Different GEDCOM versions support different GEDCOM tags. Newer versions of GEDCOM do not just introduce new tags, but drop support for older tags as well. The GEDCOM specification has a Introduction in front of Chapter 1. That introduction lists changes with respect to earlier versions. It even explicitly lists which tags were added or removed. Sadly, these statements are neither entirely correct nor complete.
This article documents all the discrepancies I've noted over the years, and presents an overview of GEDCOM tags that incorporates all these observations. I do not claim that this overview is entirely accurate, but it certainly addresses a lot of misinformation published by FamilySearch itself. Additions and corrections are very welcome.
GEDCOM 5.0 was introduced in 1991. It was followed by GEDCOM 5.5 in 1995. In
between several draft were published, most notably GEDCOM 5.3.
The GEDCOM 5.0 specification is not publicly available. Last year, I asked
FamilySearch about copies for older GEDCOM specifications, and after several
delays and evasive replies, they admitted that they are unable to find their own standards…
The GEDCOM 5.0 column below is based on a reading of the GEDCOM 5.3 and GEDCOM
5.4 specifications.
| GEDCOM tag | brief description |
|---|---|
| _IIC | Individual Record Count |
| _FIC | FamilyRecord Count |
| _RUL | RULes used |
| ADFA | ADoption by FAther |
| ADMO | ADoption by MOther |
| DIVO | DIVOrce. |
| EOF | End Of File. |
| FAMI | FAMIly. |
| PARE | PAREnt record |
| SYST | SYSTem section |
Information on earlier GEDCOM specifications is hard to come by. The table to the right lists some of the tags that earlier versions of GEDCOM included, but this table is not complete.
The GEDCOM 5.3 specification does provide a list of Some changes in
Version 5.2 - 5.3 that were not in previous 5.x versions, but does not provide simple
enumerations of the tags that were added or removed like later GEDCOM versions
do.
The only explicitly mentioned change in this section is the addition of the
MSTAT tag. The MSTAT tag does not appear in later
versions of the GEDCOM specification.
GEDCOM 5.3 is remembered for the introduction of SCHEMA tags;
SCHEMA, DEFN, LABL and ISA.
This mechanism for declaring vendor-defined tags was dropped in GEDCOM 5.4,
but is present in many Family Tree Maker GEDCOM files.
The GEDCOM 5.3 tag overview in Appendix A presents an alphabetical lists of GEDCOM tags, but
is neither accurate nor complete. Appendix A lists the tag ISSUE,
while the actual tag documented in the rest of the GEDCOM 5.3 specification is ISSU.
The tags AUDIO, PHOTO and VIDEO are missing from the list.
The tags CPLR, XLTR and INFT
tags do occur in the GEDCOM 5.3 introduction and Appendix A, but they do not occur in the specification itself.
Thus, these three tags were actually dropped in GEDCOM 5.3.
The last two bullet points of the section Changes introduced or Modified in Version 5.4 are:
- The following tags were eliminated:
ARVL, BROT, BUYR, CEME, CNTC, CPLR, DEFM, DPRT, EDTR, FIDE, FILM, GODP, HDOH, HEIR, HFAT, HMOT, INFT, INDX, INTV, ISA, ISSU, ITEM, LABL, LCCN, LGTE, MBR, NAMS, NAMR, OFFI, ORIG, OWNR, PERI, PORT, PWIF, PUBR, RECO, SELR, SEQU, SERS, SIBL, SIGN, SIST, SITE, TXPY, XLTR, WFAT, WITN, WMOT, AUDIO, IMAGE, PHOTO, SCHEMA, VIDEO- The following tags were added:
BLOB, CTRY, CREM, EOBJ, FCOM, GIVN, NPFX, NSFX, OBJE, PEDI, RELA, RESI, RESN, SUBN, SURN, STAT, END
Notice that neither of these two lists of tags is in alphabetical order.
The MSTAT tag introduced in GEDCOM 5.3 does not appear in the GEDCOM
5.4 specification, yet is not listed as one of the tags that has been removed.
The GEDCOM 5.4 specifications lists the non-existing MSTA tag as removed
instead.
The GEDCOM 5.4 specification supports multimedia through the BLOB tag. This
tag allows multimedia objects to be encoded inside the GEDCOM. For compatibility
with earlier GEDCOM versions, the BLOBs appear after the TRLR tag. The
end of a BLOB object is indicated by the EOBJ tag, while actual
end of the GEDCOM file is indicated by the END tag.
The GEDCOM 5.4 draft lists the following tags as removed from GEDCOM: ARVL, AUDIO, BROT, BUYR, CEME, CNTC, CPLR, DEFM,
DPRT, EDTR, FIDE, FILM, GODP, HDOH, HEIR, HFAT, HMOT, IMAGE, INFT, INDX, INTV,
ISA, ISSU, ITEM, LABL, LCCN, LGTE, MBR, NAMR, NAMS, OFFI, ORIG, OWNR, PERI, PHOTO,
PORT, PWIF, PUBR, RECO, SCHEMA, SELR, SEQU, SERS, SIBL, SIGN, SIST, SITE, TXPY,
VIDEO, WFAT, WITN, WMOT and XLTR.
The GEDCOM 5.4 specification states that it ended support for DEFM, but
it actually ended support for DEFN. There never was a DEFM tag.
The GEDCOM 5.4 specification lists the IMAGE tag as removed in
version 5.4, but there is no IMAGE tag in GEDCOM 5.3.
Present in GEDCOM 5.3, but not in 5.4, yet like MSTAT not included in the list of removed tags are CLAS, PHUS, REFS, and SOUND.
The list of tags removed in 5.4 lists LGTE as removed,
while it should list LEGA as removed.
The GEDCOM 5.3 specification is the last GEDCOM form that the LEGA tag
actually occurs in. The GEDCOM 5.3 specification uses LEGA
in the GEDCOM form, yet lists LGTE in the Appendix.
Both GEDCOM 5.4 document and GEDCOM 5.5 list LEGA in their
Appendix, without listing either LEGA or LGTE in the GEDCOM form.
The GEDCOM 5.4 introduction list ORDL as new in GEDCOM 5.4,
and lists the tag in the Appendix, but ORDL does not appear in the GEDCOM form.
Although the CPLR, XLTR and INFT
tags do occur in the GEDCOM 5.3 specification, they only occur in the
introduction and the Appendix, not in the specification itself. Thus, these
three tags were actually dropped in GEDCOM 5.3 already.
The GEDCOM 5.4 draft introduced the tags BLOB, CREM, CTRY, FCOM, GIVN, NPFX, OBJE, PEDI, RELA, RESI, RESN, SUBN, SURN and STAT. These remained in GEDCOM 5.5.
The GEDCOM 5.5 specification is the official successor to the GEDCOM 5.0 specification. The GEDCOM 5.3 and 5.4 specifications were drafts only. The GEDCOM 5.5 introduction lists changes between the various versions.
The section Modification in Version 5.5 as a result of the 5.4 (draft) review list a number of bullet points that summarise the changes. The text of the last bullet point is
- The following tags were added:
ADR1, ADR2, CITY, NICK, POST, SPFX
This list of added tags is not complete. As mentioned in another bullet
point, GEDCOM 5.5 also introduced the RIN tag.
The last two bullet points of the section Changes introduced or Modified in Draft Version 5.4 are:
- The following tags are no longer used in the Lineage-Linked Form:
ARVL, BROT, BUYR, CEME, CNTC, CPLR, DEFM, DPRT, EDTR, FIDE, FILM, GODP, HDOH, HEIR, HFAT, HMOT, INFT, INDX, INTV, ISA, ISSU, ITEM, LABL, LCCN, LGTE, MBR, NAMS, NAMR, OFFI, ORIG, OWNR, PERI, PORT, PWIF, PUBR, RECO, SELR, SEQU, SERS, SIBL, SIGN, SIST, SITE, TXPY, XLTR, WFAT, WITN, WMOT, AUDIO, IMAGE, PHOTO, SCHEMA, VIDEO- The following tags were added:
BLOB, CTRY, CREM, FCOM, GIVN, NPFX, NSFX, OBJE, PEDI, RELA, RESI, RESN, SUBN, SURN, STAT
Notice that neither of these two lists of tags is in alphabetical order.
Note that those two lists should be, but are not identical to those in the
GEDCOM 5.4 specification itself. The GEDCOM 5.5 specification does not mention the END
or EOBJ tags introduced in GEDCOM 5.4. Both seem to have been
silently withdrawn after FamilySearch realised that both tags are superfluous.
The section Changes introduced in Draft Version 5.3 does not provide
a list of new or removed tag. Other bullet points do mention that the MSTA tag
and the SCHEMA tags were introduced in 5.3 and removed again in
5.4, and that use of the CPLR, XLTR and INFT
tags in source substructures was discontinued.
Those statements are not entirely correct; GEDCOM 5.3 did not introduce the
MSTA tag, but the MSTAT tag.
The GEDCOM 5.5 document does not correct, but repeats misinformation from
GEDCOM 5.4 document. Although the CPLR, XLTR and INFT
tags do occur in the GEDCOM 5.3 document, they only occur in the
introduction and the Appendix, not in the specification itself. Thus, these
three tags were actually dropped in GEDCOM 5.3 already.
The GEDCOM 5.4 draft dropped support for the SCHEMA stuff introduced in GEDCOM 5.3, and several other tags. The statements provided about this in the GEDCOM 5.5 document are not accurate.
The GEDCOM 5.4 draft introduced BLOB, CREM, CTRY, FCOM, GIVN, NPFX, OBJE, PEDI, RELA, RESI, RESN, SUBN, SURN and STAT. These remained in GEDCOM 5.5.
GEDCOM 5.5 additionally added the tags ADR1, ADR2, CITY, NICK, POST and SPFX as result of the GEDCOM 5.4 draft review.
The list of tags introduced in 5.5 is not complete. The GEDCOM 5.5
specification additionally introduced RIN. The inclusion of this new tag is
mentioned in one of the introduction's bullet points, yet the tag is missing from the list of
new tags.
GEDCOM 5.5.1 removed the tag BLOB and added EMAIL, FAX, FACT, FONE, ROMN, WWW, MAP, LATI and LONG.
GEDCOM 5.5.1 is the de facto GEDCOM standard. Most genealogy applications, even those that claim to support GEDCOM version 5.5, use some or all of these tags.
The section Modifications in Version 5.5.1 ends with the following two points:
The following tags were added:
electronic mailing address FAX FAX address FACT A fact or characteristic. FONE Phonetic variation of a text. ROMN Romanised variation of a text. WWW Web home page address. MAP Pertaining to maps. LATI value of a latitudinal coordinate pertaining to the place of an event LONG value of a longitudinal coordinate pertaining to the place of an event. The following tag was removed:
BLOB
Notice that the list of tags added in 5.5.1 is not in alphabetical order.
GEDCOM 5.6 was never officially released. It became public early in 2011,
more than a decade after its creation. It is historically interesting because it
introduced the GEDXML format.
GEDCOM 5.6 examined the changes introduced in
GEDCOM 5.6 and concluded that although GEDCOM readers should be updated to
support GEDCOM 5.6, the recommended output default remains GEDCOM 5.5.1.
The section Modifications in Version 5.6 ends with the following two points:
The following tags were added:
CLNDR Calendar type Electronic mailing address FAX FAX address FACT A fact or characteristic. FONE Phonetic variation of a text. MAP Pertaining to maps. LATI value of a latitudinal coordinate pertaining to the place of an event LONG value of a longitudinal coordinate pertaining to the place of an event. ROMN Romanised variation of a text. URL Web page address. WAC LDS Temple ordinance event. The following tag was removed:
BLOB decision not to allow imbedded multimedia objects. LEGA not used in any valid substructures.
Notice that most of the tags that the GEDCOM 5.6 specification lists as added in version 5.6 were actually added in version 5.5.1.
The GEDCOM 5.6 specification additionally added ORDL,
a tag first mentioned in the GEDCOM 5.4 specification.
GEDCOM 5.6 contains a small table that highlights the differences
between GEDCOM version 5.5, 5.5.1 and 5.6. The only truly new tags are CLNDR and
WAC; URL is not really a new tag, but a new name for the WWW tag, which was introduced in GEDOCM 5.5.1.
The BLOB and LEGA tags were dropped in GEDCOM 5.5.1 already. The EMAIL, FACT, FAX, FONE,
LATI, LONG, MAP and ROMN tags were
all introduced in GEDCOM 5.5.1.
| 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.5.1 | 5.6 | GEDCOM tag | brief description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | ABBR | Abbreviation. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ADDR | Postal address. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ADOP | Adoption. |
| N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | ADR1 | Address line 1. |
| N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | ADR2 | Address line 2. |
| N | N | N | N | Y | Y | ADR3 | Address line 3. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | AGE | Age at time of event. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | AGNC | Government agency. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ALIA | alias link to another record. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | ANCE | Ancestors. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ANCI | Ancestral interest. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ANUL | Annulment. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | ARVL | Arrival. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ASSO | Associates. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | AUDIO | Audio. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | AUTH | Author. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | BAPM | Baptism. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | BARM | Bar Mitzvah (Jewish boy). |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | BASM | Bas Mitzvah (Jewish girl). |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | BIRT | Birth. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | BLES | Blessing. |
| N | N | Y | Y | N | N | BLOB | Binary Large OBject. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | BROT | Brother. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | BURI | Burial. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | BUYR | Buyer. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CALN | Call number within repository. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CAST | Caste |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CAUS | Cause. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | CEME | Cemetery. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CENS | Census. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CHAN | Change. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CHAR | Character set or encoding. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CHIL | Child. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CHR | Christening. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CHRA | Adult christening. |
| N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | CITY | City. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | CLAS | Classification. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | CNTC | Contact person. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CONC | Concatenate lines. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CONF | Confirmation. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CONT | Continue on next line. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | COPR | Copyright statement. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CORP | Corporation. |
| Y | N | N | N | N | N | CPLR | Compiler (person, not program). |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | CREM | Cremation. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | CTRY | Country. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | DATA | Data. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | DATE | Date. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | DEAT | Death. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | DESC | Descendants. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | DESI | Descendant Interest. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | DEST | Destination system. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | DIV | Divorce. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | DIVF | Divorce filed. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | DPRT | Departure. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | DSCR | Physical description. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | EDTR | Editor (person). |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | EDUC | Education. |
| N | N | N | N | Y | Y | email address. | |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | EMIG | Emigration. |
| N | N | Y | N | N | N | END | END of file. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ENGA | Engagement. |
| N | N | Y | N | N | N | EOBJ | End of OBJect. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | EVEN | Event. |
| N | N | N | N | Y | Y | FACT | Fact. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | FAM | "Family". |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | FAMC | Child within "family". |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | FAMS | Spouse within "family". |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | FATH | Father in "family". |
| N | N | N | N | Y | Y | FAX | fax (phone) number. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | FCOM | First communion. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | FIDE | Fidelity (of a record). |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | FILE | Filename. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | FILM | Film number. |
| N | N | N | N | Y | Y | FONE | Phonetic spelling. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | FORM | Format. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | GEDC | GEDCOM details. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | GIVN | Given name. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | GODP | Godparent. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | GRAD | Graduation. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | HDOH | Head of household. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | HEAD | GEDCOM header. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | HEIR | Heir. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | HFAT | Husband's father. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | HMOT | Husband's mother. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | HUSB | Husband in "family". |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | IDNO | Identity number. |
| Y | N | N | N | N | N | IMAGE | Image |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | IMMI | Immigration. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | INDI | Individual record. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | INDX | Indexed. |
| Y | N | N | N | N | N | INFT | Informant. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | INTV | Interviewer. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | ISSU | Issue (periodical). |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | ITEM | Item. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | LANG | Language. |
| N | N | N | N | Y | Y | LATI | Latitude. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | LCCN | Library of Congress Call Number. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | LEGA | Legatee (LGTE). |
| N | N | N | N | Y | Y | LONG | Longitude. |
| N | N | N | N | Y | Y | MAP | Map coordinates. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | MARB | Marriage Bann (announcement). |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | MARC | Marriage Contract. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | MARL | Marriage License. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | MARR | Marriage. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | MARS | Marriage settlement. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | MEDI | Media. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | MBR | Member. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | MOTH | Mother in "family". |
| N | Y | N | N | N | N | MSTAT | Marriage Status. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | NAME | Name. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | NAMR | Religous name. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | NAMS | Name sake (godparent). |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | NATI | Nationality. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | NATU | Naturalisation. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | NCHI | Number of children. |
| N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | NICK | Nickname. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | NMR | Number of "marriages". |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | NOTE | Note. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | NPFX | Name prefix. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | NSFX | Name suffix. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | OBJE | Object. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | OCCU | Occupation. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | OFFI | Officiator. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | ORDI | Ordinace. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ORDN | Ordination. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | ORIG | Origination. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | OWNR | Owner of property. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | PAGE | Page number. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | PEDI | Pedigree. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | PERI | Period in time. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | PHON | Phone number. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | PHOTO | Photograph. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | PHUS | Previous husband. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | PLAC | Place. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | PORT | Port. |
| N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | POST | Postal code. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | PROB | Probate. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | PROP | Property. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | PUBL | Publication. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | PUBR | Publisher. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | PWIF | Previous wife. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | QUAY | Quality of data. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | RECO | Recorder. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | REFN | Reference number. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | REFS | Referenced source. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | RELA | Relationship. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | RELI | Religion. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | REPO | Repository. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | RESI | Residence. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | RESN | Access restriction. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | RETI | Retirement. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | RFN | Record File Number (within a file). |
| N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | RIN | Record Identification Number. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ROLE | Role. |
| N | N | N | N | Y | Y | ROMN | Romanisation. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | SELR | Seller. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | SEQU | Sequence. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | SERS | Not the series, but volume within a series. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | SEX | Gender. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | SIBL | Sibling. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | SIGN | Signature. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | SIST | Sister. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | SITE | Site (specific building). |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | SOUND | Sound bytes. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | SOUR | Source. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | SPOU | Spouse. |
| N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | SPFX | Surname prefix. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | SSN | Social Security Number. |
| N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | STAE | State. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | STAT | Search Status. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | STAT | Object Status. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | SUBM | Submitter (creator of GEDCOM file). |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | SUBN | Submission. |
| N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | SURN | Surname. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | TEXT | Text. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | TIME | Time. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | TITL | Title. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | TRLR | Trailer. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | TXPY | Taxpayer. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | TYPE | Type. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | VERS | Version number. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | VIDEO | Video. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | WFAT | Wife's father. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | WIFE | Wife. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | WILL | Will. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | WITN | Witness. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | N | WMOT | Wife's mother. |
| N | N | N | N | Y | N | WWW | World wide web address (URL). |
| Y | N | N | N | N | N | XLTR | Translator. |
| GEDCOM 5.3 SCHEMA tags | |||||||
| N | Y | N | N | N | N | SCHEMA | Schema. |
| N | Y | N | N | N | N | DEFN | Definition. |
| N | Y | N | N | N | N | LABL | Label. |
| N | Y | N | N | N | N | ISA | is-a: inherits characteristics. |
| GEDCOM 5.6 tags | |||||||
| N | N | N | N | N | Y | CLNDR | CaLenDaR. |
| N | N | N | N | N | Y | URL | URL. |
| LDS tags | |||||||
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | AFN | Ancestral File Number. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | BAPL | LDS baptims. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CONL | LDS confirmation. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ENDL | LDS Endownment. |
| N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | FAMF | Family File. |
| N | N | N | N | N | Y | ORDL | LDS Ordination. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | SLGC | Sealing of child. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | SLGS | Sealing of spouse. |
| Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | TEMP | LDS Temple code. |
| Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | WAC | Washing And Clothing. |
GEDCOM 5.3 introduced the MSTAT tag, yet newer specifications
erroneously state it
introduced the MSTA tag. GEDCOM 5.3 also introduced the ISSU tag,
yet the Appendix lists
it as the ISSUE tag instead. GEDCOM 5.5.1 introduced the EMAIL tag, but some products
use EMAI instead.
The GEDCOM specification takes precedence over implementations. The specification that actually introduced the tag takes precedence over
mentions in other specifications. The actual specification takes precedence over
the introduction and the Appendix.
The actual tag names are MSTAT, ISSU and
EMAIL; MSTA, ISSUE and EMAI aren't GEDCOM tags, but misspellings of these three
GEDCOM tags.
A GEDCOM reader should recognise GEDCOM tags and produce errors for anything else. For these three misspellings, the GEDCOM reader should produce a non-fatal error to let the user know the input is erroneous, and then continue parsing the GEDCOM file as if the correct tag was used.
The text and table were created from my personal notes, which reference the
GEDCOM specifications mentioned. The relatively recent documents, GEDCOM 5.5 and
GEDCOM 5.5.1 are easy to find, older ones are hard to come by.
Several genealogy software authors contributed corrections to the original table.
Please report any additions and corrections you may have.
David A. Knight, author of Gedcom.NET and the GedView application for iOS, spotted that all the check marks and crosses in the FACT row were switched around.
Louis Kessler, author of Behold, reported corrections for ADR3, EMAIL, INDX, MSTAT, NAMR, RIN and WAC. Noted a few tags that were missing, out of order or misspelled.
Added a brief paragraph about the GEDCOM 5.3 SCHEMA tags.
Copyright © Tamura Jones. All Rights reserved.