Which GEDCOM version is my file: 5.5, 5.5.1 or 7.0? And can I open it?

To see which GEDCOM version a file is, look at the line 2 VERS just under 1 GEDC at the top of the file: it says 5.5, 5.5.1, 5.5.5 or 7.0. Our free GEDCOM checker shows the version at the top of its result, and our tools open .ged files in all of these versions; a .gdz file you unzip first.

Last checked: 7 October 2026. The tools are ours; what they do is described below exactly as they work.

Where the version is written

Every GEDCOM file starts with a header. Open the .ged file in a text editor (without saving it) and look at the first lines.

GEDCOM 5.5.1:
0 HEAD
1 GEDC
2 VERS 5.5.1
2 FORM LINEAGE-LINKED
1 CHAR UTF-8

GEDCOM 7.0:
0 HEAD
1 GEDC
2 VERS 7.0

Do not confuse it with other VERS lines: 1 SOUR with 2 VERS under it is the version of the program that wrote the file, and a 2 VERS under 1 CHAR belongs to the character set. Only the VERS under GEDC is the GEDCOM version. The checker reads exactly that line and reports No GEDCOM version if it is missing.

The versions you will meet

Version	What to know
5.5	Older files. The gedcom.io specifications page says 5.5 and 5.5.1 are both still in use.
5.5.1	Header names the character set: ANSEL, UTF-8, UNICODE or ASCII, with ANSEL called the preferred one. At most 255 characters per line; longer text continues on CONC and CONT lines. Gramps exports this version, in UTF-8.
5.5.5	Published by gedcom.org in 2019. It is not on the list of specifications at gedcom.io.
7.0	FamilySearch GEDCOM 7.0, released in 2021. Always UTF-8, no CHAR line, no line length limits, no CONC (CONT remains), @VOID@ for an empty pointer, and the GEDZIP format (.gdz) for a tree with its media.

A typical problem: a 7.0 file with CONC lines

Some files say 7.0 but still split long text with CONC, as 5.5.1 did. A program that reads version 7 strictly may skip those lines, and part of a note goes missing.

Broken (in a file that says 2 VERS 7.0):
1 NOTE Born in the old farmhouse near
2 CONC  the church

Fixed:
1 NOTE Born in the old farmhouse near the church

The checker reports this as CONC in a GEDCOM 7 file, with the first line number. It does not join the lines for you, because that changes the text of a note; join them in your genealogy program or export the file again.

Opening a GEDCOM 7 file

• A .ged file in version 7.0 is plain UTF-8 text and opens in our free GEDCOM viewer, the checker, GEDCOM to Excel and the printable family tree, in the browser, up to 100 MB.
• A .gdz file is a GEDZIP: a zip archive in which the family tree is the entry gedcom.ged, next to the photos and documents it refers to. Our tools do not open a zip. Unzip it (on Windows: right-click, Extract all; on a Mac: double-click), then choose gedcom.ged. Our tools read the family tree in it; the photos are not shown.

What our tools do with each version

• The checker recognises 5.5, 5.5.1, 5.5.5 and 7.0 and shows the version and character set.
• It applies the rules of the version: the 255 character line limit is only checked in files that are not 7.0, and CONC is only reported in 7.0 files.
• Its repaired file keeps the version the file had. In a 7.0 file it does not add a CHAR line, because 7.0 has none.
• None of our tools converts a whole file from 5.5.1 to 7.0 or back. For that you need a genealogy program that can export the version you want.

Which version should you choose when exporting?

The one the receiving program reads. If you do not know, ask, or try the import with a small test file first. Whatever the version, choose UTF-8 when the program offers a character set: 7.0 requires it, and in 5.5.1 it avoids the problems described in garbled characters in a GEDCOM file and converting ANSEL to UTF-8.

Related: how to open a GEDCOM file without software, free online GEDCOM viewers compared and how to export a GEDCOM file.

Sources

• GEDCOM specifications at gedcom.io (versions in use): gedcom.io/specs
• The GEDCOM Standard, release 5.5.1 (character sets, line length, cross-reference IDs, dates): gedcom.io/specifications/ged551.pdf
• FamilySearch GEDCOM 7.0 specification (UTF-8 only, no CONC, GEDZIP): gedcom.io/specifications/FamilySearchGEDCOMv7.html
• GEDCOM 5.5.5 at gedcom.org: gedcom.org/gedcom.html
• Gramps source code, GEDCOM export (writes GEDCOM 5.5.1 with CHAR UTF-8): github.com/gramps-project/gramps/blob/maintenance/gramps60/gramps/plugins/export/exportgedcom.py