DCAT-US 3.0 is coming. Is your agency ready?

The clock is ticking. By 2026, DCAT-US 3.0—the latest evolution of the Data Catalog Vocabulary—will become the new federal standard. That means every agency will need to align with a more structured, semantically rich framework for describing, publishing and sharing data assets.

Some agencies are still figuring out what this means. At Collibra Public Sector, we’re already ready.

We’re fully DCAT-US 3.0 compliant today. That means federal agencies can start modernizing their metadata practices now, not two years from now. And rather than building their own schema from scratch, agencies can leverage a platform already trusted by public sector organizations to unify data governance across silos, systems and missions.

What is DCAT-US 3.0, and why does it matter?

DCAT-US 3.0 is a metadata standard developed by the W3.0C that allows organizations to describe data in a way that’s machine-readable, semantically rich and interoperable across platforms. It’s the next step in the government’s push toward open, standardized and actionable data, especially as agencies adopt cloud services, implement AI programs and face increasing demand for transparency.

This third iteration builds on the foundation of DCAT and DCAT-2 but introduces key upgrades aligned with the Executive Order issued on March 20, 2025: ”Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos Executive Order.”

The Order states that its purpose is:

DCAT-US 3.0 key upgrades include:

• Better alignment with FAIR principles—making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable
• Expanded support for metadata around data services and APIs
• Greater semantic expressiveness for describing datasets, distributions and relationships

In plain terms, DCAT-US 3.0 makes metadata meaningful. Not just for data librarians or catalog managers but for automated systems, analytics platforms, LLMs and AI models. It gives your agency a way to manage, share and make sense of its data in a future-ready format.

It’s a foundation for digital government, safe AI and public trust.

Why it matters now

DCAT-US 3.0 may not be fully required until 2026 but waiting is a risk.

Agencies that delay adoption could face major operational challenges: retrofitting outdated catalogs, manually reworking metadata or trying to reconcile inconsistent schema across systems at the last minute. For some, it may mean pausing mission-critical initiatives while back-end infrastructure catches up.

Agencies that start now will have a significant advantage. They’ll avoid the rush, reduce rework and start realizing the benefits of a modern metadata strategy immediately.

Those benefits include more than just compliance. Early adopters can:

• Reduce duplication and redundancy across departments
• Streamline FOIA and transparency reporting
• Enable secure and accurate data sharing across jurisdictions
• Automatically apply access and usage policies
• Improve discoverability and trust in agency data
• Enable responsible AI using high-quality, contextualized data from day one

In a world where every federal agency is being asked to do more with data, DCAT-US 3.0 compliance is about being ready, not just for the mandate but for the mission.

How Collibra Public Sector helps you meet (and exceed) DCAT-US 3.0

At Collibra, our platform supports all the required components for compliant publishing, discovery and sharing right out of the box.

But we don’t stop at compliance.

Our semantic graph enriches every data asset with deep business and technical context. That means your metadata includes not just what the data is but who owns it, how it’s been used, what policies apply and where it fits into your broader ecosystem. This context is key to enabling automation, traceability and trust.

Collibra Public Sector can help federal agencies gain:

• A unified, dynamic view of all metadata across clouds, systems and departments
• Automatic relationship mapping between datasets, distributions, owners and policies
• Built-in lineage, classification and access management
• End-to-end governance for every data product from ingestion to publication to archive

You don’t need to reinvent your catalog or build custom integrations. With Collibra Public Sector, your agency gets DCAT-US 3.0 compliance by default. Plus, you get the flexibility, automation and visibility to go further.

Compliance is table stakes. Confidence is the goal.

DCAT-US 3.0 gets you to the baseline. But true data confidence means your people can trust, comply and consume data—safely, securely and at scale.

That’s what we help deliver.

We help agencies move beyond system-specific governance to a unified approach that works across every dataset, platform and use case. And in an AI-driven future, that kind of foundation is essential.

If your agency is planning for DCAT-US 3.0, let’s talk. We’ll help you move faster, reduce complexity and lay the groundwork for safe, scalable AI and smarter public service.

DCAT-US 3.0 is coming. Let’s get your agency ready. Request a demo today.

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  Toan Do

  Toan Do

  General Manager and VP, Public Sector Sales

  Collibra