In 1998 the World Heritage Committee decided to include the D.F. Woudagemaal on the World Heritage List on the basis of cultural criteria (1), (2) and (4).

According to these criteria cultural, world heritage must (1) represent a masterpiece of human creative genius; (2) exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design; and (4) be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates one or more significant stages in human history.

The following considerations applied when the D.F. Woudagemaal was inscribed on the List:
(1): The rise of steam as a source of power gave Dutch engineers a powerful instrument for their centuries-long task of controlling water and the D.F. Woudagemaal is the largest installation of its kind ever built.
(2): As such the Woudagemaal is the pinnacle of hydraulic engineering in the Netherlands.
(4): It bears unique testimony to the power of steam in controlling elementary forces, particularly in how it was applied by Dutch engineers.