RFC 2254 · PROPOSED STANDARD · 1997
MON · 27 JUL 2026
The String Representation of LDAP Search Filters
Overview
RFC 2254, “The String Representation of LDAP Search Filters”, is a Proposed Standard document published in December 1997 by T. Howes. It obsoletes RFC 1960. It has since been updated by RFC 3377. It has been obsoleted by RFC 4510, RFC 4515 — refer to the newer document for the authoritative version. The canonical text is published by the RFC Editor.
Abstract
This document defines a human-readable string format for representing LDAP search filters. [STANDARDS-TRACK]
What “Proposed Standard” means
An entry-level standards-track specification: stable, peer-reviewed and a solid basis for implementation, though it may still evolve before becoming an Internet Standard.
Read this RFC
The canonical text of RFC 2254 is hosted at rfc-editor.org. Available in TXT,HTML.
Relationships to other RFCs
Other RFCs from 1997
- RFC 2253 Lightweight Directory Access Protocol : UTF-8 String Representation of Distinguished Names
- RFC 2255 The LDAP URL Format
- RFC 2252 Lightweight Directory Access Protocol : Attribute Syntax Definitions
- RFC 2256 A Summary of the X.500 User Schema for use with LDAPv3
- RFC 2251 Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
- RFC 2245 Anonymous SASL Mechanism
- RFC 2244 ACAP -- Application Configuration Access Protocol
- RFC 2243 OTP Extended Responses