Convert GEDCOM 5.5.1 to GEDCOM 7.0, and back

Why GEDCOM 7.0

GEDCOM 7.0 is the version of the family tree file format that FamilySearch released in 2021. It fixes problems that have bothered genealogists for decades: the file is always UTF-8, so accents and other scripts no longer turn into strange characters; there is no limit of 255 characters per line and no CONC lines; date phrases, ages and dual years get their own clear place; photos and documents carry a real media type; and a shared note is a record of its own.

That does not mean you have to switch. Many programs and websites still expect 5.5.1. Convert to 7.0 when the program you send the file to reads it, or when you want a cleaner archive copy. Keep your original file as well.

Which programs read GEDCOM 7.0

These makers say on their own websites that their program reads GEDCOM 7.0 files: Family Historian 7 (import and export), MacFamilyTree (import and export) and Ancestris, which added GEDCOM 7 support in version 12 (June 2024). For Gramps there is a GEDCOM 7 import add-on that is still being tested.

FamilySearch keeps a longer list of programs that have announced support. Before you send a 7.0 file, check that the receiving program or website lists GEDCOM 7.0 among its imports. If it does not, convert back to 5.5.1 with this same page. Last checked: 19 October 2026.

What the converter changes, from 5.5.1 to 7.0

• Header: 2 VERS 7.0, without the CHAR line, GEDC FORM, HEAD FILE and the SUBN record, which 7.0 no longer has.
• Character set: ANSEL, Windows (ANSI) and UTF-16 files are read correctly and written as UTF-8.
• CONC lines are joined into one line; CONT stays. Only an @ at the start of a value is doubled.
• IDs with characters 7.0 does not allow, such as @I-2@, get a valid ID, and every pointer to them is updated.
• Dates: @#DJULIAN@ becomes JULIAN, B.C. becomes BCE, INT and (phrase) become a PHRASE line, a dual year such as 1648/9 becomes 1649 with the original as PHRASE, and BET 1900 AND 1880 is put in order.
• Ages CHILD, INFANT and STILLBORN become < 8y, < 1y and 0y with a PHRASE. Values such as birth, adopted and confidential are written in capitals.
• Shared notes become SNOTE. A photo or source written out in full inside a person becomes its own record with a pointer. FORM jpg becomes image/jpeg and a Windows path becomes a file:// URL.
• RELA becomes ROLE, ROMN and FONE become TRAN with a language tag, AFN, RFN and RIN become EXID, and language names become language codes.
• Tags that only one program uses, starting with an underscore, stay exactly as they are.

From 7.0 back to 5.5.1

The converter writes 2 VERS 5.5.1, FORM LINEAGE-LINKED and CHAR UTF-8, turns SNOTE back into NOTE, writes date phrases as INT or (phrase) again, turns ROLE into RELA and TRAN into ROMN or FONE where it can, and splits lines longer than 255 characters with CONC. What 5.5.1 cannot express, such as a PHRASE on a pointer or a translation of a note, is kept as an underscore tag so it is not thrown away. @VOID@ pointers are removed and the report says where.

Your file stays on your device

The file is read and converted in this browser tab. It is not uploaded, not stored and not seen by anyone. Close the page and it is gone. Files up to 100 MB work; for a very large tree that can take a few seconds.

What it does not do

• It reads .ged files, not .gdz (GEDZIP) archives. Unzip a .gdz first and choose the gedcom.ged inside. Photos and documents are not converted, only the references to them.
• Extension tags are kept as undocumented extensions; the converter does not add SCHMA definitions for them.
• A date that is not a GEDCOM date at all, such as 'about three o'clock', is kept word for word as a PHRASE with an empty date. The report lists each one.
• It does not repair broken links or duplicate IDs. Run the GEDCOM checker first if you suspect those.

Questions