OpenStreetMap access tags explained

Data beneath the map

OpenStreetMap stores access as attributes, not as one visible path colour.

OpenStreetMap is a geographic database built by contributors. A path or road is represented by an element with tags written as key-value pairs. The highway key describes the mapped way, while the access family records who may legally use it under the project's conventions.

The broad access key can describe a general rule. Mode-specific keys such as foot, bicycle, horse, vehicle and motor_vehicle can add or override detail. A gate can have its own access tags too. This means the line colour shown by an app may hide several separate decisions.

Missing tags need care. OpenStreetMap uses defaults inferred from the feature type and local legal context, and the data may simply be incomplete. Absence of bicycle=no is not a universal statement that cycling is permitted.

Values are not synonyms

Read the most specific relevant key, then check its context.

• yesUsed for public access recognised as a legal right under the documented convention. A more specific key may still alter one mode.
• permissiveThe owner currently allows public use but can withdraw that permission. It is not the same as a public right of way.
• privateAccess is limited to a closed group. It describes access, not whether the land itself is privately owned.
• noGeneral public access is prohibited for the key concerned. Another, more specific key can record an exception.
• designatedThe way is officially designated or preferred for that transport mode. Its precise effect must be read with the mode, feature and jurisdiction.

Suppose a way has access=no and foot=yes. The specific walking tag overrides the broad prohibition for people on foot. It does not make cycling or horse riding legal. The same principle works in the other direction, where a broad permission is narrowed for one mode.

Conditional tags can express rules linked to time or another stated condition. They are powerful but easy to misread when copied out of context. An application also needs to implement them correctly before they affect routing.

Legal class and physical form

In England and Wales, designation can record the public right-of-way class.

The designation key is widely used in OpenStreetMap for legal classifications including public_footpath, public_bridleway, restricted_byway and byway_open_to_all_traffic. A prow_ref tag can carry the authority's route reference when known.

This legal layer is separate from physical classification. A farm track carrying a public footpath can be mapped as highway=track because that describes its form, then carry designation=public_footpath and appropriate access tags. Treating every public footpath as a physically narrow highway=footway would lose useful ground information.

The designation is only as reliable as the evidence and maintenance behind the edit. The local authority's legal record remains the place to resolve an important question about a particular public right of way.

A disciplined reading

Use OpenStreetMap to find the question, not to manufacture permission.

1. Inspect

   Look at the underlying tags.

   Do not infer access solely from a map style, route suggestion or whether a path was drawn.

2. Mode

   Read the key for your activity.

   Resolve broad and specific tags together, including any conditional value or barrier.

3. Place

   Apply the local jurisdiction.

   Defaults and legal designations differ. A tag used in England may not have the same basis in Scotland or abroad.

4. Date

   Check how current the evidence is.

   Recent signs, orders or land-manager information may postdate the last map edit.

5. Confirm

   Use an official record for consequential decisions.

   Where access is disputed, restricted or essential to the route, ask the responsible authority or land manager.

OpenStreetMap can describe access. OpenStreetMap itself does not grant it.