The invention relates to a method for classifying an object (6) in a lateral surrounding area (5) of a motor vehicle (1), in which a signal is transmitted into the lateral surrounding area (5) by a sensor device (3) on-board the vehicle for monitoring the lateral surrounding area (5) and the signal reflected at the object (6) is received by said sensor device (3), wherein a monitoring area (E) of the sensor device (3) for monitoring the lateral surrounding area (5) is segmented into a first detection area (E1) and a second detection area (E2), wherein a first value for a distance (AL) from the object (6) to the motor vehicle (1) is defined on the basis of the signal received from the first detection area (E1) and it is determined whether the object (6) is a stationary object located laterally in relation to the motor vehicle (1), a second value for the distance (AL) from the object (6) to the motor vehicle (1) is determined on the basis of the signal received from the second detection area (E2) and it is defined on the basis of the first value and the second value for the distance (AL) whether the object (6) defined as a stationary object is a stationary object longitudinally extended in a longitudinal direction (RL) of the vehicle. The invention furthermore relates to a driver assistance system (2) and a motor vehicle (1).