Can the World Geocoding Service be used with custom locators in a composite locator and published as a service?

Answer

Esri supports creating composite locators containing custom locators that use the World Geocoding Service. It aims to support organizations that geocode against their own data or StreetMap Premium locators that rely on the ArcGIS Online World Geocoding service. If performing batch geocoding with a composite locator, and for records that match to the World Geocoding Service, the user must have a named user account as service credits are consumed based on usage.

Note:
Whatever username is stored when creating the composite is used for every batch geocode and thus incurs the credit consumption.

This use is within the terms of use because there must be an ArcGIS Online organization subscription, as credits are consumed for using the online service.

To set up the custom locators in a composite locator:

1. In ArcToolbox, open Geocoding Tools > Create Composite Address Locator.
2. Click Browse, and add the custom locator(s).
3. Click Browse again, and navigate to Ready-to-use Services. Add the World Geocoding Service.
4. Configure the Field Map and Selection Parameters, as needed.
5. Select an output location and give a name to the locator.
6. Click OK.