RFC 2440 · PROPOSED STANDARD · 1998
SUN · 14 JUN 2026
OpenPGP Message Format
Overview
RFC 2440, “OpenPGP Message Format”, is a Proposed Standard document published in November 1998 by J. Callas, L. Donnerhacke, H. Finney, R. Thayer. It has been obsoleted by RFC 4880 — refer to the newer document for the authoritative version. The canonical text is published by the RFC Editor.
Abstract
This document is maintained in order to publish all necessary information needed to develop interoperable applications based on the OpenPGP format. [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 2440 is hosted at rfc-editor.org. Available in TXT,HTML.
Relationships to other RFCs
Other RFCs from 1998
- RFC 2439 BGP Route Flap Damping
- RFC 2441 Working with Jon, Tribute delivered at UCLA, October 30, 1998
- RFC 2438 Advancement of MIB specifications on the IETF Standards Track
- RFC 2442 The Batch SMTP Media Type
- RFC 2437 PKCS #1: RSA Cryptography Specifications Version 2.0
- RFC 2443 A Distributed MARS Service Using SCSP
- RFC 2436 Collaboration between ISOC/IETF and ITU-T
- RFC 2444 The One-Time-Password SASL Mechanism