---
title: "Populate the placeholders field for layouts"
slug: "populate-the-placeholders-field-for-layouts"
abstract: "Exposing placeholders to the Layout Service"
---
# Populate the placeholders field for layouts

When fetching layout/route data using the REST Layout Service, you might encounter situations where the `placeholders` field for a layout is empty or does not include some placeholders you were expecting to see in the data.

If there is missing placeholder information in the JSON data structure under `sitecore.route.placeholders`, for every one of your layouts, you must configure the **Layout Service Placeholders** field.

The **Layout Service Placeholders** field determines which placeholder information to include in the Layout Service response data.

> [!important]
> When you follow this procedure, the Layout Service returns JSON data for renderings in each placeholder. If you want to serialize renderings to HTML, [configure the Sitecore Layout Service to output HTML for MVC renderings](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/configure-the-sitecore-layout-service-to-output-html-for-mvc-renderings.html "Configure the Sitecore Layout Service to output HTML for MVC renderings").

To populate the `placeholders` field for your layouts:

1. In the content tree, under *sitecore/layouts/Layouts*, for your selected Layout, add every *root* placeholder to the **Layout Service Placeholders** field.

    > [!note]
    > If a *Placeholder Settings* item does not exist, create it.

    ![Configuration interface for Layout Service Placeholders](https://doc.sitecore.com/api/markdown-image/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/images/StaticMVCConfigurePlaceholders.png)

2. Refresh the Layout Service endpoint you accessed previously. The placeholder information located in the data at *Sitecore/route /placeholders* is now populated. The data includes all placeholders and components required to render your page.