Currently we have two similarly named types relating to service provision, and no stated relationship between them.

See also sub-issues: #812 (specific wording changes), #411 (serviceArea range)

1.) http://schema.org/ProfessionalService "Provider of professional services."

• Thing > Place > LocalBusiness > ProfessionalService
• Thing > Organization > LocalBusiness > ProfessionalService

Notes on ProfessionalService:

• This type and its subtypes have no properties defined especially for them (incoming or outgoing)
• Subtypes of ProfessionalService: AccountingService, Attorney, Dentist, Electrician, GeneralContractor, HousePainter, Locksmith, Notary, Plumber, RoofingContractor.
  • These are all subtypes of LocalBusiness, and so (like ProfessionalService itself) have multiple supertypes: Organization and Place

2.) http://schema.org/Service "A service provided by an organization, e.g. delivery service, print services, etc."

• Thing > Intangible > Service

Notes on Service:

• uses availableChannel to point to a ServiceChannel (which in turn has properties for online, local business, phone etc. channels of a service)
• uses provider to reference Person or Organization, (alongside 'review' for service reviews, aggregateRating for service ratings etc.)
• service-specific outgoing properties are: serviceArea (an AdministrativeArea), serviceOutput (a Thing), serviceType (Text).
• has one example, which is of an Order that has an 'orderedItem' which is a Service whose 'description' is "furnace installation".
  • related minor issue: orderedItem property should anticipate Service values.
• Service has 2 incoming properties: issuedThrough (on Permit), and providesService on ServiceChannel.
• Service type was added later for Civic Services. See http://blog.schema.org/2013/08/vocabulary-for-describing-civic-services.html (blog post), http://www.w3.org/wiki/WebSchemas/CivicServices (earlier design discussions).
• http://schema.org/Permit was also part of the Civic Services model. A Permit ("A permit issued by an organization, e.g. a parking pass.") is issuedThrough a Service, and can have temporal and geographic validity, as well as an audience.
  • http://schema.org/GovernmentPermit is a subtype of Permit: "A permit issued by a government agency.", see link for example which expressed that a GovernmentPermit was issuedBy a GovernmentOrganization named "Department of Health and Mental Hygiene", and issuedThrough a GovernmentService named "NYC Food Service Establishment Permit Service"
• Subtypes of Service:
  • BroadcastService ("A delivery service through which content is provided via broadcast over the air or online."; used for values of "publishedOn" in BroadcastEvent)
  • CableOrSatelliteService ("A service which provides access to media programming like TV or radio. Access may be via cable or satellite."; used for values of inBroadcastLineup on BroadcastChannel)
  • GovernmentService ("A service provided by a government organization, e.g. food stamps, veterans benefits, etc.")
  • Taxi ("A taxi.")
  • TaxiService ("A service for a vehicle for hire with a driver for local travel. Fares are usually calculated based on distance traveled.
    ")