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Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is the non-profit standards body behind many of the formats and web interfaces research teams use to publish, exchange and find location-based data, including WMS, WFS, GeoPackage and the newer OGC API family. This guide is for research data managers and researchers who need to know what OGC is, which of its standards matter for data handling, and where to find the official specifications.
What does OGC stand for, and what is OGC in GIS?
OGC stands for Open Geospatial Consortium. In GIS (geographic information systems), OGC means the organisation whose open standards let different GIS and mapping software exchange the same data. OGC describes itself as a trusted global convening space where leaders from across sectors collaborate to advance open standards, and it lists more than 150 standards on its site (ogc.org, read 7 November 2026).
The practical consequence for research data: a map layer served through an OGC web service, or a dataset stored in an OGC container format, can be opened by any software that implements the standard rather than only by the tool that produced it.
Who runs it and what it covers
OGC is a U.S.-registered non-profit with offices in Belgium and the UK, founded in 1994 (ogc.org/about-ogc, read 7 November 2026). Membership is open in five categories: commercial, non-profit/NGO, government, academic and individual. Standards are developed in committees and working groups, split into Domain Working Groups and Standards Working Groups, made up of experts from industry, government and research. The public can review candidate standards and send feedback.
The standards page groups OGC’s work into these categories: OGC APIs; Services; Data Models and Encodings; Publish-Subscribe, Syndication and Context; Sensors; Discovery; Containers; the Abstract Specification; and ModSpec.
Key OGC standards by the role they play in a data workflow
Reading OGC’s own category names from a data-management point of view gives a useful cross-walk. All examples below are named on the OGC standards page (read 7 November 2026).
| Role in a research data workflow | OGC category | Named standards |
|---|---|---|
| Serving maps and features to users or other systems | Services; OGC APIs | WMS, WFS, WCS, WMTS, WPS; OGC API – Features, Maps, Tiles, Processes, EDR |
| Describing the data model and encoding of a dataset | Data Models and Encodings | GML, KML, GeoTIFF, CityGML, Simple Feature Access, Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF |
| Packaging data into a deposit-ready file | Containers | GeoPackage, netCDF, HDF5, Zarr |
| Making data findable in catalogues | Discovery; OGC API – Records | CSW, GeoSPARQL, STAC, OpenSearch |
Two worked examples from the specifications
WMS (Web Map Service) is described by OGC as a simple HTTP interface for requesting geo-registered map images from one or more distributed geospatial databases. The current version listed is 1.3.0 (document 06-042), and OGC states that WMS 1.3 and ISO 19128 are the same documents. It returns map images such as JPEG or PNG, and transparent images are allowed. A WMS delivers pictures of data, not the data itself, which matters when a data management plan promises reusable data.
GeoPackage is described as an open, standards-based, platform-independent, portable, self-describing, compact format. The version listed is 1.4.0 (document 12-128r19). It can store vector features, tile matrix sets and extensions, and OGC states that a GeoPackage is the SQLite container. A single file holding several layers is often easier to deposit and cite than a folder of loose files.
How to find and use OGC standards
- Open the OGC standards page (ogc.org/standards). Standards are browsed by category; the page has no search box.
- Choose the category that matches your task (for example Containers for a file format, Services for a web interface).
- Open the individual standard’s page to see its current version and document number, such as WMS 1.3.0 (06-042) or GeoPackage 1.4.0 (12-128r19).
- For machine-readable schemas, use the OGC Schemas site (schemas.opengis.net); for controlled terms, the Vocabularies pages.
- For implementation material, use developer.ogc.org.
- Where both an older Web Service standard and a newer OGC API cover your need, note that OGC states implementers are encouraged to use the newer OGC API standards, which supersede the older Web Service standards in part.
Strengths and limits
Strengths
- Open standards developed by a membership of industry, government, academic and individual experts, with public review of candidate standards.
- Coverage across the data lifecycle: services, encodings, containers and discovery.
- Some standards are mirrored as ISO documents (WMS 1.3 and ISO 19128).
Limits
- The standards page is organised by OGC’s categories, so a researcher must already know roughly which kind of standard they need.
- Older and newer standards coexist, so check the version and whether an OGC API now covers the same function.
- OGC standards define formats and interfaces; they are not themselves a metadata profile for describing a research dataset. Pair them with a metadata schema (see how to choose a metadata schema for a dataset).
Alternatives and complements
| Option | Relationship to OGC | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ISO (geographic information standards) | Some OGC standards also exist as ISO documents; for example WMS 1.3 and ISO 19128 are the same documents. | OGC WMS page, read 7 November 2026 |
| GeoDCAT-AP | A geospatial extension of the DCAT-AP application profile, aligned with the INSPIRE directive and ISO 19115/19119 metadata; describes datasets in catalogues rather than defining services or file formats. | SEMIC DCAT-AP documentation, verified 28 July 2026; see DCAT-AP for research data portals |
Frequently asked questions
What is OGC in GIS?
OGC is the Open Geospatial Consortium, a non-profit that develops open standards so geospatial data and software from different vendors interoperate.
What does the acronym OGC stand for?
Open Geospatial Consortium. It was founded in 1994 and is a U.S.-registered non-profit with offices in Belgium and the UK.
What is a geospatial dataset?
A geospatial dataset is data tied to locations on the Earth, such as vector features (points, lines, polygons), map tiles or raster images. In OGC terms, such data may be served through a web service or stored in a container such as GeoPackage. See also types of research data and the metadata schema entry for describing one.
Do GIS still exist?
Yes. GIS software remains in everyday use, and tools such as QGIS read and write OGC formats such as GeoPackage and consume OGC web services. For the data-collection side, see what is remote sensing.
Who are the members of the Open Geospatial Consortium?
OGC lists five membership categories: commercial, non-profit/NGO, government, academic and individual. The OGC site should be consulted for the current member list.
Sources
- OGC, About OGC, ogc.org/about-ogc, read 7 November 2026.
- OGC, Standards, ogc.org/standards, read 7 November 2026.
- OGC, Web Map Service, ogc.org/standards/wms, read 7 November 2026.
- OGC, GeoPackage, ogc.org/standards/geopackage, read 7 November 2026.
