RFC 791 · INTERNET STANDARD · 1981 MON · 14 SEP 2026

Internet Protocol

By J. Postel · Published September 1981 · DOI 10.17487/RFC0791

Overview

RFC 791, “Internet Protocol”, is an Internet Standard document published in September 1981 by J. Postel. It obsoletes RFC 760. It has since been updated by RFC 1349, RFC 2474, RFC 6864. The canonical text is published by the RFC Editor.

What “Internet Standard” means

A mature, widely-implemented specification that has completed the full IETF standards process — the highest maturity level on the standards track.

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Relationships to other RFCs
This RFC obsoletes
RFC 760
Other RFCs from 1981