An HTTP(S) URL that an issuing organisation commits to maintain unchanged over time so that links continue to resolve correctly even as the underlying resource is moved, renamed, or migrated between systems.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 10 Jul 2026

Examples

Worked examples

Is an instance
A DOI HTTPS form such as https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14539.
Is an instance
An institutional repository URL of the form https://hdl.handle.net/2429/12345.

Counter-examples

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance
A URL that embeds the CMS path, e.g. https://example.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/file.pdf, is unlikely to be persistent.
Not an instance
A URL with a session token (?sid=...) is not a persistent URL.

Editorial commentary

A persistent URL is a policy commitment, not a technical category — any URL pattern can be a persistent URL if its issuer commits to its long-term resolution. In practice, persistent URLs are produced by dedicated services (PURL, w3id.org, n2t.net, doi.org, handle.net) or by careful URL design at the institutional level (avoiding embedding of CMS internals, technology stack, or organisational structure in the path). Persistent URLs are a precondition for reliable citation and FAIR data findability.

References

Berners-Lee T., 'Cool URIs don't change' (w3.org/Provider/Style/URI), W3C Style Guide.

Also known as

Stable URL · Permanent link · Permalink

Machine-readable encodings

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="Persistent URL"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/persistent-url" />

Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/persistent-url",
  "name": "Persistent URL",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/persistent-url",
  "description": "An HTTP(S) URL that an issuing organisation commits to maintain unchanged over time so that links continue to resolve correctly even as the underlying resource is moved, renamed, or migrated between systems.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/persistent-identifiers#set",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/persistent-url",
  "sameAs": [
    "Stable URL",
    "Permanent link",
    "Permalink"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "publisher": {
    "@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
  },
  "dateModified": "2026-07-10T02:06:20",
  "inLanguage": "en"
}

Referenced across the research world

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