RFC 3641 · PROPOSED STANDARD · 2003
SUN · 14 JUN 2026
Generic String Encoding Rules for ASN.1 Types
Overview
RFC 3641, “Generic String Encoding Rules for ASN.1 Types”, is a Proposed Standard document published in October 2003 by S. Legg. It has since been updated by RFC 4792. The canonical text is published by the RFC Editor.
Abstract
This document defines a set of Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) encoding rules, called the Generic String Encoding Rules (GSER), that produce a human readable text encoding for values of any given ASN.1 data type.
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 3641 is hosted at rfc-editor.org. Available in TXT,HTML.
Relationships to other RFCs
Other RFCs from 2003
- RFC 3640 RTP Payload Format for Transport of MPEG-4 Elementary Streams
- RFC 3642 Common Elements of Generic String Encoding Rules Encodings
- RFC 3639 Considerations on the use of a Service Identifier in Packet Headers
- RFC 3643 Fibre Channel Frame Encapsulation
- RFC 3638 Applicability Statement for Reclassification of RFC 1643 to Historic Status
- RFC 3644 Policy Quality of Service Information Model
- RFC 3637 Definitions of Managed Objects for the Ethernet WAN Interface Sublayer
- RFC 3645 Generic Security Service Algorithm for Secret Key Transaction Authentication for DNS