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GEDCOM validator

Check your GEDCOM file for errors.

Drop a .ged file to find what stops it importing: broken links, duplicate IDs, missing names, bad dates and cut off downloads. Every problem comes with its line number. Free, and nothing is uploaded.

Checks
Structure, links, names, dates
Shows
The exact line of each problem
Checked
On your own device
Drop a .ged file to check itorRead on this device. Nothing is uploaded.

What the checker looks for

Errors are problems that make other programs refuse the file or lose people. Warnings are problems that usually import, but not the way you expect.

  1. The file starts with 0 HEAD and ends with 0 TRLR. A missing TRLR usually means the download was cut off.
  2. Every line has a level number and a tag, and no line jumps more than one level deeper than the line above.
  3. No two records share the same ID, such as two people both called @I12@.
  4. Every pointer leads somewhere. A child listed as @I9@ must exist in the file.
  5. Family links are recorded on both sides: a family that lists a child, and the child that points back at the family.
  6. Every person has a name, and dates follow GEDCOM form, such as 3 MAY 1950 or ABT 1950 rather than 1950-05-03.
  7. The character set. Old ANSEL files often show accented names wrongly in modern programs.

How to fix what it finds

Most problems come from the program that exported the file, so the cleanest fix is often a fresh export, ideally as GEDCOM 5.5.1 in UTF-8. For a cut off file, download it again.

For broken links, missing names and odd dates, open the file in the free GEDCOM editor, correct the people it names, and export a clean GEDCOM again.

GEDCOM checker questions

01How do I check if a GEDCOM file is valid?

Drop the .ged file on the checker at the top of this page. It reads the file in your browser and lists every error and warning with its line number, along with how many people and families it found.

02Is my file uploaded?

No. The GEDCOM checker runs entirely in your browser tab. Your file is never sent anywhere.

03Why won't my GEDCOM file import?

The usual causes are a file cut off during download (no 0 TRLR at the end), a file that is really a .zip, broken links between people and families, or an old ANSEL character set. The checker shows which one it is.

04Does it check GEDCOM 7?

It checks the structure that GEDCOM 5.5, 5.5.1 and 7.0 share: levels, IDs, links, names and dates. It does not check every tag against the full 7.0 specification.

05Is the GEDCOM validator free?

Yes. It is free with no account and no limit on how many files you check.

More free GEDCOM tools