DCAT-US 3.0: Catalog

The catalog of datasets, services, and other information describing data assets.

A curated collection of metadata about datasets, data services, or other resources

Type object
Additional properties Any type allowed

Example:

{
    "@type": "Catalog",
    "title": "National Climate Data Catalog",
    "description": "A comprehensive catalog of climate and weather datasets from federal monitoring stations across the United States.",
    "publisher": {
        "@type": "Agent",
        "name": "National Climate Data Center"
    },
    "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
    "dataset": [
        {
            "@type": "Dataset",
            "title": "Daily Climate Observations 2024",
            "description": "Daily temperature, precipitation, and wind measurements.",
            "contactPoint": {
                "fn": "Climate Data Support",
                "hasEmail": "mailto:climate@example.gov"
            },
            "publisher": {
                "name": "National Climate Data Center"
            },
            "identifier": "https://example.gov/datasets/climate-observations-1"
        }
    ],
    "homepage": {
        "@type": "Document",
        "title": "National Climate Data Catalog Homepage",
        "accessURL": "https://example.gov/climate-data"
    },
    "language": [
        "en"
    ],
    "issued": "2020-01-15",
    "modified": "2024-06-01",
    "rights": [
        "This catalog is maintained by the National Climate Data Center."
    ],
    "spatial": [
        {
            "@type": "Location",
            "prefLabel": "United States"
        }
    ],
    "themeTaxonomy": [
        {
            "@type": "ConceptScheme",
            "title": "Climate Science Topics"
        }
    ],
    "conformsTo": {
        "@type": "Standard",
        "title": "DCAT-US 3.0"
    }
}
Property Type Requirement Level Title/Description
@id string Optional  
@type string Optional  
catalog null or array of object Optional List of related catalogs that are useful in the context of this catalog
contactPoint null or array of Kind classes Optional Contact information people can use to ask questions or send feedback about the catalog
dataset array of Dataset classes Mandatory List of datasets included in the catalog. Use this together with service so the catalog is not empty.
keyword null or array of string Optional List of keywords or tags describing the catalog
record null or array of CatalogRecord classes Optional A catalog record describing how a single resource (such as a dataset or data service) is registered in the catalog
service null or array of DataService classes Optional List of data services included in the catalog. Use this together with dataset so the catalog is not empty.
theme null or array of Concept classes Optional List of themes or categories for the catalog. A catalog can have more than one theme.
themeTaxonomy null or array of ConceptScheme classes Recommended Controlled vocabulary or taxonomy used to classify catalog resources, such as datasets and services
accessRights More than one type Optional Information about whether the catalog is publicly accessible, restricted, or not public
conformsTo More than one type Recommended Standard, schema, profile, or model that this catalog follows
creator null or array of Agent classes Optional Person or organization responsible for creating the catalog metadata
description null or string Optional Plain-language summary of the catalog
hasPart null or array of object Optional List of catalogs that are contained within this catalog
identifier More than one type Optional Main unique identifier for the catalog, such as a URI or another persistent identifier
otherIdentifier null or array of Identifier classes Optional A list of identifiers for the Catalog besides the main identifier, e.g. the URI or other unique identifiers
issued More than one type Recommended Date when the catalog was formally issued, such as its initial publication date
language More than one type Recommended Language codes used for catalog metadata text (such as titles and descriptions), using ISO 639-1 codes like en or es
license More than one type Optional License that governs how the catalog can be used or reused
modified More than one type Recommended Most recent date when the catalog content changed, not just catalog-record metadata
publisher More than one type Optional Person or organization responsible for publishing and making the catalog available
rights null or array of string Recommended Rights statements about the catalog that are not already covered by license or accessRights, such as copyright or policy restrictions
rightsHolder null or array of Organization classes Optional Organizations that hold rights in the catalog
spatial null or array of Location classes Recommended Geographic area covered by the catalog
subject null or array of Concept classes Optional List of subjects of the catalog
temporal null or array of PeriodOfTime classes Optional Time periods covered by the catalog
title null or string Optional Human-readable title of the catalog
category null or array of Concept classes Optional List of high-level categories for the catalog
homepage More than one type Recommended Main public web page for the catalog, usually an HTML page
qualifiedAttribution null or array of Attribution classes Optional List of agents with specific responsibilities for the catalog

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > @id #

Requirement: Optional

Type string
Format iri

Example:

"https://example.gov/catalogs/federal-data-catalog"

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > @type #

Requirement: Optional

Type string
Default "Catalog"

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > catalog #

Title: Related catalogs

Requirement: Optional

List of related catalogs that are useful in the context of this catalog

| Type | null or array of object | | ——– | ———————– |

Each item of this array must be Description
DCAT-US 3 Catalog A curated collection of metadata about datasets, data services, or other resources

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > contactPoint #

Title: Contact points

Requirement: Optional

Contact information people can use to ask questions or send feedback about the catalog

| Type | null or array of Kind classes | | ——– | ————————————————- |

Each item of this array must be Description
Kind Contact information for an individual or entity

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > dataset #

Requirement: Mandatory

List of datasets included in the catalog. Use this together with service so the catalog is not empty.

Type array of Dataset classes
Required Yes
Each item of this array must be Description
Dataset A collection of data published or curated by one provider

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > keyword #

Title: keyword/tag

Requirement: Optional

List of keywords or tags describing the catalog

| Type | null or array of string | | ——– | ———————– |

Example:

[
    "federal data",
    "government",
    "open data",
    "public records"
]
Each item of this array must be Description
keyword items -

Array Item #

| Type | string | | ——– | ——– |

Restrictions  
Min length 1

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > record #

Title: catalog record

Requirement: Optional

A catalog record describing how a single resource (such as a dataset or data service) is registered in the catalog

| Type | null or array of CatalogRecord classes | | ——– | ——————————————————————————– |

Each item of this array must be Description
CatalogRecord A record in a catalog, describing the registration of a single resource

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > service #

Requirement: Optional

List of data services included in the catalog. Use this together with dataset so the catalog is not empty.

| Type | null or array of DataService classes | | ——– | —————————————————————————- |

Each item of this array must be Description
DataService A service that provides access to data or data processing functions

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > theme #

Title: theme/category

Requirement: Optional

List of themes or categories for the catalog. A catalog can have more than one theme.

| Type | null or array of Concept classes | | ——– | —————————————————————————— |

Each item of this array must be Description
Concept A controlled term or label, optionally drawn from a concept scheme

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > themeTaxonomy #

Title: themes

Requirement: Recommended

Controlled vocabulary or taxonomy used to classify catalog resources, such as datasets and services

| Type | null or array of ConceptScheme classes | | ——– | ——————————————————————————————- |

Each item of this array must be Description
ConceptScheme A controlled vocabulary or other list of approved terms for a concept

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > accessRights #

Requirement: Optional

Information about whether the catalog is publicly accessible, restricted, or not public

Type combining
Additional properties Any type allowed

Example:

"Public access with no restrictions"
Any of
Null allowed when not required
item 1

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > accessRights > anyOf > Null allowed when not required #

| Type | null | | ——– | —— |

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > accessRights > anyOf > item 1 #

Text description of the access rights

| Type | string | | ——– | ——– |

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > conformsTo #

Title: schema version

Requirement: Recommended

Standard, schema, profile, or model that this catalog follows

Type combining
Additional properties Any type allowed
Any of
Null allowed when not required
Standard

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > conformsTo > anyOf > Null allowed when not required #

| Type | null | | ——– | —— |

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > conformsTo > anyOf > Standard #

A standard or specification that another resource conforms to

Type object
Additional properties Any type allowed
Same definition as Standard

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > creator #

Requirement: Optional

Person or organization responsible for creating the catalog metadata

| Type | null or array of Agent classes | | ——– | ————————————————— |

Each item of this array must be Description
Agent A person, organization, software agent, or other entity involved with a resource

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > description #

Requirement: Optional

Plain-language summary of the catalog

| Type | null or string | | ——– | —————- |

Examples:

"A comprehensive catalog of climate and weather datasets from federal monitoring stations across the United States."

"A comprehensive catalog of federal government data assets spanning multiple agencies and data domains."

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > hasPart #

Requirement: Optional

List of catalogs that are contained within this catalog

| Type | null or array of object | | ——– | ———————– |

Each item of this array must be Description
DCAT-US 3 Catalog A curated collection of metadata about datasets, data services, or other resources

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > identifier #

Requirement: Optional

Main unique identifier for the catalog, such as a URI or another persistent identifier

Type combining
Additional properties Any type allowed
Any of
Null allowed when not required
Identifier

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > identifier > anyOf > Null allowed when not required #

| Type | null | | ——– | —— |

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > identifier > anyOf > Identifier #

inline description of Identifier

Type combining
Additional properties Any type allowed
Same definition as Identifier

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > otherIdentifier #

Requirement: Optional

A list of identifiers for the Catalog besides the main identifier, e.g. the URI or other unique identifiers

| Type | null or array of Identifier classes | | ——– | ———————————————————————————— |

Each item of this array must be Description
Identifier A unique identifier and optionally it’s scheme and other relevant information

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > issued #

Title: release date

Requirement: Recommended

Date when the catalog was formally issued, such as its initial publication date

Type combining
Additional properties Any type allowed

Examples:

"2020-01-15"

"2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"

"2024"

"2024-01"
Any of
Null allowed when not required
Date string

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > issued > anyOf > Null allowed when not required #

| Type | null | | ——– | —— |

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > issued > anyOf > Date string #

Type combining
Additional properties Any type allowed
Any of
item 0
item 1
item 2
item 3

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > issued > anyOf > Date string > anyOf > item 0 #

Type string
Format date-time

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > issued > anyOf > Date string > anyOf > item 1 #

Type string
Format date

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > issued > anyOf > Date string > anyOf > item 2 #

A year in YYYY format

| Type | string | | ——– | ——– |

Restrictions  
Must match regular expression ^[0-9]{4}$ Test

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > issued > anyOf > Date string > anyOf > item 3 #

A year and month in YYYY-MM format

| Type | string | | ——– | ——– |

Restrictions  
Must match regular expression ^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}$ Test

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > language #

Requirement: Recommended

Language codes used for catalog metadata text (such as titles and descriptions), using ISO 639-1 codes like en or es

Type combining
Additional properties Any type allowed

Examples:

[
    "en"
]

[
    "en",
    "es"
]
Any of
Null allowed when not required
Language code
List of language codes

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > language > anyOf > Null allowed when not required #

| Type | null | | ——– | —— |

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > language > anyOf > Language code #

| Type | string | | ——– | ——– |

Restrictions  
Max length 2

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > language > anyOf > List of language codes #

| Type | array of string | | ——– | ————— |

Each item of this array must be Description
Language code -

Language code #

| Type | string | | ——– | ——– |

Restrictions  
Max length 2

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > license #

Requirement: Optional

License that governs how the catalog can be used or reused

Type combining
Additional properties Any type allowed

Example:

"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"
Any of
Null allowed when not required
item 1

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > license > anyOf > Null allowed when not required #

| Type | null | | ——– | —— |

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > license > anyOf > item 1 #

Full text of the license

| Type | string | | ——– | ——– |

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > modified #

Title: update/modification date

Requirement: Recommended

Most recent date when the catalog content changed, not just catalog-record metadata

Type combining
Additional properties Any type allowed

Examples:

"2024-06-01"

"2024-06-01T14:30:00Z"

"2024"

"2024-01"
Any of
Null allowed when not required
Date string

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > modified > anyOf > Null allowed when not required #

| Type | null | | ——– | —— |

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > modified > anyOf > Date string #

Type combining
Additional properties Any type allowed
Any of
item 0
item 1
item 2
item 3

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > modified > anyOf > Date string > anyOf > item 0 #

Type string
Format date-time

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > modified > anyOf > Date string > anyOf > item 1 #

Type string
Format date

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > modified > anyOf > Date string > anyOf > item 2 #

A year in YYYY format

| Type | string | | ——– | ——– |

Restrictions  
Must match regular expression ^[0-9]{4}$ Test

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > modified > anyOf > Date string > anyOf > item 3 #

A year and month in YYYY-MM format

| Type | string | | ——– | ——– |

Restrictions  
Must match regular expression ^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}$ Test

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > publisher #

Requirement: Optional

Person or organization responsible for publishing and making the catalog available

Type combining
Additional properties Any type allowed
Any of
Null allowed when not required
Agent

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > publisher > anyOf > Null allowed when not required #

| Type | null | | ——– | —— |

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > publisher > anyOf > Agent #

inline description of the publisher

Type object
Additional properties Any type allowed
Same definition as Agent

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > rights #

Requirement: Recommended

Rights statements about the catalog that are not already covered by license or accessRights, such as copyright or policy restrictions

| Type | null or array of string | | ——– | ———————– |

Examples:

[
    "This catalog is maintained by the National Climate Data Center."
]

[
    "This catalog is maintained by the Federal Data Management Office.",
    "Data within this catalog may be subject to individual dataset licensing terms."
]
Each item of this array must be Description
rights items Full text of a statement of rights

Array Item #

Full text of a statement of rights

| Type | string | | ——– | ——– |

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > rightsHolder #

Requirement: Optional

Organizations that hold rights in the catalog

| Type | null or array of Organization classes | | ——– | —————————————————————– |

Each item of this array must be Description
Organization An organization involved with a resource, including parent or child organizations

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > spatial #

Title: spatial/geographic coverage

Requirement: Recommended

Geographic area covered by the catalog

| Type | null or array of Location classes | | ——– | ————————————————————————— |

Each item of this array must be Description
Location A named place or geographic area

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > subject #

Requirement: Optional

List of subjects of the catalog

| Type | null or array of Concept classes | | ——– | —————————————————————————— |

Each item of this array must be Description
Concept A controlled term or label, optionally drawn from a concept scheme

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > temporal #

Title: temporal coverage

Requirement: Optional

Time periods covered by the catalog

| Type | null or array of PeriodOfTime classes | | ——– | ————————————————————————————- |

Each item of this array must be Description
PeriodOfTime Information about a specific time period with a start- and/or end-time

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > title #

Requirement: Optional

Human-readable title of the catalog

| Type | null or string | | ——– | —————- |

Examples:

"National Climate Data Catalog"

"Federal Data Catalog"

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > category #

Requirement: Optional

List of high-level categories for the catalog

| Type | null or array of Concept classes | | ——– | —————————————————————————— |

Each item of this array must be Description
Concept A controlled term or label, optionally drawn from a concept scheme

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > homepage #

Requirement: Recommended

Main public web page for the catalog, usually an HTML page

Type combining
Additional properties Any type allowed
Any of
Null allowed when not required
Document

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > homepage > anyOf > Null allowed when not required #

| Type | null | | ——– | —— |

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > homepage > anyOf > Document #

inline description of the home page

Type object
Additional properties Any type allowed
Same definition as Document

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > qualifiedAttribution #

Requirement: Optional

List of agents with specific responsibilities for the catalog

| Type | null or array of Attribution classes | | ——– | ————————————————————————— |

Each item of this array must be Description
Attribution A responsibility that an agent has for a resource