> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.mapsdata.io/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Look up categories

> Find normalized Google business categories for a search query.

Search the category catalog before creating a job. The endpoint returns up to eight matches and consumes no lead credits.

<ParamField query="q" type="string" required>
  Category text, between 2 and 100 characters. Example: `plumber`.
</ParamField>

<RequestExample>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl "https://www.mapsdata.io/api/v1/categories?q=plumber" \
    -H "x-api-key: md_live_your_key"
  ```
</RequestExample>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json 200 theme={null}
  {
    "categories": [
      {
        "category_key": "plumber",
        "display_name": "Plumber"
      }
    ]
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>

<ResponseField name="categories[].category_key" type="string">Stable normalized category key.</ResponseField>
<ResponseField name="categories[].display_name" type="string">Human-readable Google category. Use this as `input.query` when you want to match the UI's suggested category.</ResponseField>

Free-form queries remain valid. Use them when the desired niche is more specific than a catalog category, such as `emergency commercial plumber`.


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