Top-level tag

Top-level, primary or feature tags are those that define the nature of map features and therefore may be the sole tags that exist on a map element. All other tags are additional properties describing map features and can be considered additional or secondary tags.

All standalone map elements are supposed to have at least one top-level tag. An element may have more than one top-level tag (for example, building=school and amenity=school on an area representing a school building where actual school operations are currently taking place), as long as it reasonably conforms with the one feature, one OSM element principle. Standalone elements lacking a top-level tag do not necessarily constitute an error, but they are typically ignored by data consumers. Many quality assurance tools issue detect such elements and issue warnings.

Keys used to define top-level tags are called top-level keys. For most top-level keys, any value paired with that key will be considered to be a top-level tag, but there are some exceptions, for example homonymous keys.

The distinction of a top-level is not a part of the OSM data model, but only a widely accepted tagging convention. Therefore, in some cases it can be controversial whether a tag is top-level or not. For example, club=* is considered by some mappers to be only an additional property for amenity=community_centre or amenity=social_centre. Yet 92% of elements tagged with club=* do not feature any amenity=* tag., the generic leisure=club tag (suggested as a possibility in the approved proposal for club=*) was deemed as deprecated in 2014, and amenity=club similarly in 2021.

List of top-level keys

The table below shows the top-level keys widely supported in data consumers, listed in alphabetical order. This is not a definitive list, since according to the any tags you like principle many more exist and may be created at any moment, though are unlikely to be as popular as ones listed here.

For standalone elements

Key	Elements	Description	Usage
advertising=*		Used for advertising devices.
aerialway=*		Used for various forms of transport for passengers and goods that use wires, including cable-cars, chair-lifts and drag-lifts.
aeroway=*		For physical infrastructure used to support aircraft, air travel, spacecraft and space flight.
amenity=*		For describing useful and important facilities for visitors and residents.
barrier=*		A barrier is a physical structure which blocks or impedes movement.
boundary=*		Used to mark the borders of areas, mostly political, but possibly also of other administrative areas
building=*		To mark the area of a building, a man-made structure with a roof, standing more or less permanently in one place.
club=*		Used to mark the location where a club regularly meets.
craft=*		A place producing or processing customized goods
departures_board=*		Board with information about scheduled services. Not a top-level tag if used as an attribute on a public_transport=* element.
education=*		Describes various educational features
emergency=*		Describes various emergency services, facilities, amenities or the possibility of access for emergency services
geological=*		Used to describe geological sites.
healthcare=*		A healthcare facility.
highway=*		Used for roads and road-related facilities.
historic=*		Used for describing various historic features.
landcover=*		Used for describing physical coverage of an area.
landuse=*		Mainly used for describing the primary use of areas of land.
leisure=*		Features associated with leisure activities.
man_made=*		Artificial structures other than buildings.
military=*		Facilities used by military forces.
natural=*		Natural physical landscape features, including those modified or created by humans.
office=*		A place of business predominately providing services.
piste:type=*		Indicates the type of a winter sports piste. Is top-level, since often in summer there are no visible features along the piste.
place=*		Defines the center or outline of a named place.
power=*		Facilities for generation and distribution of electrical power.
public_transport=*		Public transport infrastructure.
railway=*		Used for railways and railway infrastructure.
route=*		A customary or regular line of passage or travel, often predetermined and publicized.
shop=*		A place selling retail products or offering services.
telecom=*		Main key for telecommunication systems and networks mapping
tourism=*		A place or object of specific interest to tourists.
type=*		Specifies relation type.
waterway=*		Used to mark rivers or other kind of waterways.

For dependent elements

Dependent element is an informal name for an element used to refine other feature. Although it is an element on its own, with its own top-level tag, it would often not make much sense in total separation from its associated feature. They usually share geometry with a primary feature or are contained inside of it. For example, an entrance=* element will usually be a node on the outline of the building=* element.

Key	Elements	Description	Usage
allotments=*		Associated with landuse=allotments feature allotments=plot is used to demarcate a plot within an allotment garden.
area:highway=*		Associated with highway=* features Used for road areas.
attraction=*		Associated with tourism=* and leisure=* features Used for individual attractions in theme parks, zoos etc.
building:part=*		Associated with building=* features To mark the outline of a part of building that has properties distinct from other parts of the building.
bridge:support=*		Associated with man_made=bridge feature Indicates position of the abutments and piers which support a bridge from beneath.
cemetery=*		Associated with landuse=cemetery and amenity=grave_yard features Used to mark graves and sectors at cemeteries.
entrance=*		Associated with building=* and other enclosed area features Used to mark entry (or exit) points to buildings or other enclosed areas.
ford=*		Associated with conjoined highway=* and waterway=* features A place where waterway runs over a road. Not a top-level tag if used as a property on a way tagged with highway=*.
golf=*		Associated with leisure=golf_course feature Used to map details of a golf course.
indoor=*		Associated with building=* features Used for marking corridors, rooms, etc. in the Simple Indoor Tagging scheme.
junction=*		Associated with highway=* features Used for road junctions. Not a top-level tag if used as a property on a way tagged with highway=*.
noexit=*		Associated with highway=* features noexit=yes indicates a dead-end of a road.
playground=*		Associated with leisure=playground feature Used to map individual devices of a playground.
traffic_calming=*		Associated with highway=* features Engineering dedicated to slow or reduce road traffic. Not a top-level tag if used as a property on a way tagged with highway=*.
traffic_sign=*		Associated with highway=* features Used to mark a point on the road at the height of a traffic sign. Not a top-level tag if used on a node beside a road tagged with highway=traffic_sign to indicate the precise location of a sign. Also not a top-level tag if used as a property on a way tagged with highway=* to indicate affected road segment.

See also

• type=* – Mandatory tag that defines the type of a relation (but not the real-world feature it represents)
• Proposal:Top-level information tag – Proposal to turn information into a top-level tag (doesn't depend on tourism=information anymore).

External links

• "What are the “top-level tags”?" thread at official OSM forums