Places

Places are searchable destinations in the Waze map, just like the "Points of Interest" found in other maps and GPS devices. They can be added from the client, but also from the Waze Map Editor (WME). By default, Waze will show categories depending on size, type and situation. For instance, if you search for a supermarket, Waze will show you the supermarkets in the neighbourhood. When driving fast, less will be shown to keep the map clear.

How to create a Place is described in the Quick Start Guide. For a description of the different types of places, see the Place categories page.

A Place can be a Point or an Area. Depending on size and situation, Area Places can be visible in the client. A Point Place is not visible, but will show up when searched for and navigated to. There is also a third kind of Place called Residential, which are private addresses. Which one to choose?

The Waze routing server will navigate the Wazer onto the segment which is physically closest to the center of the Place. If this is undesirable, you can adjust the navigation goal by adding an entry point.

Point Place

Point Places don't show on the Wazers device, but are listed in the search results. They are used to help Wazers find locations, especially when they are not or wrongly listed in other search engines.

In WME, a Point Place appears as a small circle:
Standard point
Selected point
Modified point
Modified point, pending for approval

The Point Place is to be positioned at or close to the segment that should be used in the navigation. Typically, this will be the (main) entrance. Try to imagine where you would stop to drop someone off for this location. If this location differs a lot from the geographical location, you can add an entry point.

Please try to add as much useful details, like the address, telephone number if applicable, etc..

Area Places

Area Places appear in the Waze app. Too many of them can clutter the map, creating large gray zones that do not help Wazers orient themselves. Too little of them leaves us with an empty map without much clue as to where we are. Therefore, we like to see Area Places that are distinctive and significant, but that is subjective. One objective criterium we can use is the size: If they are larger than 500 m², you may map it as an Area Places . See also the paragraph on how to determine Area or Point.

Area Place for the Namur hospital, with the Entry point at the entrance, and the Move Handle on the top right of the building

Outline

Generally, an Area Place covers what a Wazer sees when driving to the actual location.

Keep the shape simple; Waze will anyway simplify the place in the App. Consider mapping with a basic rectangle.

We have two options:

1. Map the edges of the building: Used for individual significant buildings. Think of big supermarkets, a lighthouse, churches or mosques, etc..
2. Map the visible contour of the area: Handy for natural features and building clusters such as a universities campus, shopping malls, factories, parks, forests, etc... Parking Lots and Gas Stations) are always mapped to their property lines.

If the Area itself needs to be modified, click on the place to select it. Use the geometry nodes to adjust the shape. To move an area place without changing its shape, drag the Move Handle icon.

Care should be taken not to snap to road segment nodes, because this makes it more difficult to edit the place and/or segments later on.

Do not overlap Area Places to prevent grey areas without distinction. Read more on combining places.

Colors

The different types of Area Places show in different colors in the Waze app. The colors vary slightly, depending on your display. Generally, Natural features show green (e.g., Park) or blue (e.g., River).

Navigation

When the center of the Area Place is not closest to the desired navigation destination, define the navigation goal by adding an entry point. This point can be moved to where you should arrive, or where to park. Again, try to imagine where you would stop to drop someone off for this location.

Residential Places

Residential Places are a special kind of Point Places shown as triangles in WME. When arriving, Waze proposes to take a picture of your destination. In this way, many private Places are uploaded. For these private Places, the category Residential is used. Private Places will not be searchable, and the identity of whoever created them will not be exposed. Private Places only contain photos and an exact address, without all the other properties of a Place. The pictures will only show to people driving explicitly to that address. Waze editors can use the pictures and exact locations to improve the house numbers database.

When to use Area or Point

The basic guideline is: Places larger than 500m2 may be drawn as an Area Place. They can function as a visual guide on your drive.

Avoid Areas within Areas, and overlapping Areas, as this may become confusing on the client's display. When there are various destinations in one building or a larger distinct area, better use a combination of Area and Point as described in next paragraph on . Only Parking Lot Places can be stacked.

Do not map underground Places as Areas, except for Parking Lots.

Clusters of areas would also become one grey area, with only the names being on the map. If you'd like them distinct, you need to leave space between the Areas, or combine them.

Regardless of its size. we always map Parking Lots and Gas Stations as an Area Place, and farms as a Point Place. The area for a Gas Station must cover at least 500m2, for visibility reasons in the app.

Smart mapping: Size is not always the only criterion deciding whether to map an Area or Point Place. We can think a bit further, especially from the driver's perspective. A building hidden in the woods might be large, but neither significant nor distinctive, as it won't help the driver orient during the drive; instead displaying it might have him wonder if he is on the correct route as he doesn't see it from the road. The same goes for a water treatment plant: it may be large, but probably not recognizable from the road. So even though being large, we only need them to show approaching our destination and they can be mapped as a Point Place as well.

On the other hand, a power plant with high voltage substations can be very handy to map as an Area, as you'll see them quickly scanning the surrounding. Or, arriving at an industrial area, it definitely helps seeing more distinct destinations that helps to orientate.

And last but not least an editor's note: many Area Places clutter WME as well: you might need to disable the layer of Places to be able to edit the roads.

Guidance table

Here is a guidance on selecting area or point for places in the Waze Map Editor. This list is based on the US English selection for WME. The default WME setting for standard English is slightly different for some entries.

Parent	Category	Type	Comments
Car Services	Car Wash	Point
Car Services	EV Charging Station	Point	In addition to adding a charging station point Place, also add the 'Charging Station' service to the appropriate parking lot area (PLA) Place.
Car Services	Garage / Auto Shop	Point
Car Services	Gas station	Area	Many gas stations also have convenience stores and ATMs. Remember to use "gas station" as the primary category and the add any others which are relevant. Please see the Places/Gas station article.
Transportation	Airport	Area	Special-handling
Transportation	Bridge	Area	In general, a bridge place should only be mapped if its significance entails: 1. An official and/or locally-used name, such as a signed name, a name used in traffic reports, or a commemorative name that differs from the feature the bridge crosses or the road that crosses the bridge 2. Use of the bridge as a destination, waypoint, and/or landmark for navigation
Transportation	Bus/Train/Subway Station	See next column	Main train/Bus station: Place Bus Stop: Point
Transportation	Carpool Spot	--	N/A in Rwanda
Transportation	Ferry Pier	Point
Transportation	Junction / Interchange	Area	Can be used to mark well known landmarks (example in Kigali: Rwandex, Kanogo, Yamaha,..)
Transportation	Rest Area	Area
Transportation	Seaport / Marina / Harbor	Area	Size-dependent.
Transportation	Taxi Station	Point
Transportation	Tunnel	---	N/A in Rwanda
Professional and Public	Cemetery	Area
Professional and Public	City Hall	Point	Size-dependent
Professional and Public	College / University	Area	Use Point for locations occupying what appears to be commercial real estate without any outward appearance characteristic of an educational institution, as is typical of vocational schools or learning/office satellites located in business districts. Check regional guidance to see if such locations should be assigned a different category altogether.
Professional and Public	Conventions / Event Center	Area	Size-dependent
Professional and Public	Courthouse	Point
Professional and Public	Doctor / Clinic	Point	Clinics and medical offices which do not offer urgent medical care for walk-ins should use the Doctor / Clinic, (and any other appropriate) category instead. When emergency service is available, use Hospital
Professional and Public	Embassy / Consulate	Area
Professional and Public	Emergency Shelter
Professional and Public	Factory / Industrial	Point	May be Area if Landmark Area for Industrial Parks
Professional and Public	Fire Department	Area	ONLY Fire Stations providing first response to nearby emergencies should use this category. All others should use a different category, such as Office. Administrative, training, and support facilities are not emergency locations.
Professional and Public	Government	Point
Professional and Public	Hospital / Urgent Care	Area	Only Hospitals, emergency rooms, and places offering urgent medical care should use this category. ERs encompassed in a hospital place area should be points. Other should use Doctor/Clinic category.
Professional and Public	Information Point	Point
Professional and Public	Jail / Prison / Correctional Facility	Area
Professional and Public	Landfill / Recycling Facility	Point
Professional and Public	Library	Point
Professional and Public	Military	Area
Professional and Public	Offices	Point	May be Area if Landmark
Professional and Public	Organization / Association	Point
Professional and Public	Police Station	Area
Professional and Public	Post office	Point
Professional and Public	Preschool / Daycare	Point
Professional and Public	Religious Center	Point
Professional and Public	School	Area	Size-dependent Small private school (Domestic house size): Point
Shopping / Services	Arts & Crafts	Point
Shopping / Services	ATM	Point
Shopping / Services	Bank / Financial	Point
Shopping / Services	Bookstore	Point
Shopping / Services	Car Dealership	Point	Size-dependent
Shopping / Services	Car Rental	Point
Shopping / Services	Cell Phones	Point
Shopping / Services	Clothing / Fashion	Point
Shopping / Services	Convenience Store	Point
Shopping / Services	Currency Exchange	Point
Shopping / Services	Department Store	Point
Shopping / Services	Electronics	Point
Shopping / Services	Florist	Point
Shopping / Services	Gift Shop	Point
Shopping / Services	Gym / Fitness	Point
Shopping / Services	Hardware Store	Point
Shopping / Services	Home Furnishing	Point
Shopping / Services	Jewelry	Point
Shopping / Services	Laundromat / Dry Cleaner	Point
Shopping / Services	Market	Point
Shopping / Services	Music Store	Point
Shopping / Services	Personal Care	Point
Shopping / Services	Pet Store / Veterinarian Services	Point
Shopping / Services	Pharmacy	Point
Shopping / Services	Photography	Point
Shopping / Services	Shopping Center	Area
Shopping / Services	Sporting Goods	Point
Shopping / Services	Supermarket / Grocery	Point
Shopping / Services	Swimming Pool	Point
Shopping / Services	Toy Store	Point
Shopping / Services	Travel Agency	Point
Food and Drink	Bakery	Point
Food and Drink	Bar / Winery / Tasting Room	Point
Food and Drink	Coffee Shop	Point
Food and Drink	Dessert	Point
Food and Drink	Fast Food	Point
Food and Drink	Food Court	Point
Food and Drink	Ice Cream	Point
Food and Drink	Restaurant	Point
Culture / Entertainment	Art Gallery	Point
Culture / Entertainment	Casino	Point
Culture / Entertainment	Club	Point
Culture / Entertainment	Game Club	Point
Culture / Entertainment	Movie Theater	Point
Culture / Entertainment	Museum	Point
Culture / Entertainment	Music Venue	Point
Culture / Entertainment	Performing Arts Venue	Point
Culture / Entertainment	Race Track	Area
Culture / Entertainment	Stadium / Arena	Area
Culture / Entertainment	Theme Park	Area
Culture / Entertainment	Theater	Point
Culture / Entertainment	Tourist Attraction / Historic Site	Point	May be Area if Landmark
Culture / Entertainment	Zoo / Aquarium	Area	Size-dependent
Other	Construction Site	Area	Not necessary to be mapped. Map only if very large and long term.
Lodging	Bed & Breakfast	Point
Lodging	Campground / RV Park	Both
Lodging	Cottage / Cabin	Point
Lodging	Hostel	Point
Lodging	Hotel	Point	May be Area if Landmark
Outdoors	Beach	Area
Outdoors	Golf Course	Area
Outdoors	Park	Area
Outdoors	Playground	Point
Outdoors	Plaza	Point
Outdoors	Pool	Point
Outdoors	Promenade	Point	Unsure about mapping these at all
Outdoors	Scenic Lookout / Viewpoint	Point
Outdoors	Ski Area	Area
Outdoors	Sports Court	Point
Natural Feature	Canal	Info here	Natural Feature detailed guidance
Natural Feature	Dam	Info here	Natural Feature detailed guidance
Natural Feature	Farm	Point
Natural Feature	Forest / Grove	Info here	Natural Feature detailed guidance
Natural Feature	Island	Info here	Natural Feature detailed guidance
Natural Feature	River / Stream	Info here	Natural Feature detailed guidance
Natural Feature	Sea / Lake / Pond	Info here	Natural Feature detailed guidance
Natural Feature	Swamp / Marsh	Info here	Natural Feature detailed guidance

Gas Station

The Gas Station Place marks a well-defined area characterized by fuel pumps and a cashier or pay station.

A complete and accurate Gas Station Place enables drivers to search for their favorite brands of fuel and the best fuel prices near their current location or route. More about the gas station functionality in the client can be found in the Waze Help Center.

Add a Gas Station

Area size

Gas station places should be drawn as an area, with the outsize dimensions stretched to the fenceline / curbline and should include all parking lots, convenience store buildings, car washes, etc, that are a part of the same business. Most stations are small, so stretching them to the limits of their property should make them more visible in the client app.

In cases where a much larger parking lot is near a gas station but serves other businesses not part of the gas station (truck-stop parking, adjacent fast food restaurants, etc.), consider drawing a separate parking lot.

Entry Point

Correct Stop Point Location

The entry point (or stop point) for gas stations should be placed on a parking lot road that accesses the area, preferably where the driver should stop to refuel.

Parking lot road u-turns

Enabling the u-turn on a gas station's parking lot road can greatly enhance routing, especially when the gas station was an added stop to the final destination.

Some gas stations do not have access to both directions of a road due to medians or turn prohibited signs. Enabling the u-turn can give much shorter, faster and realistic return routing to the continued route.

Corner gas station example

U-turn at corner gas station where no left turns are allowed at exits

For corner gas stations that have one PLR and don't have access to left turns at the exits, enable the u-turn on both ends of the PLR.

Category

With the implementation of Places, multiple categories may now be assigned to a gas station. The primary (or first) category must be Gas Station to enable additional features such as fuel prices and brand name.

Additional categories could include: Convenience Store, ATM, Garage / Automotive Shop, or Car Wash. A full-service automotive repair business or restaurant may merit a separate Place (point).

Waze may suggest any Place categorized as a Gas Station to drivers as a potential refueling stop.

Name

The primary name field for branded gas stations must always include at least the brand affiliation. The name will display on the map and will help confirm that a fuel destination chosen via the gas-station finder matches the selected brand. The primary name may be the franchise name for the station, e.g. "SP Centre Ville", if there's a chance drivers may wish to confirm they are routing to this specific station. Stations that provide automotive services, in particular, may have specials or reviews that would lead users to route to them by name. If the franchise name is used but it doesn't mention the brand, the brand must be added.

The primary name for unbranded gas stations should match the station's signs.

Alternate names may include the station's franchise name (if not used as the primary name), any nicknames or local shorthand names for the station, and/or the name of any associated convenience store.

Brand

If you know what brand gasoline a station sells, you should select it as the Brand. Stations named after their brands, such as big companies like Engen, TotalEnergie, Meru, SP,... are easy to identify the brand (which should be selected). Smaller or non-national stations may be harder to identify. Do some research to find out this information. If it isn't clear or information isn't available, leave the field blank, but do not select "unbranded".

Lock

To prevent loss of data due to automatic acceptance of submissions from "trusted users," Gas Stations should be locked to at least level 3 when completed and review by an AM or CM.