stores latitude, longitude, dateTime, and speed. CSV GPS feeds use Longitude and Latitude in decimal degrees plus a Date column. Keep both coordinate columns. Don't mash them into one cell.

Leave vehicle name, VIN, and timestamp in the sheet. You'll write the address back onto the same row. If latitude and longitude landed in one cell as 40.7580, -111.8882, split them with Text to Columns first.

How a Fleet Coordinator Uses This: A fleet coordinator gets a Samsara or Motive ping export and a claims or stop list that still says numbers. Dispatch needs a street, not a pair of decimals. They already paid for the ELD. They will not buy a second fleet platform to decode a CSV they already have. They paste the two coordinate columns into the Excel Reverse Geocoder, run the list, and join street addresses back to the incident rows by timestamp.

Bulk reverse geocode

Forward geocoding is address → lat/long — the other direction, covered in How to Batch Geocode Addresses in Excel. You have the coordinates. You need the address. That is reverse geocoding: convert ELD GPS coordinates to address in Excel, then keep working in the same file.

Paste the two columns into the Excel Reverse Geocoder. Standard decimal pairs, one ping per row. Click to run. Google Maps Geocoding API writes a street address back into the sheet. The list never leaves the file. The API key stays in your Google account.

A paste-one-pin map website is built for a single marker. A Motive Location History CSV is hundreds or thousands of breadcrumbs. Stay in Excel. Run the list. You will not buy another fleet platform to reverse geocode a file you already exported. $97 single user / $187 multi-user, one-time. The ELD is paid for. The CSV is on disk. You need addresses in the next two columns.

Every purchase includes a Zoom to set the Google API key. Call (801) 243-8350 if you'd rather share the screen than click through Cloud Console alone. Other tools in the family: Excel Geocoding Tools. For a generic (non-ELD) reverse walkthrough, see One-Click Batch Reverse Geocoding in Excel. This post stays on the Samsara / Motive / Geotab export path.

Real-World Example: A fleet coordinator pulls an 800-row Motive Location History CSV for one tractor and a claims stop list that still shows lat/long. The Motive description on those pings reads like "6.2 mi N of San Francisco, CA" — useless on a claim form. They map lat and lon into the Reverse Geocoder, run the batch, and write street addresses back onto the same timestamps. Adjusters get a readable stop. No second ELD. No pin-by-pin map tabs.

Dispatch / claims / audit uses

Once street addresses sit on the ping rows, the file becomes something a human can work. The coordinates were the evidence. They were never the report.

  • Dispatch — the stop list still says numbers. Drivers and customers talk in streets. Reverse geocode the pings, filter to dwell / stop rows, hand the sheet to the board.
  • Claims — where was the truck when the incident was called in? Match the claim timestamp to the nearest ping, then use the Google-returned street address instead of a coordinate pair nobody will type into a form.
  • Audit — reconstruct a day from Samsara, Motive, or Geotab breadcrumbs. Addresses let a reviewer scan the sheet. Decimal degrees do not.

Need miles after you have addresses? That is a second step, not a second ELD. Paste the new street addresses into the Excel Driving Distance Calculator as To / From and click Calculate. Google Maps driving miles and time fill next to the same rows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I convert ELD GPS coordinates to address in Excel from a Samsara, Motive, or Geotab CSV?

Yes. Those exports are already spreadsheet-shaped. Map Samsara latitude/longitude, Motive lat/lon, or Geotab Latitude/Longitude into the Reverse Geocoder — one pair per row — then run. Keep vehicle ID and timestamp so you can join addresses back to the claims or stop list.

Motive already put a location description on the ping. Why reverse geocode?

Motive's location description is often an approximate label, not a street address. "6.2 mi N of San Francisco, CA" will not survive a claim file. Samsara's formattedLocation is street-level when it is present, and it is not always on the export you actually received. Reverse geocode the raw coordinates when the report still says numbers.

Do I need a Google API key?

Yes. The workbook calls Google Maps Geocoding API. Setup is on the Zoom call included with the file. The key stays in your Google account. The pings stay in your Excel file.

How do I get driving miles after I have addresses?

Use the Excel Driving Distance Calculator on the address columns. Reverse geocode first. Miles second. Don't buy a new fleet platform for either step.

Ready to Stop Doing It the Hard Way?

Get the Excel Reverse Geocoder — $97 single user / $187 multi-user, one-time. Paste the Samsara, Motive, or Geotab lat/long columns, click to run, get street addresses in the sheet. Free Zoom to set the API key. Questions? Call (801) 243-8350.

Excel Distance Calculators builds Excel-based tools that connect directly to Google Maps for driving distances, geocoding, route optimization, and more. Used by logistics companies, trucking fleets, healthcare providers, field service teams, and thousands of businesses worldwide. No coding required — just paste your data and click.

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