Geographic Coordinates (Decimal Degrees, DMS, MGRS)

Detects geographic coordinates as a decimal-degree latitude/longitude pair (e.g. -33.8688, 151.2093), as a degrees-minutes-seconds (DMS) value with a hemisphere letter (e.g. 40° 26' 46" N), or as a Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) reference (e.g. 4QFJ 12345 67890). The slug predates the DMS and MGRS scope, which was absorbed from the former global-gps-coordinates-dms classifier.

Type: regex
Engine: universal
Confidence: medium
Confidence justification: Medium confidence: the decimal and DMS shapes are geographically bounded and the DMS form requires degree/minute/second marks and a hemisphere letter, but bare numbers can still be non-location data and the MGRS shape can collide with part numbers. Enforcing tiers require location context, and MGRS enforcement requires explicit coordinate-system notation.
Detection quality: Verified
Jurisdictions: global
Regulations: GDPR
Frameworks: ISO 27001, ISO 27701
Data categories: location, pii
Scope: wide
Risk rating: 4
Platform compatibility: Purview: Compatible, GCP DLP: Unsupported, Macie: Unsupported, Zscaler: Compatible, Palo Alto: Unsupported, Netskope: Unsupported

Pattern

(?<![\d.])-?(?:90\.0{4,}|[0-8]?\d\.\d{4,})\s*,\s*-?(?:180\.0{4,}|(?:1[0-7]\d|\d{1,2})\.\d{4,})(?!\d)|\b(?:90\s?[°º]\s?0{1,2}\s?['′]\s?0{1,2}(?:\.0+)?\s?["″]?\s?[NSns]\b|[0-8]?\d\s?[°º]\s?[0-5]?\d\s?['′]\s?[0-5]?\d(?:\.\d+)?\s?["″]?\s?[NSns]\b|180\s?[°º]\s?0{1,2}\s?['′]\s?0{1,2}(?:\.0+)?\s?["″]?\s?[EWew]\b|(?:1[0-7]\d|\d{1,2})\s?[°º]\s?[0-5]?\d\s?['′]\s?[0-5]?\d(?:\.\d+)?\s?["″]?\s?[EWew]\b)|(?<![A-Za-z0-9])\d{1,2}[C-HJ-NP-Xc-hj-np-x][A-HJ-NP-Za-hj-np-z][A-HJ-NP-Va-hj-np-v]\s?\d{2,5}\s?\d{2,5}(?![A-Za-z0-9])

Corroborative evidence keywords

GPS, coordinates, latitude, longitude, geolocation, decimal degrees, degrees minutes seconds, grid reference, MGRS, GPS data, GPS coordinates, location data, location tracking, cell tower, triangulation, geo-fence, geofence, location history, data record, database record (+22 more)

Proximity: 300 characters

Should match

Location coordinates: -33.8688, 151.2093 — Exact 75 probe - geolocation label without an operational record context
Asset location GPS coordinates: -33.8688, 151.2093; survey point verified. — Exact 85 probe - explicit coordinate label plus operational asset/survey context
-33.8688, 151.2093 — Sydney GPS coordinates
40.7128, -74.0060 — New York GPS coordinates
-37.8136, 144.9631 — Melbourne GPS coordinates
90.0000, -180.0000 — Exact latitude/longitude endpoints with all-zero fractions are valid
Incident location: latitude 27° 28′ 12″ S, longitude 153° 1′ 42.5″ E; device fix logged by field officer — Exact 85 DMS probe - DMS pair with an explicit latitude/longitude label and operational incident/device-fix context
Grid reference: 40° 26' 46" N — Exact 75 DMS probe - DMS latitude with a coordinate label but no operational record context
151° 12′ 33.4″ E — DMS with prime/double-prime marks and decimal seconds (discovery-only 65)
90° 00' 00" N — Exact DMS latitude endpoint with zero minutes/seconds is valid
Asset location survey point; MGRS grid reference: 4QFJ 12345 67890 — Exact 85 MGRS probe carried from global-gps-coordinates-dms - notation label plus operational asset/survey context
MGRS grid reference: 4QFJ 12345 67890 — Exact 75 MGRS probe - coordinate-system label without an operational location record

Should not match

91.0000, 151.0000 — Latitude above the 90-degree bound is geographically impossible
-33.0000, 181.0000 — Longitude above the 180-degree bound is geographically impossible
90.0001, 180.0000 — Latitude endpoint with a nonzero fractional part is invalid
-33.86, 151.20 — Too few decimal places (2 instead of minimum 4)
40.7128, -74.006 — Only 3 decimal places in longitude (below minimum 4)
-33.8688 151.2093 — Missing comma separator between coordinates
template example placeholder record identifier — Template/sample context should be excluded even when anchor words are present
Public map coordinates: -33.8688, 151.2093 — Published mapping coordinate is vetoed from enforcement by public-map context
Sample template: asset location GPS coordinates -33.8688, 151.2093; survey point. — Template text contains high-tier evidence but is vetoed by the shared exclusion
40° 60' 00" N — DMS minutes cannot be 60
180° 00' 01" E — Nonzero DMS seconds beyond the longitude endpoint are invalid
91° 10' 10" N — DMS latitude above 90 degrees is invalid
40 26 46 — Three numbers with no degree marks or hemisphere - not DMS
the survey crew recorded the grid reference in the field notebook — Prose mention of a grid reference with no actual coordinate
News: the summit cairn at 16° 55′ 12″ S, 145° 46′ 30″ E is marked on the published map; rangers updated the site location signage. — News-style decoy with DMS values, location words and record wording is vetoed by public-map context
Training exercise handout: report your position in degrees minutes seconds, e.g. latitude 27° 28′ 12″ S, to the incident location desk. — Training decoy with labelled DMS and incident wording is vetoed by the template exclusion
Part number 4QFJ 12345 67890 shipped from warehouse bay 7 at the asset location. — MGRS-shaped part number with a generic location word but no coordinate-system notation must not enforce
Public map MGRS grid reference: 4QFJ 12345 67890 — Published MGRS mapping coordinate is vetoed by public-map context

Known false positives

Common words and phrases related to gps coordinates (decimal degrees) appearing in policy documents, training materials, HR templates, or compliance guidelines without actual personal data. Mitigation: Require corroborative evidence keywords within the proximity window to confirm sensitive data context rather than general discussion.
In English (as the primary international business language), similar terminology used in formal or administrative contexts (education, professional documentation) that does not constitute sensitive data collection. Mitigation: Layer with additional contextual signals such as structured identifiers, form fields, or database column headers to distinguish sensitive records from general references.
High-frequency pattern matches in large document corpora due to broad regex anchors. Expected match rate is significantly higher than specific identifier patterns. Mitigation: Tune confidence thresholds for bulk scanning. Consider using this pattern primarily as a pre-filter with secondary validation.
MGRS-like tokens (zone digits + letters + digit runs) appearing in part numbers or codes. Mitigation: MGRS enforcement tiers require coordinate-system notation (MGRS, grid reference, latitude, longitude, coordinate) rather than generic location words.
Temperature or angle values written with a degree mark but no minutes/seconds or hemisphere. Mitigation: The DMS primary requires minutes, seconds and a hemisphere letter, excluding bare degree values.