Open Format
An open format is a file format whose technical specification is published and freely usable, allowing records to be read, rendered, and migrated over time without dependence on a single proprietary product or vendor.
Open format refers to a way of encoding digital records using a publicly documented, non-proprietary specification that anyone can implement. Because the structure is openly published rather than locked inside one company’s software, records stored this way remain readable across many tools and over long periods, which is the core reason open formats matter for recordkeeping.
Format choice is a preservation decision. Records held only in a closed, vendor-controlled format risk becoming unreadable if that product is discontinued, its license lapses, or the version changes. Open formats reduce this technological-obsolescence risk and support reliable migration, transfer, and long-term access throughout the retention period and into archival custody.
For example, plain text, PDF/A, CSV, and XML-based formats are commonly favored for preservation, whereas a format tied to one editing application is comparatively fragile. This emphasis on durable, non-proprietary formats aligns with modern federal electronic-records guidance, including the Universal Electronic Records Management Requirements that NARA advanced after revoking its DoD 5015.2 design-criteria endorsement in 2022.