During the final months of 2025 and the first half of 2026, Waze initiated the “Ladder Builder” mission — a project designed to demystify progression through the editing levels and create a clear, global benchmark for levels L3 to L6. To define this path, 15 “Ladder Builder” workshops were held worldwide, 10 of which took place at Regional and National Meetups, including the one in Portugal in March 2026.
The goal was to make the journey within the communities more transparent, consistent, and rewarding.
Waze’s mission:
Difficulty in leveling up has been one of the main sources of dissatisfaction, according to Waze community satisfaction data collected through surveys and direct feedback. The goal was to establish a standardized guide titled “Path to Level Up”, from Level 3 to Level 6.
L1 → L2: The First Step
- Automatic progression: Automatically granted after reaching 3,000 edits.
L2 → L3: Becoming an Advanced Editor
- Automatic progression: Automatically granted after reaching 25,000 edits.
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- Early promotion: May be granted before reaching 25,000 edits, based on:
- Consistently high-quality edits.
- Good knowledge of the Waze Map Editor (WME) and its features.
- Application of local mapping best practices.
- Active participation and positive involvement in the Portuguese community.
L3 → L4: The Trusted Editor
This level can be accessed after reaching 100,000 edits (100K). The editor is expected to have the following skills:
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Area Management (AM): The editor frequently maintains an AM and has specialized knowledge in the specific area.
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Regularly maintains the map to ensure all segments, places, and house numbers are correct.
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Promptly responds to and resolves Update Requests (URs) and Map Problems (MPs) in the AM area, communicating with users in a polite and clear manner.
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Proactively stays up to date with road changes in the AM, new developments, and infrastructure projects to reflect them on the map.
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- If they already successfully supervise an existing AM, they may qualify, in this level progression, for a wider geographic area or for the assignment of a supplementary AM in the vicinity of their local residence.
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Closures:
- The editor has successfully completed the required training on Closures and Traffic Events and demonstrates strong proficiency in the feature and a deep understanding of its impact on routing for drivers.
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Junction Boxes:
- The editor has successfully completed the required training on Junction Boxes and Paths and demonstrates strong proficiency in the feature and a deep understanding of its impact on routing for drivers.
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Lane Guidance: The editor knows how to add lane guidance and its options to define precise navigation instructions for drivers.
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Edit Suggestions: The editor has completed the required training on Edit Suggestions - Moderators and knows how to moderate edit suggestions, and is polite to those who submit them.
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Demonstrates technical proficiency in reviewing and moderating edit suggestions.
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Maintains professional and polite communication with all contributors, providing clear explanations for moderation decisions.
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Strictly adheres to established local and global moderation guidelines to ensure consistency across the map.
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Permanent Hazards (PH): The editor has knowledge and a proven quality track record in adding permanent hazards in Portugal.
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School Zones: The editor understands how to correctly define a school zone polygon, including all relevant segments.
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Being Active on the Forum: The editor proactively stays informed about the latest news and announcements from the Waze team and the Communities Team. They contribute their knowledge and experience to local forums or other community channels and actively participate in the development cycle, providing constructive feedback on new features, beta versions, and map editing tools to ensure they meet the needs of their region.
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Active in local chats and groups: The editor actively participates in the Portuguese Community Slack and other local chats. This involves participating frequently in discussions and staying informed about community updates and announcements.
- Participation in National and Local Meetups: The editor must participate in the local meetups of the Portuguese Community.
- Endorsement from Community Leaders: Local leadership must support the level progression. Active involvement in the community is vital, as is gaining their support.
L4 → L5: The Community Mentor
This level can be accessed after reaching 250,000 edits (250K). The editor is expected to have the following skills:
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Lane Guidance in Junction Boxes (JB): The editor must understand when and how to map lane guidance in JBs.
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Paths (Far-side maneuvers): The editor has knowledge of how to add a path and configure far-side maneuvers and their respective guidance, and understands “push” and “pull” guidance characteristics.
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Restricted Areas & Segment Restrictions: The editor has a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the importance of creating a restricted area and the types of restrictions that exist in the WME (for specific days, times, vehicles, permits, lanes, and tolls).
- Mentorship: The editor is an active mentor in the community and shares their knowledge with mentees. This includes providing one-on-one guidance in complex mapping scenarios, offering constructive feedback on the quality of edits to ensure map accuracy, and actively encouraging mentees to participate in community discussions and local groups to build their network.
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- Although not acting as an official mentor, the editor is deeply trusted by the community to resolve mapping doubts, guide colleagues through their editing journey, and offer constructive feedback to support their growth.
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New Editor Retention & Proactive Interaction: The editor actively identifies newcomers by monitoring local mapping activity through HVA reports, recent edits, or “edit suggestion” moderations. They send personalized welcome messages to invite new editors to join the Portuguese community. The ultimate goal is to promote long-term integration into the community, serving as a bridge between the map and the community’s social channels.
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Welcoming New Editors: The editor takes a leadership role in proactive outreach, identifying and welcoming new editors. They provide essential initial resources, such as links to local mapping wikis and communication channels, while fostering a supportive environment that encourages questions and long-term integration into the community.
- Participation in National and Local Meetings: The editor must actively participate in the national and local meetings of the Portuguese Community, addressing and presenting useful topics related to Waze map editing in Portugal.
- Community Leaders’ Approval: Local leadership must support level progression. Active involvement in the community is vital, as is obtaining their support.
L5 → L6: Strategic & Diplomatic Leader
Level L6 is reserved exclusively for Champs.
It is possible to access this level after reaching 500,000 edits (500K). The editor is expected to have the following skills:
- Satellite Imagery Request (“The Button”): the editor knows how to identify outdated imagery by checking imagery availability across all available layers. They correctly request imagery updates through “the button,” are aware of how imagery characteristics vary with age, and provide all necessary data to complete the request.
- Chat Activity: the editor acts as the primary community conversation starter in local channels. They proactively share important team announcements and ensure that updates are effectively disseminated to the community.
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Leader and consensus builder: the editor demonstrates leadership by building consensus and serving as a role model for colleagues. They actively facilitate the resolution of internal community conflicts. They embody the qualities of an experienced and accessible leader with vast knowledge of Waze.
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Map Raid Organization or Project Leader: the editor identifies areas for map improvement and organizes Map Raids (local or global) and/or leads, organizes, and encourages mapping initiatives, such as: mapping traffic lights, mapping speed bumps, closing URs in specific areas, reviewing open KoiFish suggestions and newly released Waze mapping features in order to make them available to Waze users.
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Relationship with Country Coordinators: The editor maintains a strong and collaborative partnership with their country’s coordinators and demonstrates competence in identifying when to escalate issues to coordinators. They know and interact with the Staff Community Manager (SCM) of Portugal.
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Actively holds at least one role other than Map Editor: The editor is a Community Booster, Partner Coordinator, Mentoring Coordinator, WME Pirate, Beta Tester, Beta Leader, Event Marshall, First Responder, Coordinator, Local Champ, Culture Chair, Mega Mapper, Script Author, Localizer, or any other role available in the community.
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Participation in National and Local Meetings: The editor must actively participate in the national and local meetings of the Portuguese Community, addressing and presenting useful topics related to Waze map editing in Portugal.
- Community Leaders’ Approval: Local leadership must support level progression. Active involvement in the community is vital, as is obtaining their support.
The Portuguese Community, in accordance with Waze guidelines and other global communities, has prioritized criteria that obtained the greatest consensus among its leaders. The progressions presented are cumulative; advancing to Level 6 means the editor has already successfully surpassed and mastered all fundamental expectations defined for both Level 4 and Level 5.
Color Codes:
Editing skills
Interpersonal skills (Soft Skills)
Contribution to the community
Other skills