Place categories
The Place categories used in Waze are not always directly applicable to the Netherlands, for they are global categories. At this time, it is not possible to adapt these categories to local customs. Waze has several major categories, which includes quite a number of subcategories.
If you choose a main category within WME, you automatically get to see the sub-categories to choose from. It is also possible to directly type in a category. If you cannot find an applicable sub-category, just use the main category.
Categories that require special handling are described briefly in this section. A complete list can be found below. It also lists the categories that are available in the app for direct search.
This overview shows the categories used for the Waze Places. It shows examples, lock levels and search strings (scroll to the right of the table). Also, there is an indication to the use of a Point or an Area Place. Area Places should have a minimum area size of 500 m2 (e.g., 50m x 10m) to be visible in the client's display.
Car Services
The app offers the possibility to search on Gasoline Station places.
| Petrol Station | Area L3 | {Brand} {Name} |
| Garage / Car mechanic | Point | {Brand} {Name} Auto schadeherstel, Autoplaatwerk, e.a. |
| Car Wash | Point | {Name} |
| Charging Station | Point L2 | {Provider} {MaxPower} ({Amount} {Type} |
Transportation
| Airport | Area L3 | |
| Bus Station | Point | Bus station Uithoorn, Do not map individual bus stops. |
| Ferry Terminal | Area | |
| Marina / Harbour | Area | |
| Underground Station | Point | {City} {Station Name} |
| Railway Station | Area | Station + {Station Name} Station RAI, Station Rotterdam Centraal |
| Bridge | Area | |
| Tunnel | Area | {Tunnel Name} |
| Taxi Rank | Point | |
| Junction / Interchange | Area | Robert Kochplein. See also the roundabout page |
| Rest Area | Area | |
| Carpool Spot | Area | |
| Transportation | Point | Hectometre posts along the highway like A1 Li 13,7 |
Professional and public
For public buildings or services such as fire departments, town halls and the like, we set the location of the name after the name, e.g., Stadhuis Amsterdam. For Organisations that have several locations, specify the location after a hyphen, after the general name of the organisation, e.g., UZ Leuven - campus Gasthuisberg.
The app offers the possibility to search on Ziekenhuizen en spoedeisende hulp places.
| College / University | Area | |
| School | Area | Preschool, Kindergarten, e.a. |
| Conventions / Event Centre | Area | RAI |
| Government | Point | Draw only large ones as Area |
| Library | Point | {City} {location} |
| City Hall | Area | {Municipality} |
| Organisation or Association | Point | |
| Prison / Detention Centre | Area | |
| Courthouse | Area | |
| Cemetry | Area | |
| Fire Station | Area | {City} {department} |
| Police Station | Area | {City} {department} |
| Military | Area | |
| Hospital / Urgent Care | Area | Hospitals, First Aid Posts and other places that offer emergency aid. Use Doctor / Clinic for non-urgent medical care. |
| Doctor / Clinic | Point | Use this category for non-urgent medical care. See for urgent medical care Hospital / Medical Care. Huisarts, Bloedbank, Fysiotherapeut, Gezondheidscentrum, Oogarts, Orthodontist, Tandarts, Verloskundigepraktijk e.a. |
| Offices | Point | Law Firm, Real Estate Agent, etc |
| Post Office | Point | |
| Religious Centre | Point | Churches are often well recognisable and can be drawn as Area. Church, Mosque, Synagogue, etc |
| Playgroup / Nursery | Point | |
| Factory / Industrial | Area | Add always to the map when it is mentioned on signs or otherwise if it is big enough to be relevant on the map. |
| Embassy / Consulate | Point | |
| Information Point | Point | |
| Emergency Shelter | Point | |
| Household Recycling Centre | Point | Environmental street, recycling platform, etc. |
| Professional and public | Point | Assisted living location, Community center, Driving school / Driving course / Theory course location, etc. |
Shopping and services
The app offers the possibility to search on Shop, Supermarket and Pharmacy places.
| Arts & Crafts | Point | |
| Bank / Financial | Point | {Brand} |
| Sporting Goods | Point | |
| Bookshop | Point | |
| Photography | Point | |
| Car dealership | Point | {Brand} {Name} In case there is a gas station, use Gas Station as the primary category |
| Fashion and Clothing | Point | |
| Shop | Point | AH to Go, Kiosk |
| Personal Care | Point | Beauty salon, Drugstore, Hairdresser, Manicure salon, Massage salon, Nail salon, Pedicure salon and others |
| Department Store | Point | |
| Pharmacy | Point | |
| Electronics | Point | Computer shop, etc. |
| Flowers / Gardening | Point | |
| Furniture / Home Store | Point | |
| Gift Shop | Point | |
| Gym / Fitness | Point | |
| Swimming Pool | Point | Solely public swimming pools |
| DIY / Hardware Store | Point | Gamma, Karwei, Praxis, etc. |
| Market | Area | {City} {Location} |
| Supermarket / Grocery | Point | {Brand} {Location} |
| Juwellery | Point | Goldsmith, Watch Shop, etc. |
| Laundry / Dry Clean | Point | |
| Shopping Centre | Area | |
| Music Shop | Point | |
| Pet Shop / Veterinarian | Point | |
| Toy Shop | Point | |
| Travel Agents | Point | |
| Cash Machine / ATM | Point | Geldautomaat {Brand}, Pinautomaat, Geldmaat |
| Currency Exchange | Point | |
| Car Rental | Point | Rental-car facilities and returns, including at airports, should be marked as a Point with the “Rental Car” Place category. If the return location is a normal Parking Lot, then mark it with the Parking Lot category and the building with the Car Rental category |
| Telecom | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Point |
Food and Drink
The app offers the possibility to search on Drive-thru's, Food and Coffee bar places.
| Restaurant | Point | |
| Bakery | Point | |
| Dessert | Point | |
| Coffee shop / Cafe | Point | |
| Fast Food | Point | McDonald's may include drive-thru, then draw Parking Lot Road |
| Food Court | Point | Not applicable in the Netherlands |
| Pub / Bar | Point | Cafe, e.a. |
| Ice Cream | Point |
Culture and Entertainment
| Art Gallery | Point | |
| Casino | Point | |
| Club | Point | |
| Tourist Attraction / Historic Site | Point | If the place functions as a landmark it may be represented as an Area. |
| Cinema | Point | |
| Museum | Point | |
| Music Venue | Point | |
| Performing Arts Venue | Point | |
| Game Club | Point | |
| Stadium / Arena | Area | |
| Theme Park | Area | |
| Zoo / Aquarium | Area | Kinderboerderij, e.a. |
| Racing Track | Area | |
| Theatre | Point | |
| Culture and Entertainment | Point | Bowling alley and others |
Other
| Construction Site | Area | Add if it is relevant on the map. Don't forget to remove it when then houses are build. |
| Other | Point | Corona / COVID-19 test- and vaccination locations |
| Other | Point | Memorial, Monument and others |
Lodging
The app offers the possibility to search on Hotel en logies places.
| Hotel | Point | |
| Hostel | Point | F1 hotel Waalwijk; Used for Motels and Inns. |
| Camping / Caravan Park | Area | |
| Cottage / Cabin | Point | |
| Bed & Breakfast | Point |
Outdoors
The app offers the possibility to search on Park places.
| Park | Area | |
| Playground | Point | |
| Beach | Area | |
| Sports Pitch / Court | Area | |
| Golf Course | Area | |
| Plaza | Area | |
| Promenade | Probably not used in the Netherlands | |
| Pool | Area | |
| Services / Layby | Point | |
| Ski Area | Area |
Natural features
| Island | Area | |
| Sea / Lake / Pool | Area | Use only if water itself is visually obvious to drivers on nearby roads. |
| River / Stream | Area | Use only if water itself is visually obvious to drivers on nearby roads. Do not map if not visible from nearby roads. Features under approximately 20 meters wide will not be visible in the app. |
| Forest / Wood | Area | |
| Farm | Area | Farmlands should never be mapped as areas. Editors should remove farmland areas immediately. |
| Canal | Area | |
| Marsh / Bog | Area | |
| Dam | Area |
Tipː for splitting place areas of this category the script WME Split POI can be used.
Car Park
The app offers the possibility to search on Car park places.
| Car Park | Area | A distinctly-marked area where cars can park, separated from the road and with its own driveable segments. |
Residential Place
| Residential Place | Point | Contain photos and an exact address, without all the other properties of a Place |
Don't map
- Mailbox