---
title: About managing matching rules
description: Understand how PingDirectory matching rules compare attribute values in LDAP requests and search filters.
component: pingdirectory
version: 10.3
page_id: pingdirectory:pingdirectory_server_administration_guide:pd_ds_manage_matching_rules
canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingdirectory/11.1/pingdirectory_server_administration_guide/pd_ds_manage_matching_rules.html
llms_txt: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingdirectory/llms.txt
docs_for_agents: https://developer.pingidentity.com/build-with-ai/docs-for-agents.md
revdate: 2023-09-13T00:00:00Z
superseded_by: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingdirectory/11.1/pingdirectory_server_administration_guide/pd_ds_manage_matching_rules.html
---

# About managing matching rules

Matching rules determine how clients and servers compare attribute values during LDAP requests or operations.

Matching rules are also used in evaluating search filter elements, including distinguished names (DNs) and attributes. They are defined for each attribute based on the following properties:

* `EQUALITY`: Two attributes are equal based on case, exact match, and so forth.

* `SUBSTR`: The assertion value is a substring of an attribute.

* `ORDERING`: Specifies greater than or equal, less than or equal, and so forth.

|   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| - | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|   | PingDirectory server supports an `APPROXIMATE` matching rule that compares similar attributes based on fuzzy logic. Attributes that are similar or sound alike are matched. For example, `petersen` would match `peterson`. |