1. Introduction

1.1. Purpose, Scope, and Applicability

The LASer (LAS) file is intended to contain point cloud data records, including those derived from lidar or other sources. The data will commonly be put into this format from software (e.g., provided by hardware vendors), which combines GPS, IMU, and laser pulse range data to produce points with X, Y, and Z coordinates. The purpose of LAS is to provide an open format that allows different hardware and software tools to exchange point cloud data in a common format.

This document reflects the fifth version of the LAS file specification since its initial version 1.0 release.

1.1.1. LAS 1.5 Revision History

Summary of LAS 1.5 revisions (topic links included when applicable):

  • R00 - Approved Version (August 2025).

1.1.2. Comparison of LAS 1.5 to Previous Versions

The additions of LAS 1.5 include (topic links included when applicable):

  • Backward compatibility with 64-bit LAS 1.4 files.

  • Header compatibility with LAS 1.1 - 1.4 files.

  • Removed support for legacy Point Data Record Formats 0-5. (I-128)

  • Added Max/Min GPS Time fields to header block. (I-118)

  • Added Offset GPS Time definition. (I-6)

  • CRS support expanded to all published WKT versions, removing support for GeoTIFF CRS encoding. (I-95, I-104, I-129)

  • Clarify requirement that the Extra Bytes VLR must be unique. (I-150)

  • Deprecated Classification Lookup VLR. (I-82)

1.2. Conformance

The data types used in the LAS format definition are conformant to the 1999 ANSI C Language Specification (ANSI/ISO/IEC 9899:1999 (“C99”)).

1.3. Authority

1.3.1. ASPRS

The American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing (ASPRS) is the owner of the LAS Specification. The standard is maintained by committees within the organization as directed by the ASPRS Board of Directors. Questions related to this standard can be directed to ASPRS:

1.3.2. OGC

LAS has been recognized by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) since 2018 as an OGC Community Standard. The OGC version of the document with forward material about standards that LAS references and its status within the standard body can be found at https://www.ogc.org/publications/standard/las/.

Future recognition and activity on OGC referencing activities of LAS can be followed at https://www.ogc.org/publications/.

1.4. Official LAS Wiki

The official LAS wiki hosts supplemental guidance pages, links to external resources, public registries, and more LAS-related resources. The wiki can be found at https://github.com/ASPRSorg/LAS/wiki.