diff --git a/packages/api/lib/controllers/boxesController.js b/packages/api/lib/controllers/boxesController.js
index 37e331ea..3a2d88ab 100644
--- a/packages/api/lib/controllers/boxesController.js
+++ b/packages/api/lib/controllers/boxesController.js
@@ -200,6 +200,8 @@ const geoJsonStringifyReplacer = function geoJsonStringifyReplacer (key, box) {
  * @apiParam {Boolean="true","false"} [classify=false] if specified, the api will classify the boxes accordingly to their last measurements.
  * @apiParam {Boolean="true","false"} [minimal=false] if specified, the api will only return a minimal set of box metadata consisting of [_id, updatedAt, currentLocation, exposure, name] for a fast response.
  * @apiParam {Boolean="true","false"} [full=false] if true the API will return populated lastMeasurements (use this with caution for now, expensive on the database)
+ * @apiParam {String} [near] A comma separated coordinate, if specified, the api will only return senseBoxes within maxDistance (in m) of this location
+ * @apiParam {Number} [maxDistance=1000] the amount of meters around the near Parameter that the api will search for senseBoxes
  * @apiUse ExposureFilterParam
  * @apiUse BBoxParam
  * @apiSampleRequest https://api.opensensemap.org/boxes
@@ -574,6 +576,8 @@ module.exports = {
       { name: 'classify', defaultValue: 'false', allowedValues: ['true', 'false'] },
       { name: 'minimal', defaultValue: 'false', allowedValues: ['true', 'false'] },
       { name: 'full', defaultValue: 'false', allowedValues: ['true', 'false'] },
+      { name: 'near' },
+      { name: 'maxDistance' },
       { predef: 'bbox' },
     ]),
     parseAndValidateTimeParamsForFindAllBoxes,
diff --git a/packages/api/lib/helpers/userParamHelpers.js b/packages/api/lib/helpers/userParamHelpers.js
index b04f2b2d..b2ebf713 100644
--- a/packages/api/lib/helpers/userParamHelpers.js
+++ b/packages/api/lib/helpers/userParamHelpers.js
@@ -385,6 +385,12 @@ const retrieveParametersPredefs = {
   'bbox' () {
     return { name: 'bbox', dataType: 'bbox' };
   },
+  'near' () {
+    return { name: 'near', dataType: 'as-is' };
+  },
+  'maxDistance' () {
+    return { name: 'maxDistance', dataType: 'as-is' };
+  },
   'location' () {
     return { name: 'location', dataType: ['location'], paramValidatorAndParser: retrieveLocationParameter }; // dataType array ['location'] is needed for setting the userparam correctly
   },
diff --git a/packages/models/src/box/box.js b/packages/models/src/box/box.js
index 83115a6b..fef52999 100644
--- a/packages/models/src/box/box.js
+++ b/packages/models/src/box/box.js
@@ -938,7 +938,7 @@ boxSchema.methods.getLocations = function getLocations ({ format, fromDate, toDa
 };
 
 const buildFindBoxesQuery = function buildFindBoxesQuery (opts = {}) {
-  const { phenomenon, fromDate, toDate, bbox } = opts,
+  const { phenomenon, fromDate, toDate, bbox, near, maxDistance } = opts,
     query = {};
 
   // simple string parameters
@@ -953,6 +953,19 @@ const buildFindBoxesQuery = function buildFindBoxesQuery (opts = {}) {
     query['locations'] = { '$geoWithin': { '$geometry': bbox } };
   }
 
+  // near search parameter
+  if (near) {
+    query['currentLocation'] = {
+      '$near': {
+        '$geometry': {
+          type: 'Point',
+          coordinates: [near.split(',')[0], near.split(',')[1]]
+        },
+        '$maxDistance': maxDistance ? maxDistance : 1000,
+      }
+    };
+  }
+
   // search for phenomenon only together with time params
   if (fromDate || toDate) {
     if (phenomenon) {