Membership Levels & Fees

By providing a forum for independent, practical and forward thinking action in the field of international location standards, OGC can help your organization meet its goals. Organizations depend on OGC standards to "geo-enable" information systems and services for use in disaster management, defense and intelligence, environment and natural resources, mass market services, sensor webs and many other domains of activity and technology.  

Read more about the value of OGC membership.

The OGC is an open membership organization. The OGC offers a range of membership options for industry, government, academic, research and not-for-profit organizations interested in supporting the Consortium’s global mission:

Associate membership (six types)

Technical membership

Principal membership

Strategic membership

Below are descriptions of the OGC membership levels, along with the features and benefits associated with each level. In the column to the left you will find information about the OGC's organizational structure and policies. Visit the OGC’s Value page to learn more about the value of OGC membership.

The OGC membership fee calculator is at the bottom of this page. After determining your membership fee, apply for OGC membership at http://www.opengeospatial.org/ogc/join/application.

Associate  – OGC’s basic level of membership provides members with voting access to domain and standards working groups of the OGC Technical Committee and non-voting participation in OGC Technical Committee proceedings, one free registration to each of the quarterly OGC Technical Committee meetings, and access to the OGC Member Portal for all interested employees of the organization. Affordable Associate membership options are available for:

• Universities / Research Centers
• Non-Governmental Organizations / Not for Profit
• Commercial / National Government
• Small Company (<USD 2,000,000 annual gross revenue)
• Individuals – sole proprietors / independent contractors
• GovFuture Local (e.g. town, city, county…)
• GovFuture Subnational (e.g. state or provincial organization)

GovFuture^TM Associate memberships are available for government agencies operating at the local, state or provincial levels. In addition to all of the Associate member benefits listed above, these memberships emphasize the implementation and use of OGC standards to achieve government mission objectives. GovFuture membership provides forums for peer-to-peer networking; quarterly webinars with technology providers and advanced technology users; access to members-only OGC documents; and attendance at OGC meetings, which affords networking with a global community of users and providers. Learn more about OGC GovFuture membership. Download Die OGC Mitgliedschaft für die öffentliche Verwaltung a German language document describing GovFuture.

Technical  – Technical membership provides all the features and benefits of Associate membership, and your organization will also have voting participation in the OGC Technical Committee on all standards and other matters brought before the TC for approval. Technical members receive two free meeting registrations to each of the quarterly OGC Technical Committee meetings and discounts on OGC compliance certification for their products.

Principal  – Principal membership provides all the benefits of Technical Membership, and your organization will also have voting participation in the OGC Planning Committee. The Planning Committee is the final authority for approval of OGC standards and related documents, maintains and approves OGC policies and procedures, explores market trends and recommends actions to address these trends in OGC programs, and approves nominees to the OGC Board of Directors. Principal members receive:

• Four free meeting registrations for each of the quarterly OGC Technical Committee and Planning Committee meetings
• Substantial discounts on OGC compliance certification for their products
• Up to 24 hours of OGC staff support each year for internal training and advice
• With approval of the OGC president, a Principal member may, each year, assign 1 Associate and 2 Individual one-year memberships to universities, research organizations, commercial provider organizations or independent contractors that work under contract to the member in support of OGC related activities. These associate and individual members must become paying members after one year to continue their OGC involvement. The Principal member may assign memberships to different organizations at the beginning of each membership cycle.

Strategic  - Strategic membership provides all the benefits of Principal Membership plus voting participation in the OGC Strategic Member Advisory Committee. Strategic Members provide significant resources to support OGC objectives in the form of resources provided to advance one or more strategic / mission areas of the Consortium. Strategic Members are able to focus the use of their resources in specific OGC programs and leadership roles, subject to OGC management approval. Strategic Members are also provided a forum, the Strategic Member Advisory Committee, in which to make recommendations regarding strategic business opportunities to the OGC Board of Directors and to the OGC Planning Committee. Strategic members:

• Maintain and approve policies and procedures for OGC’s Interoperability Program
• Receive 20 free meeting registrations to quarterly Technical and Planning Committee meetings, and substantial discounts on OGC compliance certification for their products
• Receive up to 40 hours of OGC staff support each year for internal training and advice
• May assign up to 4 individual and 2 Associate one-year memberships to universities, research organizations, commercial provider organizations or independent contractors that work under contract to the member in support of OGC-related activities. These associate and individual members must become paying members after one year to continue their OGC involvement. The Strategic member may assign memberships to different organizations at the beginning of each membership cycle.

Membership fee:

What will it cost to join OGC as a member?

To determine the annual fee for your organizational or individual membership, please select your organizational type and nation of registration of your parent company below.

If your nation is not listed, please contact the OGC at memberinquiry [at] opengeospatial [dot] org.