OGC Standards | Global Specifications for Interoperable Geospatial Data
Skip to content
OGC Standards
Although member-driven, OGC publications extend our impact globally—capturing shared expertise and driving geospatial innovation worldwide.
The Foundation for a Seamless Geospatial Future.
OGC Standards
OGC Standards are internationally recognized specifications that let different systems exchange information seamlessly. They are organized by functional area (e.g., data discovery, organization). The functional capabilities of the Web Service Standards are now available as more modern web APIs. Implementers are encouraged to use these newer OGC API Standards.
OGC APIs
Standards that take advantage of modern web development practices such as JSON, REST, and OpenAPI.
GeoAPI Implementation Specification
OGC API – Common
OGC API – Environmental Data Retrieval
OGC API – Features
OGC API – Maps
OGC API – Moving Features
OGC API – Processes
OGC API – Records
OGC API – Tiles
SensorThings API
OGC API – Connected Systems
OGC API – Discrete Global Grid Systems
OpenEO
Services
Standards that implement XML Remote Procedure Calls using the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
3D Portrayal Service
Coordinate Transformation Service
Location Service (OpenLS)
Table Joining Service
Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS)
Web Coverage Service
Web Feature Service
Web Map Context
Web Map Service
Web Map Tile Service
Web Processing Service
Web Service Common
Web Services Security
Data Models and Encodings -General
Standards that provide general rules to organize geospatial information, typically sent by a service provider or produced by an application.
3D Tiles
Common Query Language (CQL2)
CoverageJSON
EO Dataset Metadata GeoJSON(-LD)
Filter Encoding
Geodetic data Grid eXchange Format (GGXF)
Geography Markup Language (GML)
GeoPose
Geospatial User Feedback (GUF)
GeoXACML
GML in JPEG 2000 for Geographic Imagery
Indexed 3D Scene Layers (I3S)
KML
Observations, Measurements, and Samples
Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF
GeoTIFF
Moving Features
Open Modelling Interface (OpenMI)
Two Dimensional Tile Matrix Set
Open GeoSMS – Core
Simple Feature Access – Part 1: Common Architecture
Simple Feature Access – Part 2: SQL Option
Simple Features for CORBA
Simple Features for OLE/COM
Styled Layer Descriptor
Symbology Conceptual Core Model
Symbology Encoding
Time Ontology in OWL
Training Data Markup Language for Artificial Intelligence
Well-known text representation of coordinate reference systems
Data Models and Encodings - Domain Specific
Standards that provide domain specific rules to organize geospatial information.
Bathymetric Attributed Grid (BAG)
CityGML
CityJSON
Indoor Mapping Data Format (IMDF)
LAS Specification
Model for Underground Data Definition and Integration (MUDDI)
Augmented Reality Markup Language 2.0
Geoscience Markup Language (GeoSciML)
IndoorGML
LandInfra / InfraGML
WaterML
WaterML 2: Part 4 – GroundWaterML 2 (GWML2)
PipelineML Conceptual and Encoding Model
Points of Interest (POI)
TimeseriesML (TSML)
Publish - Subscribe, Syndication & Context
Standards for subscription management and other syndication purposes.
GeoRSS
OGC API – EDR – Part 2: Publish-Subscribe Workflow
OGC Web Services Context Document (OWS Context)
Publish/Subscribe
Sensors
Standards to accessing sensors that are connected to the Web or the Internet of Things (IoT).
PUCK Protocol
SensorThings API
Semantic Sensor Network Ontology
Sensor Model Language (SensorML)
Sensor Observation Service
Sensor Planning Service (SPS)
STAplus: Sensor Things API Extension
SWE Common Data Model Encoding
SWE Service Model Implementation
OGC API – Connected Systems
Discovery
Standards for searching and finding geospatial resources.
Catalogue Service
Catalogue Services Standard 2.0 Extension Package for ebRIM Application Profile: Earth Observation Products
GeoSPARQL – A Geographic Query Language for RDF Data
OpenSearch
Ordering Services Framework for Earth Observation Products
SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (STAC)
Containers
Standards that specify rules for storing and retrieving geospatial information efficiently.
CDB
GeoPackage
Hierarchical Data Format Version 5 (HDF5®)
network Common Data Form (netCDF) standards suite
Zarr Storage Specification
Abstract Specification
A reference model used in the development of OGC Standards.
Abstract Specification
Other Information
This section provides supporting information, guidance, and resources to help users understand and implement the standard effectively.
COSI Initiatives
COSI Initiatives explore and evaluate future geospatial technologies. Initiative outcomes are detailed in public reports and other deliverables; these are not approved standards documents.
Outputs from Completed COSI Initiatives
Other Publications
We produce several other types of reports that can be referred to in understanding issues of interoperability; these are not approved standards documents.
Other Publications
Knowledge & Learning
From introductory content to developer resources, we are committed to delivering the learning needed to work with, code and implement, OGC standards. Choose from these available learning resources:
OGC API Workshop.
Learn how to use modern OGC APIs for the discovery, access, visualization and processing of geospatial data.
Location Innovation Academy.
Learn how to make the most out of geospatial platforms and how to integrate geospatial data and services. Some modules are available in English and Spanish.
Policies & Procedures
We institute and follow a set of policies and procedures to fulfil our remit, publishing OGC’s methodology for doing business in the interest of transparency and trust.
Policies & Procedures
Common Definitions
We work to standardize the language of the geospatial industry. OGC’s Registry for Accessible Identifiers of Names and Basic Ontologies for the Web (
OGC RAINBOW
) is an online vocabulary developed to foster a common understanding of concepts defined either by OGC or by communities that ask us to host them on their behalf. And in the OGC
Schema Repository
, the order, types and labels of information that describe geospatial datasets are specified. We also maintain a
Glossary of Terms
to promote use of common terminology.
Open Calls and Requests
Members of the public can review candidate standards and share feedback to ensure they are practical and widely applicable.
Join OGC