# Category Data
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/eop-admin/documentation/use-cases/categories/index.md

## Category Search {#category-search}

The Category Search API enables the retrieval of categories using country-specific filters. Consumers or aggregators should use these categories to map their own categories and provide the category UUID (Universal Unique Identifier) during the Merchant creation process. Refer to the [API Reference](https://developer.mastercard.com/eop-admin/documentation/api-reference/index.md) page for further information about each endpoint.

### Prerequisites {#prerequisites}

Refer to the following prerequisites for the customer to use this endpoint:

* Get the list of countries (ISO 3166 3-letter format) to fetch the categories.

### Sequence diagram {#sequence-diagram}

Diagram category

### Execution steps {#execution-steps}

1. The Merchant aggregator sends the search request to the Category Data API with the below parameters in the payload:
   * limit - Number of items in the response
   * offset - Number of pages requested
   * countries - List of countries (ISO 3166 3-letter format)
2. Mastercard Gateway validates the client request.
3. Mastercard Gateway routes the POST /categories/category-searches request to the Category Data API in the case of a valid request.
4. The request is validated with the application permissions using the key from the header.
5. The POST /categories/category-searches request fetches the category data and sends a paginated response (200).
6. The Category Data API returns a response with a status code of 4XX/5XX in case of an invalid request.

### API structure {#api-structure}


API Reference: `GET /categories/category-searches`

## Next steps {#next-steps}

Use the category for [Merchant Ingestion](https://developer.mastercard.com/eop-admin/documentation/use-cases/merchants/index.md)