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Convert Shapefile to GML Online — Free GIS Converter

Convert Shapefile to GML for WFS services, EU INSPIRE compliance, and government SDI portals — automatic CRS handling, browser-based, free, no install.

Updated May 2026

Shapefile is the dominant format for vector GIS data exchange in most countries, but OGC Web Feature Services, the EU INSPIRE Directive, and many national SDI (Spatial Data Infrastructure) systems require data in GML format — convert your Shapefile .zip to .gml directly in your browser with geodata.plus.

Why convert Shapefile to GML?

GML (Geography Markup Language) is the mandatory encoding for data submitted to EU INSPIRE-compliant portals and for WFS 2.0 service responses. If you manage spatial data for a European public body, a utilities network operator, or any organization participating in a national or regional SDI, you will at some point need to deliver GML. The data is often originally maintained in Shapefile format — because that is what legacy desktop GIS workflows produce — and GML is required only at the submission or publication step. Converting Shapefile to GML handles that last-mile translation.

GML is also required by some national land registry, cadastral, and utility systems that pre-date modern formats and have not updated their ingest pipelines to accept GeoPackage or GeoJSON.

Why use geodata.plus

  • Free tier — convert up to 3 files per month at no cost, no credit card required
  • Automatic CRS detection — reads the .prj file from your Shapefile and writes the correct srsName attribute in the GML output, preserving the source CRS or reprojecting as needed
  • Optional reprojection — reproject to any EPSG code (e.g., EPSG:25832 for ETRS89/UTM zone 32N, standard for Germany's INSPIRE submissions) before download
  • Browser-based — no GeoServer, QGIS, or ArcGIS install needed; works on any modern browser
  • Encrypted transfer — all uploads use TLS; files are stored temporarily in Cloudflare R2 and automatically deleted on schedule
  • Auto-deleted output — output files are automatically deleted after 2 days (free tier) and 7 days (Pro); no manual cleanup needed

How it works

  1. Upload your Shapefile as a .zip archive containing the .shp, .shx, .dbf, and .prj files
  2. geodata.plus detects the format and reads the CRS from the .prj file
  3. Select GML as the output format; optionally choose a target EPSG code if the receiving system requires a specific CRS
  4. Download your .gml file, ready for INSPIRE submission, WFS configuration, or SDI portal ingest

Shapefile format

Shapefile stores vector geometry across multiple files: .shp for geometry, .shx as a positional index, .dbf for the attribute table (using dBASE IV format with 10-character field name limits), and .prj for the CRS in Well-Known Text. It has been the dominant GIS exchange format since the 1990s and is supported by virtually every GIS tool, but its structural limitations make it unsuitable as a long-term data standard.

| Property | Value | |---|---| | Extension | .shp + .shx + .dbf + .prj (delivered as .zip) | | Type | Vector, multi-file bundle | | Coordinate system | Any CRS (stored in .prj) | | Geometry types | Point, Polyline, Polygon, MultiPoint (one type per file) | | Common software | ArcGIS, QGIS, Tableau, AutoCAD Civil 3D, government portals |

GML format

GML (Geography Markup Language) is an OGC XML grammar defined by ISO 19136. It is schema-driven, meaning features in a GML document conform to a declared application schema that specifies element names, geometry types, and attribute structures. GML 3.2.1 is the version required by EU INSPIRE Technical Guidelines and WFS 2.0. GML can represent more complex geometry types than Shapefile — including solids, topology, and coverages — though most practical conversions involve basic 2D geometry types.

| Property | Value | |---|---| | Extension | .gml | | Type | Vector, single file XML | | Coordinate system | Any CRS (declared via srsName attribute) | | Geometry types | Point, LineString, Polygon, MultiGeometry, Curve, Surface, and more | | Common software | ArcGIS, QGIS, GeoServer, MapServer, INSPIRE portals, WFS services |

Frequently asked questions

Will the 10-character DBF field names from my Shapefile be preserved in the GML output?

Yes. The truncated DBF column names are used as local element names in the GML feature member output. This means if your Shapefile has a column called pop_2020 that was originally population_2020, the GML will contain <pop_2020> elements. For INSPIRE submissions where element names must match the official data model, you will need to map these to the correct INSPIRE element names using a tool like HALE Studio after conversion.

Which GML version does geodata.plus produce?

geodata.plus outputs GML 3.2.1 by default, which is compatible with WFS 2.0 and the EU INSPIRE Technical Guidelines. The output uses the gml: namespace prefix with the standard GML 3.2 schema URI. If your target system requires GML 2.1.2 (used by some older WFS 1.0 deployments), contact support.

Does the CRS axis order in the GML match what my target system expects?

This is an important consideration. GML 3.2.1 follows the EPSG axis order convention, which for EPSG:4326 means latitude first, then longitude — the opposite of GeoJSON's longitude/latitude order. For projected CRS like EPSG:25832 (Easting, Northing), the order is Easting first. geodata.plus writes coordinates in the correct EPSG-defined axis order for the chosen CRS and includes the srsName URN accordingly. Check your target system's documentation if you see coordinates appearing transposed.

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