ETSI TS 138 323: 5G NR Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Specification (3GPP TS 38.323 Version 17.4.0 Release 17)

ETSI TS 138 323 V17.4.
0 (2023-04)
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
5G;
NR;
Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) specification
(3GPP TS 38.323 version 17.4.0 Release 17)
3GPP TS 38.323 version 17.4.0 Release 17 1 ETSI TS 138 323 V17.4.0 (2023-04)
Reference
RTS/TSGR-0238323vh40
Keywords
5G
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ETSI
Contents
Intellectual Property Rights ................................................................................................................................2
Legal Notice .......................................................................................................................................................2
Modal verbs terminology....................................................................................................................................2
Foreword.............................................................................................................................................................6
1 Scope ........................................................................................................................................................7
2 References ................................................................................................................................................7
3 Definitions and abbreviations ...................................................................................................................8
3.1 Definitions .......................................................................................................................................................... 8
3.2 Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................................... 8
4 General .....................................................................................................................................................9
4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 9
4.2 Architecture ........................................................................................................................................................ 9
4.2.1 PDCP structure ............................................................................................................................................. 9
4.2.2 PDCP entities .............................................................................................................................................. 11
4.3 Services ............................................................................................................................................................ 13
4.3.1 Services provided to upper layers ............................................................................................................... 13
4.3.2 Services expected from lower layers .......................................................................................................... 13
4.4 Functions .......................................................................................................................................................... 13
5 Procedures ..............................................................................................................................................14
5.1 PDCP entity handling ....................................................................................................................................... 14
5.1.1 PDCP entity establishment ......................................................................................................................... 14
5.1.2 PDCP entity re-establishment ..................................................................................................................... 14
5.1.3 PDCP entity release .................................................................................................................................... 16
5.1.4 PDCP entity suspend .................................................................................................................................. 16
5.1.5 PDCP entity reconfiguration ....................................................................................................................... 16
5.2 Data transfer ..................................................................................................................................................... 17
5.2.1 Transmit operation ...................................................................................................................................... 17
5.2.2 Receive operation ....................................................................................................................................... 18
5.2.2.1 Actions when a PDCP Data PDU is received from lower layers .......................................................... 18
5.2.2.2 Actions when a t-Reordering expires .................................................................................................... 20
5.2.2.3 Actions when the value of t-Reordering is reconfigured ...................................................................... 20
5.2.3 Sidelink transmit operation ......................................................................................................................... 20
5.2.4 Sidelink receive operation .......................................................................................................................... 20
5.3 SDU discard ..................................................................................................................................................... 20
5.4 Status reporting ................................................................................................................................................ 21
5.4.1 Transmit operation ...................................................................................................................................... 21
5.4.2 Receive operation ....................................................................................................................................... 21
5.5 Data recovery ................................................................................................................................................... 22
5.6 Data volume calculation ................................................................................................................................... 22
5.7 Robust header compression and decompression .............................................................................................. 23
5.7.1 Supported header compression protocols and profiles................................................................................ 23
5.7.2 Configuration of ROHC.............................................................................................................................. 23
5.7.3 Protocol parameters .................................................................................................................................... 23
5.7.4 Header compression using ROHC .............................................................................................................. 24
5.7.5 Header decompression using ROHC .......................................................................................................... 24
5.7.6 PDCP Control PDU for interspersed ROHC feedback ............................................................................... 25
5.7.6.1 Transmit Operation ............................................................................................................................... 25
5.7.6.2 Receive Operation ................................................................................................................................. 25
5.8 Ciphering and deciphering ............................................................................................................................... 25
5.9 Integrity protection and verification ................................................................................................................. 26
5.10 Handling of unknown, unforeseen, and erroneous protocol data ..................................................................... 27
5.11 PDCP duplication ............................................................................................................................................. 27
5.11.1 Activation/Deactivation of PDCP duplication ............................................................................................ 27
ETSI
5.11.2 Duplicate PDU discard ............................................................................................................................... 27

5.12 Ethernet header compression and decompression ............................................................................................ 28
5.12.1 Supported header compression protocols ................................................................................................... 28
5.12.2 Configuration of EHC ................................................................................................................................. 28
5.12.3 Protocol parameters .................................................................................................................................... 28
5.12.4 Header compression using EHC ................................................................................................................. 28
5.12.5 Header decompression using EHC ............................................................................................................. 28
5.12.6 PDCP Control PDU for EHC feedback ...................................................................................................... 28
5.12.6.1 Transmit Operation ............................................................................................................................... 28
5.12.6.2 Receive Operation ................................................................................................................................. 28
5.12.7 Simultaneous configuration of ROHC and EHC ........................................................................................ 29
5.13 Uplink data switching ....................................................................................................................................... 29
5.14 Uplink Data compression and decompression.................................................................................................. 30
5.14.1 UDC protocol.............................................................................................................................................. 30
5.14.2 Configuration of UDC ................................................................................................................................ 30
5.14.3 UDC header ................................................................................................................................................ 30
5.14.4 Uplink data compression ............................................................................................................................ 30
5.14.5 PDCP Control PDU for UDC feedback ...................................................................................................... 30
5.14.6 Pre-defined dictionary................................................................................................................................. 31
5.14.7 UDC buffer reset procedure ........................................................................................................................ 31
5.14.8 UDC checksum error handling ................................................................................................................... 31
6 Protocol data units, formats, and parameters..........................................................................................31
6.1 Protocol data units ............................................................................................................................................ 31
6.1.1 Data PDU .................................................................................................................................................... 31
6.1.2 Control PDU ............................................................................................................................................... 31
6.2 Formats ............................................................................................................................................................. 32
6.2.1 General........................................................................................................................................................ 32
6.2.2 Data PDU .................................................................................................................................................... 32
6.2.2.1 Data PDU for SRBs .............................................................................................................................. 32
6.2.2.2 Data PDU for DRBs and MRBs with 12 bits PDCP SN ....................................................................... 32
6.2.2.3 Data PDU for DRBs and MRBs with 18 bits PDCP SN ....................................................................... 33
6.2.2.4 Data PDU for sidelink DRBs for groupcast and broadcast, for the sidelink SRB0 and for the
sidelink SRB4 ....................................................................................................................................... 33
6.2.2.5 Data PDU for sidelink SRBs for unicast ............................................................................................... 34
6.2.2.6 Data PDU for sidelink DRBs for unicast with 12 bits PDCP SN.......................................................... 34
6.2.2.7 Data PDU for sidelink DRBs for unicast with 18 bits PDCP SN.......................................................... 35
6.2.3 Control PDU ............................................................................................................................................... 36
6.2.3.1 Control PDU for PDCP status report .................................................................................................... 36
6.2.3.2 Control PDU for interspersed ROHC feedback .................................................................................... 37
6.2.3.3 Control PDU for EHC feedback............................................................................................................ 37
6.2.3.4 Control PDU for UDC feedback ........................................................................................................... 37
6.3 Parameters ........................................................................................................................................................ 37
6.3.1 General........................................................................................................................................................ 37
6.3.2 PDCP SN .................................................................................................................................................... 38
6.3.3 Data ............................................................................................................................................................. 38
6.3.4 MAC-I ........................................................................................................................................................ 38
6.3.5 COUNT ...................................................................................................................................................... 38
6.3.6 R ................................................................................................................................................................. 39
6.3.7 D/C.............................................................................................................................................................. 39
6.3.8 PDU type .................................................................................................................................................... 39
6.3.9 FMC ............................................................................................................................................................ 39
6.3.10 Bitmap ........................................................................................................................................................ 39
6.3.11 Interspersed ROHC feedback ..................................................................................................................... 39
6.3.12 SDU Type ................................................................................................................................................... 40
6.3.13 KNRP-sess ID .................................................................................................................................................. 40
6.3.14 FE................................................................................................................................................................ 40
7 State variables, constants, and timers .....................................................................................................40
7.1 State variables .................................................................................................................................................. 40
7.2 Constants .......................................................................................................................................................... 41
7.3 Timers .............................................................................................................................................................. 41
ETSI
Annex A (normative): Ethernet Header Compression (EHC) protocol ..........................................43

A.1 EHC principle .........................................................................................................................................43
A.2 EHC packet format and parameters........................................................................................................44
A.2.1 EHC packet format ........................................................................................................................................... 44
A.2.1.1 EHC Full Header packet and EHC Compressed Header packet ................................................................. 44
A.2.1.2 EHC feedback packet.................................................................................................................................. 45
A.2.2 Parameters ........................................................................................................................................................ 46
A.2.2.1 F/C .............................................................................................................................................................. 46
A.2.2.2 CID ............................................................................................................................................................. 46
Annex B (normative): Uplink Data Compression Protocol..............................................................47

B.1 UDC general description ........................................................................................................................47
B.2 UDC packet format and parameters .......................................................................................................47
B.2.1 UDC Header and UDC Data Block format ...................................................................................................... 47
B.2.2 UDC parameters ............................................................................................................................................... 47
B.2.2.1 FU ............................................................................................................................................................... 47
B.2.2.2 FR ............................................................................................................................................................... 47
B.2.2.3 Checksum ................................................................................................................................................... 48
B.2.3 An example of UDC Checksum calculation..................................................................................................... 48
Annex C (informative): Change history ...............................................................................................49

History ..............................................................................................................................................................51
ETSI
Foreword
This Technical Specification has been produced by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).
The contents of the present document are subject to continuing work within the TSG and may change following formal
TSG approval. Should the TSG modify the contents of the present document, it will be re-released by the TSG with an
identifying change of release date and an increase in version number as follows:
Version x.y.z
where:
x the first digit:
1 presented to TSG for information;
2 presented to TSG for approval;
3 or greater indicates TSG approved document under change control.
y the second digit is incremented for all changes of substance, i.e. technical enhancements, corrections,
updates, etc.
z the third digit is incremented when editorial only changes have been incorporated in the document.
ETSI
1 Scope
The present document provides the description of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP).
2 References
The following documents contain provisions which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions of the present
document.
- References are either specific (identified by date of publication, edition number, version number, etc.) or
non-specific.
- For a specific reference, subsequent revisions do not apply.
- For a non-specific reference, the latest version applies. In the case of a reference to a 3GPP document (including
a GSM document), a non-specific reference implicitly refers to the latest version of that document in the same
Release as the present document.
[1] 3GPP TR 21.905: "Vocabulary for 3GPP Specifications".
[2] 3GPP TS 38.300: "NG Radio Access Network; Overall description".
[3] 3GPP TS 38.331: "NR Radio Resource Control (RRC); Protocol Specification".
[4] 3GPP TS 38.321: "NR Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification".
[5] 3GPP TS 38.322: "NR Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol specification".
[6] 3GPP TS 33.501: "Security Architecture and Procedures for 5G System ".
[7] IETF RFC 5795: "The RObust Header Compression (ROHC) Framework".
[8] IETF RFC 3095: "RObust Header Compression (ROHC): Framework and four profiles: RTP,
UDP, ESP and uncompressed".
[9] IETF RFC 4815: "RObust Header Compression (ROHC): Corrections and Clarifications to RFC
3095".
[10] IETF RFC 6846: "RObust Header Compression (ROHC): A Profile for TCP/IP (ROHC-TCP)".
[11] IETF RFC 5225: "RObust Header Compression (ROHC) Version 2: Profiles for RTP, UDP, IP,
ESP and UDP Lite".
[12] 3GPP TS 36.321: "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) Medium Access
Control (MAC) protocol specification".
[13] 3GPP TS 23.287: "Architecture enhancements for 5G System (5GS) to support Vehicle-to-
Everything (V2X) services".
[14] 3GPP TS 33.536: "Security Aspect of 3GPP Support for Advanced V2X Services".
[15] IEEE Standard 802.3™-2018: "Ethernet".

[16] 3GPP TS 24.587: "Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) services in 5G System (5GS), Stage 3".
[17] 3GPP TS 33.401: "3GPP System Architecture Evolution (SAE); Security Architecture".
[18] 3GPP TS 23.304: "Proximity based Services (ProSe) in the 5G System (5GS)".
[19] IETF RFC 1951: "DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification version 1.3".
ETSI
[20] IETF RFC 3485: "The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Session Description Protocol (SDP)
Static Dictionary for Signaling Compression (SigComp)".
[21] IETF RFC 1979: "PPP Deflate Protocol".
3 Definitions and abbreviations
3.1 Definitions
For the purposes of the present document, the terms and definitions given in TR 21.905 [1] and the following apply. A
term defined in the present document takes precedence over the definition of the same term, if any, in TR 21.905 [1].
AM DRB: a data radio bearer which utilizes RLC AM.
AM MRB: an MRB associated with at least one AM RLC bearer for PTP transmission.
Broadcast MRB: a radio bearer configured for MBS broadcast delivery.
DAPS bearer: a bearer whose radio protocols are located in both the source gNB and the target gNB during DAPS
handover to use both source gNB and target gNB resources.
MBS Radio Bearer: a radio bearer that is configured for MBS delivery.
Multicast MRB: a radio bearer configured for MBS multicast delivery.
Non-split bearer: a bearer whose radio protocols are located in either the MgNB or the SgNB to use MgNB or SgNB
resource, respectively.
NR sidelink communication: AS functionality enabling at least V2X communication as defined in TS 23.287 [13] and
ProSe communication (including ProSe non-Relay and UE-to-Network Relay communication) as defined in TS 23.304
[18], between two or more nearby UEs, using NR technology but not traversing any network node.
NR sidelink discovery: AS functionality enabling ProSe non-Relay Discovery and ProSe UE-to-Network Relay
discovery for Proximity based Services as defined in TS 23.304 [18] between two or more nearby UEs, using NR
technology but not traversing any network node.
NR sidelink transmission: any NR Sidelink-based transmission, including both transmission for NR sidelink discovery
and transmission for NR sidelink communication.
PDCP data volume: the amount of data available for transmission in a PDCP entity.
Split bearer: in dual connectivity, a bearer whose radio protocols are located in both the MgNB and the SgNB to use
both MgNB and SgNB resources.
Split secondary RLC entity: in dual connectivity, the RLC entity other than the primary RLC entity which is
responsible for split bearer operation. If the PDCP entity is associated with two RLC entities, the split secondary RLC
entity is the RLC entity other than the primary RLC entity. If the PDCP entity is associated with more than two RLC
entities, the split secondary RLC entity is configured by upper layers.
UM DRB: a data radio bearer which utilizes RLC UM.
UM MRB: an MRB associated with only RLC UM.
3.2 Abbreviations
For the purposes of the present document, the abbreviations given in TR 21.905 [1] and the following apply. An
abbreviation defined in the present document takes precedence over the definition of the same abbreviation, if any, in
TR 21.905 [1].
AM Acknowledged Mode
ARP Address Resolution Protocol
ETSI
CID Context Identifier

DAPS Dual Active Protocol Stack
DRB Data Radio Bearer carrying user plane data
EHC Ethernet Header Compression
FIFO First In First Out
gNB NR Node B
HFN Hyper Frame Number
IETF Internet Engineering Task Force
IP Internet Protocol
MAC Medium Access Control
MAC-I Message Authentication Code for Integrity
MBS Multicast/Broadcast Services
MRB MBS Radio Bearer
MTCH MBS Traffic Channel
PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol
PDU Protocol Data Unit
RB Radio Bearer
RFC Request For Comments
RLC Radio Link Control
ROHC RObust Header Compression
RRC Radio Resource Control
RTP Real Time Protocol
SAP Service Access Point
SCCH Sidelink Control Channel
SDU Service Data Unit
SLRB Sidelink Radio Bearer carrying NR sidelink communication or NR sidelink discovery
SN Sequence Number
SRAP Sidelink Relay Adaptation Protocol
SRB Signalling Radio Bearer carrying control plane data
STCH Sidelink Traffic Channel
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
UDC Uplink Data Compression
UDP User Datagram Protocol
UE User Equipment
UM Unacknowledged Mode
U2N UE-to-Network
X-MAC Computed MAC-I
4 General
4.1 Introduction
The present document describes the functionality of the PDCP.
4.2 Architecture
4.2.1 PDCP structure
Figure 4.2.1-1 represents one possible structure for the PDCP sublayer, and Figure 4.2.1-2 represents one possible
structure for the PDCP sublayer used in L2 U2N relay case; they should not restrict implementation. The figures are
based on the radio interface protocol architecture defined in TS 38.300 [2].
ETSI
Figure 4.2.1-1: PDCP layer, structure view (normal)
Figure 4.2.1-2: PDCP layer, structure view (L2 U2N relay)
The PDCP sublayer is configured by upper layers TS 38.331 [3]. The PDCP sublayer is used for RBs mapped on
DCCH, DTCH, MTCH, SCCH, and STCH type of logical channels. The PDCP sublayer is not used for any other type
of logical channels.
Each RB (except for SRB0 for Uu interface) is associated with one PDCP entity. Each PDCP entity is associated with
one, two, three, four, six, or eight RLC entities depending on the RB characteristic (e.g. uni-directional/bi-directional or
split/non-split) or RLC mode:
- For split bearers, each PDCP entity is associated with two UM RLC entities (for same direction), four UM RLC
entities (two for each direction), or two AM RLC entities;
ETSI
- For RBs configured with PDCP duplication, each PDCP entity is associated with N UM RLC entities (for same
direction), 2 × N UM RLC entities (N for each direction), or N AM RLC entities, where 2 <= N <= 4;
- For DAPS bearers, each PDCP entity is associated with two UM RLC entities (for same direction, one for source
and one for target cell), four UM RLC entities (two for each direction on source cell and target cell), or two AM
RLC entities (one for source cell and one for target cell);
- For UM MRBs, each PDCP entity is associated with one UM RLC entity (for MTCH or for downlink DTCH),
two UM RLC entities (one for MTCH and one for downlink DTCH, or one for downlink DTCH and one for
uplink DTCH), or three UM RLC entities (one for MTCH, one for downlink DTCH, and one for uplink DTCH);
- For AM MRBs, each PDCP entity is associated with one AM RLC entity (for downlink DTCH and uplink
DTCH), or one UM RLC entity (for MTCH) and one AM RLC entity (for downlink DTCH and uplink DTCH);
- Otherwise, each PDCP entity is associated with one UM RLC entity, two UM RLC entities (one for each
direction), or one AM RLC entity.
For the case of L2 U2N relay, all PDCP entities are associated with one SRAP entity.
4.2.2 PDCP entities

The PDCP entities are located in the PDCP sublayer. Several PDCP entities may be defined for a UE. Each PDCP
entity is carrying the data of one radio bearer. A PDCP entity is associated either to the control plane or the user plane
depending on which radio bearer it is carrying data for.
Figure 4.2.2-1 represents the functional view of the PDCP entity for the PDCP sublayer; it should not restrict
implementation. The figure is based on the radio interface protocol architecture defined in TS 38.300 [2].
For split bearers and DAPS bearers, routing is performed in the transmitting PDCP entity.
A PDCP entity associated with DRB can be configured by upper layers TS 38.331 [3] to use header compression or
uplink data compression (UDC). A PDCP entity associated with MRB can be configured by upper layers TS 38.331 [3]
to use header compression. In this version of the specification, the robust header compression protocol (ROHC), the
Ethernet header compression protocol (EHC) and UDC are supported. Each header compression protocol is
independently configured for a DRB/MRB.
ETSI
Figure 4.2.2-1: PDCP layer, functional view
Figure 4.2.2-2 represents the functional view of the PDCP entity associated with the DAPS bearer for the PDCP
sublayer; it should not restrict implementation. The figure is based on the radio interface protocol architecture defined
in TS 38.300 [2].
For DAPS bearers, the PDCP entity is configured with two sets of security functions and keys and two sets of header
compression protocols.
ETSI
UE UE
Transmitting PDCP entity Receiving PDCP entity
Transmission buffer: Sequence numbering

Header Decompression Header Decompression
Header Compression Header Compression

Packets associated Packets associated
Packets associated Packets associated to a PDCP SDU to a PDCP SDU
to a PDCP SDU to a PDCP SDU
associated to a
associated to a
associated to a
Packets not
Packets not
PDCP SDU
PDCP SDU
associated to a
Packets not
PDCP SDU
Packets not
PDCP SDU
Reception buffer:
Integrity Protection Integrity Protection
Reordering, duplicte discarding
Ciphering Ciphering Integrity Verification Integrity Verification
Add PDCP header Deciphering Deciphering
Routing Remove PDCP Header
Radio Interface (Uu)
Figure 4.2.2-2: PDCP layer associated with DAPS bearer, functional view
4.3 Services
4.3.1 Services provided to upper layers
The PDCP layer provides its services to the RRC or SDAP layers. The following services are provided by PDCP to
upper layers:
- transfer of user plane data;
- transfer of control plane data;
- header compression;
- uplink data compression;
- ciphering;
- integrity protection.
The maximum supported size of a PDCP SDU is 9000 bytes. The maximum supported size of a PDCP Control PDU is
9000 bytes.
4.3.2 Services expected from lower layers

A PDCP entity expects the following services from lower layers per RLC entity (for a detailed description see TS
38.322 [5]):
- acknowledged data transfer service, including indication of successful delivery of PDCP PDUs;
- unacknowledged data transfer service.
4.4 Functions
The PDCP layer supports the following functions:
- transfer of data (user plane or control plane);
ETSI
- maintenance of PDCP SNs;
- header compression and decompression using the ROHC protocol;
- header compression and decompression using the EHC protocol;
- uplink data compression and decompression using the UDC protocol;
- ciphering and deciphering;
- integrity protection and integrity verification;
- timer based SDU discard;
- for split bearers and DAPS bearer, routing;
- duplication;
- reordering and in-order delivery;
- out-of-order delivery;
- duplicate discarding.
5 Procedures
5.1 PDCP entity handling

5.1.1 PDCP entity establishment
When upper layers request a PDCP entity establishment for a radio bearer for Uu or PC5 interface; or for NR sidelink
communication for groupcast and broadcast or for sidelink SRB4, when receiving the first PDCP PDU, and there is not
yet a corresponding PDCP entity, the UE shall:
- establish a PDCP entity for the radio bearer;
- set the state variables of the PDCP entity to initial values;
- follow the procedures in clause 5.2.
NOTE: The receiving PDCP entity of sidelink SRB0 and sidelink SRB1 is established same as NR sidelink
groupcast and broadcast.
5.1.2 PDCP entity re-establishment

When upper layers request a PDCP entity re-establishment, the UE shall additionally perform once the procedures
described in this clause for Uu or PC5 interface. After performing the procedures in this clause, the UE shall follow the
procedures in clause 5.2.
When upper layers request a PDCP entity re-establishment, the transmitting PDCP entity shall:
- for UM DRBs and AM DRBs, reset the ROHC protocol for uplink and start with an IR state in U-mode (as
defined in RFC 3095 [8] and RFC 4815 [9]) if drb-ContinueROHC is not configured in TS 38.331 [3];
- for UM DRBs and AM DRBs, reset the EHC protocol for uplink if drb-ContinueEHC-UL is not configured in
TS 38.331 [3];
- for AM DRBs, reset the UDC compression buffer to all zeros and prefill the dictionary if drb-ContinueUDC is
not configured in TS 38.331 [3];
- for SRBs and UM DRBs, set TX_NEXT to the initial value;
ETSI
- for SRBs, discard all stored PDCP SDUs and PDCP PDUs;
- apply the ciphering algorithm and key provided by upper layers during the PDCP entity re-establishment
procedure;
- apply the integrity protection algorithm and key provided by upper layers during the PDCP entity re-
establishment procedure;
- for UM DRBs, for each PDCP SDU already associated with a PDCP SN but for which a corresponding PDU has
not previously been submitted to lower layers, and;
- for AM DRBs for Uu interface whose PDCP entities were suspended, from the first PDCP SDU for which the
successful delivery of the corresponding PDCP Data PDU has not been confirmed by lower layers, for each
PDCP SDU already associated with a PDCP SN:
- consider the PDCP SDUs as received from upper layer;
- perform transmission of the PDCP SDUs in ascending order of the COUNT value associated to the PDCP
SDU prior to the PDCP re-establishment without restarting the discardTimer, as specified in clause 5.2.1;
- for AM DRBs whose PDCP entities were not suspended, from the first PDCP SDU for which the successful
delivery of the corresponding PDCP Data PDU has not been confirmed by lower layers, perform retransmission
or transmission of all the PDCP SDUs already associated with PDCP SNs in ascending order of the COUNT
values associated to the PDCP SDU prior to the PDCP entity re-establishment as specified below:
- perform header compression of the PDCP SDU using ROHC as specified in the clause 5.7.4 and/or using
EHC as specified in the clause 5.12.4;
- If drb-ContinueUDC is configured and if the PDCP SDU has been compressed before:
- submit the PDCP SDU previously compressed to integrity protection and ciphering function;
- else:
- perform uplink data compression of the PDCP SDU as specified in clause 5.14.4, and submit the PDCP
SDU to integrity protection and ciphering function;
- perform integrity protection and ciphering of the PDCP SDU using the COUNT value associated with this
PDCP SDU as specified in the clause 5.9 and 5.8;
- submit the resulting PDCP Data PDU to lower layer, as specified in clause 5.2.1.
When upper layers request a PDCP entity re-establishment, the receiving PDCP entity shall:
- process the PDCP Data PDUs that are received from lower layers due to the re-establishment of the lower layers,
as specified in the clause 5.2.2.1;
- for SRBs, discard all stored PDCP SDUs and PDCP PDUs;
- for SRBs, UM DRBs and UM MRBs, if t-Reordering is running:
- stop and reset t-Reordering;
- for UM DRBs and UM MRBs, deliver all stored PDCP SDUs to the upper layers in ascending order of
associated COUNT values after performing header decompression;
- for AM DRBs and AM MRBs for Uu interface, perform header decompression using ROHC for all stored PDCP
SDUs if drb-ContinueROHC is not configured in TS 38.331 [3];
- for AM DRBs for PC5 interface, perform header decompression using ROHC for all stored PDCP IP SDUs;
- for AM DRBs and AM MRBs for Uu interface, perform header decompression using EHC for all stored PDCP
SDUs if drb-ContinueEHC-DL is not configured in TS 38.331 [3];
- for UM DRBs, AM DRBs, UM MRBs and AM MRBs, reset the ROHC protocol for downlink and start with NC
state in U-mode (as defined in RFC 3095 [8] and RFC 4815 [9]) if drb-ContinueROHC is not configured in TS
38.331 [3];
ETSI
- for UM DRBs, AM DRBs, UM MRBs and AM MRBs, reset the EHC protocol for downlink if drb-
ContinueEHC-DL is not configured in TS 38.331 [3];
- for SRBs and UM DRBs, set RX_NEXT and RX_DELIV to the initial value;
- for UM MRBs and AM MRBs, set RX_NEXT and RX_DELIV to the initial value if initialRX-DELIV is
configured in TS 38.331 [3];
- apply the ciphering algorithm and key provided by upper layers during the PDCP entity re-establishment
procedure;
- apply the integrity protection algorithm and key provided by upper layers during the PDCP entity re-
establishment procedure.
NOTE 1: After PDCP re-establishment on a sidelink SRB/DRB, UE determines when to transmit and receive with
the new key and discard the old key as specified in TS 33.536 [14].
NOTE 2: At PDCP re-establishment, the MRB type (i.e. UM MRB or AM MRB) is determined by the target
configuration.
5.1.3 PDCP entity release

When upper layers request a PDCP entity release for a radio bearer for Uu or PC5 interface, the UE shall:
- discard all stored PDCP SDUs and PDCP PDUs in the transmitting PDCP entity;
- for UM DRBs, AM DRBs, UM MRBs and AM MRBs, deliver the PDCP SDUs stored in the receiving PDCP
entity to upper layers in ascending order of associated COUNT values after performing header decompression, if
not decompressed before;
- release the PDCP entity for the radio bearer.
NOTE: For NR sidelink communication for groupcast and broadcast or for sidelink SRB4, the receiving PDCP
entity release for an SLRB is up to UE implementation.
5.1.4 PDCP entity suspend

When upper layers request a PDCP entity suspend, the transmitting PDCP entity shall:
- set TX_NEXT to the initial value;
- discard all stored PDCP PDUs;
When upper layers request a PDCP entity suspend, the receiving PDCP entity shall:
- if t-Reordering is running:
- stop and reset t-Reordering;
- deliver all stored PDCP SDUs to the upper layers in ascending order of associated COUNT values after
performing header decompression;
- set RX_NEXT and RX_DELIV to the initial value, except for MRB.
5.1.5 PDCP entity reconfiguration

When upper layers reconfigure the PDCP entity to configure DAPS, the UE shall:
- establish a ciphering function for the radio bearer and apply the ciphering algorithm and key provided by upper
layers for the ciphering function;
- establish an integrity protection function for the radio bearer and apply the integrity protection algorithm and key
provided by upper layers for the integrity protection function;
ETSI
- establish a header compression protocol for the radio bearer and apply the header compression configuration
provided by upper layers for the header compression protocol.
When upper layers reconfigure the PDCP entity to release DAPS, the UE shall:
- release the ciphering function associated to the released RLC entity for the radio bearer;
- release the integrity protection function associated to the released RLC entity for the radio bearer;
- release the header compression protocol associated to the released RLC entity for the radio bearer.
NOTE 1: The state variables which control the transmission and reception operation should not be reset, and the
timers including t-Reordering and discardTimer keep running during PDCP entity reconfiguration
procedure.
NOTE 2: Before releasing the header compression protocol associated to the released RLC entity, how to handle all
stored PDCP SDUs received from the released RLC entity is left up to UE implementation.
NOTE 3: No special handling for the header compression protocol is defined to avoid potential security issue (e.g.
keystream reuse) for DAPS handover with no security key change.
5.2 Data transfer

5.2.1 Transmit operation
At reception of a PDCP SDU from upper layers, the transmitting PDCP entity shall:
- start the discardTimer associated with this PDCP SDU (if configured).
For a PDCP SDU received from upper layers, the transmitting PDCP entity shall:
- associate the COUNT value corresponding to TX_NEXT to this PDCP SDU;
NOTE 1: Associating more than half of the PDCP SN space of contiguous PDCP SDUs with PDCP SNs, when
e.g., the PDCP SDUs are discarded or transmitted without acknowledgement, may cause HFN
desynchronization problem. How to prevent HFN desynchronization problem is left up to UE
implementation.
- perform header compression of the PDCP SDU using ROHC as specified in the clause 5.7.4 and/or using EHC
as specified in the clause 5.12.4;
- perform uplink data compression of the PDCP SDU as specified in clause 5.14.4;
- perform integrity protection, and ciphering using the TX_NEXT as specified in the clause 5.9 and 5.8,
respectively;
- set the PDCP SN of the PDCP Data PDU to TX_NEXT modulo 2[pdcp-SN-SizeUL];
- increment TX_NEXT by one;
- submit the resulting PDCP Data PDU to lower layer as specified below.
When submitting a PDCP PDU to lower layer, the transmitting PDCP entity shall:
- if the transmitting PDCP entity is associated with an SRAP entity:
- submit the PDCP PDU to the associated SRAP entity;
- else, if the transmitting PDCP entity is associated with one RLC entity:
- submit the PDCP PDU to the associated RLC entity;
- else, if the transmitting PDCP entity is associated with at least two RLC entities:
- if the PDCP duplication is activated for the RB:
ETSI
- if the PDCP PDU is a PDCP Data PDU:
- duplicate the PDCP Data PDU and submit the PDCP Data PDU to the associated RLC entities
activated for PDCP duplication;
- else:
- submit the PDCP Control PDU to the primary RLC entity;
- else (i.e. the PDCP duplication is deactivated for the RB or the RB is a DAPS bearer):
- if the split secondary RLC entity is configured; and
- if the total amount of PDCP data volume and RLC data volume pending for initial transmission (as
specified in TS 38.322 [5]) in the primary RLC entity and the split secondary RLC entity is equal to or
larger than ul-DataSplitThreshold:
- submit the PDCP PDU to either the primary RLC entity or the split secondary RLC entity;
- else, if the transmitting PDCP entity is associated with the DAPS bearer:
- if the uplink data switching has not been requested:
- submit the PDCP PDU to the RLC entity associated with the source cell;
- else:
- if the PDCP PDU is a PDCP Data PDU:
- submit the PDCP Data PDU to the RLC entity associated with the target cell;
- else:
- if the PDCP Control PDU is associated with source cell:
- submit the PDCP Control PDU to the RLC entity associated with the source cell;
- else:
- submit the PDCP Control PDU to the RLC entity associated with the target cell;
- else:
- submit the PDCP PDU to the primary RLC entity.
NOTE 2: If the transmitting PDCP entity is associated with two RLC entities, the UE should minimize the amount
of PDCP PDUs submitted to lower layers before receiving request from lower layers and minimize the
PDCP SN gap between PDCP PDUs submitted to two associated RLC entities to minimize PDCP
reordering delay in the receiving PDCP entity.
5.2.2 Receive operation
5.2.2.1 Actions when a PDCP Data PDU is received from lower layers
In this clause, following definitions are used:
- HFN(State Variable): the HFN part (i.e. the number of most significant bits equal to HFN length) of the State
Variable;
- SN(State Variable): the SN part (i.e. the number of least significant bits equal to PDCP SN length) of the State
Variable;
- RCVD_SN: the PDCP SN of the received PDCP Data PDU, included in the PDU header;
- RCVD_HFN: the HFN of the received PDCP Data PDU, calculated by the receiving PDCP entity;
ETSI
- RCVD_COUNT: the COUNT of the received PDCP Data PDU = [RCVD_HFN, RCVD_SN].
At reception of a PDCP Data PDU from lower layers, the receiving PDCP entity shall determine the COUNT value of
the received PDCP Data PDU, i.e. RCVD_COUNT, as follows:
- if RCVD_SN < SN(RX_DELIV) – Window_Size:
- RCVD_HFN = HFN(RX_DELIV) + 1.
- else if RCVD_SN >= SN(RX_DELIV) + Window_Size:
- RCVD_HFN = HFN(RX_DELIV) – 1.
- else:
- RCVD_HFN = HFN(RX_DELIV);
- RCVD_COUNT = [RCVD_HFN, RCVD_SN].
After determining the COUNT value of the received PDCP Data PDU = RCVD_COUNT, the receiving PDCP entity
shall:
- perform deciphering and integrity verification of the PDCP Data PDU using COUNT = RCVD_COUNT;
- if integrity verification fails:
- indicate the integrity verification failure to upper layer;
- discard the PDCP Data PDU and consider it as not received;
- if RCVD_COUNT < RX_DELIV; or
- if the PDCP Data PDU with COUNT = RCVD_COUNT has been received before:
- discard the PDCP Data PDU;
If the received PDCP Data PDU with COUNT value = RCVD_COUNT is not discarded above, the receiving PDCP
entity shall:
- store the resulting PDCP SDU in the reception buffer;
- if RCVD_COUNT >= RX_NEXT:
- update RX_NEXT to RCVD_COUNT + 1.
- if outOfOrderDelivery is configured:
- deliver the resulting PDCP SDU to upper layers after performing header decompression using EHC.
- if RCVD_COUNT = RX_DELIV:
- deliver to upper layers in ascending order of the associated COUNT value after performing header
decompression, if not decompressed before;
- all stored PDCP SDU(s) with consecutively associated COUNT value(s) starting from COUNT =
RX_DELIV;
- update RX_DELIV to the COUNT value of the first PDCP SDU which has not been delivered to upper
layers, with COUNT value > RX_DELIV;
- if t-Reordering is running, and if RX_DELIV >= RX_REORD:
- stop and reset t-Reordering.
- if t-Reordering is not running (includes the case when t-Reordering is stopped due to actions above), and
RX_DELIV < RX_NEXT:
- update RX_REORD to RX_NEXT;
ETSI
- start t-Reordering.
5.2.2.2 Actions when a t-Reordering expires

When t-Reordering expires, the receiving PDCP entity shall:
- deliver to upper layers in ascending order of the associated COUNT value after performing header
decompression, if not decompressed before:
- all stored PDCP SDU(s) with associated COUNT value(s) < RX_REORD;
- all stored PDCP SDU(s) with consecutively associated COUNT value(s) starting from RX_REORD;
- update RX_DELIV to the COUNT value of the first PDCP SDU which has not been delivered to upper layers,
with COUNT value >= RX_REORD;
- if RX_DELIV < RX_NEXT:
- start t-Reordering.
5.2.2.3 Actions when the value of t-Reordering is reconfigured

When the value of the t-Reordering is reconfigured by upper layers while the t-Reordering is running, the receiving
PDCP entity shall:
- stop and restart t-Reordering.
5.2.3 Sidelink transmit operation

For NR sidelink transmission of the SLRB, the UE shall follow the procedures in clause 5.2.1 with following
modification:
- perform the header compression using ROHC as specified in clause 5.7.4, if SDU Type is IP;
- set the PDCP SN of the PDCP Data PDU to TX_NEXT modulo 2[sl-PDCP-SN-Size].
5.2.4 Sidelink receive operation

For sidelink reception of the SLRB, the UE shall follow the procedures in clause 5.2.2 with following modification:
- perform the header decompression using ROHC as specified in clause 5.7.5, if SDU Type is IP.
NOTE: For reception of sidelink SRBs except sidelink SRB3, the UE may deliver the PDCP SDU to the upper
layer along with an indication whether it is PC5-S message or NR sidelink discovery message.
5.3 SDU discard

When the discardTimer expires for a PDCP SDU, or the successful delivery of a PDCP SDU is confirmed by PDCP
status report, the transmitting PDCP entity shall discard the PDCP SDU along with the corresponding PDCP Data PDU.
If the corresponding PDCP Data PDU has already been submitted to lower layers, the discard is indicated to lower
layers.
For SRBs, when upper layers request a PDCP SDU discard, the PDCP entity shall discard all stored PDCP SDUs and
PDCP PDUs.
NOTE: Discarding a PDCP SDU already associated with a PDCP SN causes a SN gap in the transmitted PDCP
Data PDUs, which increases PDCP reordering delay in the receiving PDCP entity. It is up to UE
implementation how to minimize SN gap after SDU discard.
ETSI
5.4 Status reporting

5.4.1 Transmit operation
For AM DRBs configured by upper layers to send a PDCP status report in the uplink (statusReportRequired in TS
38.331 [3]), the receiving PDCP entity shall trigger a PDCP status report when:
- upper layer requests a PDCP entity re-establishment;
- upper layer requests a PDCP data recovery;
- upper layer requests a uplink data switching;
- upper layer reconfigures the PDCP entity to release DAPS and daps-SourceRelease is configured in TS 38.331
[3].
For UM DRBs configured by upper layers to send a PDCP status report in the uplink (statusReportRequired in TS
- upper layer requests a uplink data switching.
For AM DRBs in the sidelink, the receiving PDCP entity shall trigger a PDCP status report when:
- upper layer requests a PDCP entity re-establishment.
For AM MRBs configured by upper layers to send a PDCP status report in the uplink (statusReportRequired in TS
- upper layer requests a PDCP entity re-establishment;
- upper layer requests a PDCP data recovery.
If a PDCP status report is triggered, the receiving PDCP entity shall:
- compile a PDCP status report as indicated below by:
- setting the FMC field to RX_DELIV;
- if RX_DELIV < RX_NEXT:
- allocating a Bitmap field of length in bits equal to the number of COUNTs from and not including the
first missing PDCP SDU up to and including the last out-of-sequence PDCP SDUs, rounded up to the
next multiple of 8, or up to and including a PDCP SDU for which the resulting PDCP Control PDU size
is equal to 9000 bytes, whichever comes first;
- setting in the bitmap field as '0' for all PDCP SDUs that have not been received, and optionally PDCP
SDUs for which decompression have failed;
- setting in the bitmap field as '1' for all PDCP SDUs that have been received;
- submit the PDCP status report to lower layers as the first PDCP PDU for transmission via the transmitting PDCP
entity as specified in clause 5.2.1 for Uu interface and in clause 5.2.3 for PC5 interface.
5.4.2 Receive operation

For AM DRBs, when a PDCP status report is received in the downlink or in the sidelink, the transmitting PDCP entity
shall:
- consider for each PDCP SDU, if any, with the bit in the bitmap set to '1', or with the associated COUNT value
less than the value of FMC field as successfully delivered, and discard the PDCP SDU as specified in clause 5.3.
ETSI
5.5 Data recovery

For AM DRBs, when upper layers request a PDCP data recovery for a radio bearer, the transmitting PDCP entity shall:
- perform retransmission of all the PDCP Data PDUs previously submitted to re-established or released AM RLC
entities in ascending order of the associated COUNT values for which the successful delivery has not been
confirmed by lower layers, following the data submission procedure in clause 5.2.1.
After performing the above procedures, the transmitting PDCP entity shall follow the procedures in clause 5.2.1.
5.6 Data volume calculation

For the purpose of MAC buffer status reporting, the transmitting PDCP entity shall consider the following as PDCP
data volume:
- the PDCP SDUs for which no PDCP Data PDUs have been constructed;
- the PDCP Data PDUs that have not been submitted to lower layers;
- the PDCP Control PDUs;
- for AM DRBs, the PDCP SDUs to be retransmitted according to clause 5.1.2 and clause 5.13;
- for AM DRBs, the PDCP Data PDUs to be retransmitted according to clause 5.5.
If the transmitting PDCP entity is associated with at least two RLC entities, when indicating the PDCP data volume to a
MAC entity for BSR triggering and Buffer Size calculation (as specified in TS 38.321 [4] and TS 36.321 [12]), the
transmitting PDCP entity shall:
- if the PDCP duplication is activated for the RB:
- indicate the PDCP data volume to the MAC entity associated with the primary RLC entity;
- indicate the PDCP data volume excluding the PDCP Control PDU to the MAC entity associated with the
RLC entity other than the primary RLC entity activated for PDCP duplication;
- indicate the PDCP data volume as 0 to the MAC entity associated with RLC entity deactivated for PDCP
duplication;
- else (i.e. the PDCP duplication is deactivated for the RB or the RB is a DAPS bearer):
- if the split secondary RLC entity is configured; and
- if the total amount of PDCP data volume and RLC data volume pending for initial transmission (as specified
in TS 38.322 [5]) in the primary RLC entity and the split secondary RLC entity is equal to or larger than ul-
DataSplitThreshold:
- indicate the PDCP data volume to both the MAC entity associated with the primary RLC entity and the
MAC entity associated with the split secondary RLC entity;
- indicate the PDCP data volume as 0 to the MAC entity associated with RLC entity other than the primary
RLC entity and the split secondary RLC entity;
- else, if the transmitting PDCP entity is associated with the DAPS bearer:
- if the uplink data switching has not been requested:
- indicate the PDCP data volume to the MAC entity associated with the source cell;
- else:
- indicate the PDCP data volume excluding the PDCP Control PDU for interspersed ROHC feedback
associated with the source cell to the MAC entity associated with the target cell;
ETSI
- indicate the PDCP data volume of PDCP Control PDU for interspersed ROHC feedback associated
with the source cell to the MAC entity associated with the source cell;
- else:
- indicate the PDCP data volume to the MAC entity associated with the primary RLC entity;
- indicate the PDCP data volume as 0 to the MAC entity associated with the RLC entity other than the
primary RLC entity.
5.7 Robust header compression and decompression

5.7.1 Supported header compression protocols and profiles
The ROHC protocol is based on the Robust Header Compression (ROHC) framework defined in RFC 5795 [7]. There
are multiple ROHC algorithms, called profiles, defined for the ROHC framework. Each profile is specific to the
particular network layer, transport layer or upper layer protocol combination e.g. TCP/IP and RTP/UDP/IP.
The detailed definition of the ROHC channel is specified as part of the ROHC framework defined in RFC 5795 [7].
This includes how to multiplex different flows (header compressed or not) over the ROHC channel, as well as how to
associate a specific IP flow with a specific context state during initialization of the compression algorithm for that flow.
The implementation of the functionality of the ROHC framework and of the functionality of the supported header
compression profiles is not covered in this specification.
In this version of the specification the support of the following profiles is described:
Table 5.7.1-1: Supported ROHC protocols and profiles
Profile Identifier Usage Reference

0x0000 No compression RFC 5795
0x0001 RTP/UDP/IP RFC 3095, RFC 4815
0x0002 UDP/IP RFC 3095, RFC 4815
0x0003 ESP/IP RFC 3095, RFC 4815
0x0004 IP RFC 3843, RFC 4815
0x0006 TCP/IP RFC 6846
0x0101 RTP/UDP/IP RFC 5225
0x0102 UDP/IP RFC 5225
0x0103 ESP/IP RFC 5225
0x0104 IP RFC 5225
5.7.2 Configuration of ROHC

PDCP entities associated with DRBs and MRBs can be configured by upper layers TS 38.331 [3] to use ROHC. Each
PDCP entity carrying user plane data may be configured to use ROHC. PDCP entities associated with sidelink DRBs
can be configured to use ROHC for IP SDUs. For DRBs and MRBs other than DAPS bearers, the PDCP entity uses at
most one ROHC compressor instance and at most one ROHC decompressor instance. For DAPS bearers, the PDCP
entity uses at most one ROHC compressor instance (i.e. use the ROHC compressor instance for source cell before
uplink data switching, and use the ROHC compressor instance for target cell after uplink data switching) and at most
two ROHC decompressor instances.
5.7.3 Protocol parameters

RFC 5795 [7] has configuration parameters that are mandatory and that must be configured by upper layers between
compressor and decompressor peers ; these parameters define the ROHC channel. The ROHC channel is a
unidirectional channel, i.e. if rohc is configured there is one channel for the downlink and one for the uplink, and if
uplinkOnlyROHC is configured there is only one channel for the uplink. There is thus one set of parameters for each
channel, and if rohc is configured the same values shall be used for both channels belonging to the same PDCP entity.
These parameters are categorized in two different groups, as defined below:
ETSI
- M: Mandatory and configured by upper layers;
- N/A: Not used in this specification.
The usage and definition of the parameters shall be as specified below.
- MAX_CID (M): This is the maximum CID value that can be used. One CID value shall always be reserved for
uncompressed flows. The parameter MAX_CID is configured by upper layers (maxCID in TS 38.331 [3]);
- LARGE_CIDS: This value is not configured by upper layers, but rather it is inferred from the configured value
of MAX_CID according to the following rule:
- If MAX_CID > 15 then LARGE_CIDS = TRUE else LARGE_CIDS = FALSE;
- PROFILES (M): Profiles are used to define which profiles are allowed to be used by the UE. The list of
supported profiles is described in clause 5.7.1. The parameter PROFILES is configured by upper layers (profiles
for uplink and downlink, sl-RoHC-Profiles in SidelinkPreconfigNR for sidelink in TS 38.331 [3]);
- FEEDBACK_FOR (N/A): This is a reference to the channel in the opposite direction between two compression
endpoints and indicates to what channel any feedback sent refers to. Feedback received on one ROHC channel
for this PDCP entity shall always refer to the ROHC channel in the opposite direction for this same PDCP entity;
- MRRU (N/A): ROHC segmentation is not used.
5.7.4 Header compression using ROHC

If ROHC is configured, the ROHC protocol generates two types of output packets:
- ROHC compressed packets, each associated with one PDCP SDU;
- standalone packets not associated with a PDCP SDU, i.e. interspersed ROHC feedback.
A ROHC compressed packet is associated with the same PDCP SN and COUNT value as the related PDCP SDU. The
header compression is not applicable to the SDAP header and the SDAP Control PDU if included in the PDCP SDU.
For DAPS bearers, the PDCP entity shall perform the header compression for the PDCP SDU using the ROHC protocol
either configured for the source cell or configured for the target cell, based on to which cell the PDCP SDU is
transmitted.
Interspersed ROHC feedback are not associated with a PDCP SDU. They are not associated with a PDCP SN and are
not ciphered.
NOTE 1: If the MAX_CID number of ROHC contexts are already established for the compressed flows and a new
IP flow does not match any established ROHC context, the compressor should associate the new IP flow
with one of the ROHC CIDs allocated for the existing compressed flows or send PDCP SDUs belonging
to the IP flow as uncompressed packet.
NOTE 2: For downlink, the ROHC protocol of the target cell should maintain the IR state if operating in U-mode
and O-mode during DAPS handover before release of source cell.
5.7.5 Header decompression using ROHC

If ROHC is configured by upper layers for PDCP entities associated with user plane data, the PDCP Data PDUs are
decompressed by the ROHC protocol after performing deciphering as explained in clause 5.8. The header
decompression is not applicable to the SDAP header and the SDAP Control PDU if included in the PDCP Data PDU.
For DAPS bearers, the PDCP entity shall perform the header decompression for the PDCP SDU using the ROHC
protocol either configured for the source cell or configured for the target cell, based on from which cell the PDCP SDU
is received.
ETSI
5.7.6 PDCP Control PDU for interspersed ROHC feedback
5.7.6.1 Transmit Operation

When an interspersed ROHC feedback is generated by the ROHC protocol, the transmitting PDCP entity shall:
- submit to lower layers the corresponding PDCP Control PDU as specified in clause 6.2.3.2 i.e. without
associating a PDCP SN, nor performing ciphering, as specified in clause 5.2.1.
5.7.6.2 Receive Operation

At reception of a PDCP Control PDU for interspersed ROHC feedback from lower layers, the receiving PDCP entity
shall:
- deliver the corresponding interspersed ROHC feedback to the associated ROHC protocol without performing
deciphering.
5.8 Ciphering and deciphering

The ciphering function includes both ciphering and deciphering and is performed in PDCP, if configured. The data unit
that is ciphered is the MAC-I (see clause 6.3.4) and the data part of the PDCP Data PDU (see clause 6.3.3) except the
SDAP header and the SDAP Control PDU if included in the PDCP SDU. The ciphering is not applicable to PDCP
Control PDUs.
For downlink and uplink, the ciphering algorithm and key to be used by the PDCP entity are configured by upper layers
TS 38.331 [3] and the ciphering method shall be applied as specified in TS 33.501 [6].
The ciphering function is activated/suspended/resumed by upper layers TS 38.331 [3]. When security is activated and
not suspended, the ciphering function shall be applied to all PDCP Data PDUs indicated by upper layers TS 38.331 [3]
for the downlink and the uplink, respectively.
For DAPS bearers, the PDCP entity shall perform the ciphering or deciphering for the PDCP SDU using the ciphering
algorithm and key either configured for the source cell or configured for the target cell, based on to/from which cell the
PDCP SDU is transmitted/received.
For downlink and uplink ciphering and deciphering, the parameters that are required by PDCP for ciphering are defined
in TS 33.501 [6] and are input to the ciphering algorithm. The required inputs to the ciphering function include the
COUNT value, and DIRECTION (direction of the transmission: set as specified in TS 33.501 [6]). The parameters
required by PDCP which are provided by upper layers TS 38.331 [3] are listed below:
- BEARER (defined as the radio bearer identifier in TS 33.501 [6]. It will use the value RB identity –1 as in TS
38.331 [3]);
- KEY (the ciphering keys for the control plane and for the user plane are KRRCenc and KUPenc, respectively).
For NR sidelink communication, the ciphering algorithm and key to be used by the PDCP entity are configured by
upper layers as specified in TS 24.587 [16] and the ciphering method shall be applied as specified in TS 33.536 [14].
For NR sidelink communication, the ciphering function is activated for sidelink SRBs (except for SL-SRB0) and/or
sidelink DRBs for a PC5 unicast link by upper layers, as specified in TS 38.331 [3]. When security is activated for
sidelink SRBs, the ciphering function shall be applied to all PDCP Data PDUs (except for carrying Direct Security
Mode Command message as specified in TS 33.536 [14]) for the sidelink SRBs which belong to the PC5 unicast link.
When security is activated for sidelink DRBs, the ciphering function shall be applied to all PDCP Data PDUs for the
sidelink DRBs which belong to the PC5 unicast link.
For NR sidelink communication, the ciphering and deciphering function as specified in TS 33.536 [14] is applied with
KEY (NRPEK), COUNT, BEARER (LSB 5 bits of LCID as specified in TS 38.321 [4]) and DIRECTION (which value
shall be set is specified in TS 33.536 [14]) as input.
The ciphering and deciphering are not applied to MRBs and sidelink SRB4.
ETSI
5.9 Integrity protection and verification

The integrity protection function includes both integrity protection and integrity verification and is performed in PDCP,
if configured. The data unit that is integrity protected is the PDU header and the data part of the PDU before ciphering.
The integrity protection is always applied to PDCP Data PDUs of SRBs. The integrity protection is applied to sidelink
SRB1, SRB2 and SRB3. The integrity protection is applied to PDCP Data PDUs of DRBs (including sidelink DRBs for
unicast) for which integrity protection is configured. The integrity protection is not applicable to PDCP Control PDUs.
For downlink and uplink, the integrity protection algorithm and key to be used by the PDCP entity are configured by
upper layers TS 38.331 [3] and the integrity protection method shall be applied as specified in TS 33.501 [6] for NR and
in TS 33.401 [17] for E-UTRA/EPC.
The integrity protection function is activated/suspended/resumed by upper layers TS 38.331 [3]. When security is
activated and not suspended, the integrity protection function shall be applied to all PDUs including and subsequent to
the PDU indicated by upper layers TS 38.331 [3] for the downlink and the uplink, respectively.
NOTE 1: As the RRC message which activates the integrity protection function is itself integrity protected with the
configuration included in this RRC message, this message needs first be decoded by RRC before the
integrity protection verification could be performed for the PDU in which the message was received.
NOTE 2: As the PC5-S message which activates the integrity protection function is itself integrity protected with
the configuration included in this PC5-S message, this message needs first be decoded by upper layer
before the integrity protection verification could be performed for the PDU in which the message was
received.
For DAPS bearers, the PDCP entity shall perform the integrity protection or verification for the PDCP SDU using the
integrity protection algorithm and key either configured for the source cell or configured for the target cell, based on
to/from which cell the PDCP SDU is transmitted/received.
For downlink and uplink integrity protection and verification, the parameters that are required by PDCP for integrity
protection are defined in TS 33.501 [6] or TS 33.401 [17] and are input to the integrity protection algorithm. The
required inputs to the integrity protection function include the COUNT value, and DIRECTION (direction of the
transmission: set as specified in TS 33.501 [6]) or TS 33.401 [17]. The parameters required by PDCP which are
provided by upper layers TS 38.331 [3] are listed below:
- BEARER (defined as the radio bearer identifier in TS 33.501 [6] or TS 33.401 [17]. It will use the value RB
identity –1 as in TS 38.331 [3]);
- KEY (the integrity protection keys for the control plane and for the user plane are KRRCint and KUPint,
respectively).
For NR sidelink communication, the integrity protection algorithm and key to be used by the PDCP entity are
configured by upper layers TS 24.587 [16] and the integrity protection method shall be applied as specified in TS
33.536 [14].
For NR sidelink communication, the integrity protection function is activated for sidelink SRBs and/or sidelink DRBs
for a PC5 unicast link by upper layers, as specified in TS 38.331 [3]. When security is activated for sidelink SRBs, the
integrity protection function shall be applied to all PDUs including and subsequent to the PDU for the sidelink SRBs
which belong to the PC5 unicast link. When security is activated for sidelink DRBs, the integrity protection function
shall be applied to all PDUs including and subsequent to the PDU for the sidelink DRBs which belong to the PC5
unicast link.
For the SLRB that needs integrity protection and verification, the parameters that are required by PDCP for integrity
protection are defined in TS 33.536 [14] and are input to the integrity protection algorithm. The required inputs to the
integrity protection function include the KEY (NRPIK), COUNT, BEARER (LSB 5 bits of LCID as specified in TS
38.321 [4]) and DIRECTION (which value shall be set is specified in TS 33.536 [14]).
At transmission, the UE computes the value of the MAC-I field and at reception it verifies the integrity of the PDCP
Data PDU by calculating the X-MAC based on the input parameters as specified above. If the calculated X-MAC
corresponds to the received MAC-I, integrity protection is verified successfully.
The integrity protection and verification are not applied to MRBs and sidelink SRB4.
ETSI
5.10 Handling of unknown, unforeseen, and erroneous protocol

data
When a PDCP PDU that contains reserved or invalid values is received, the receiving PDCP entity shall:
- discard the received PDU.
NOTE: For NR sidelink communication for unicast, the invalid values include the invalid value of KNRP-sess ID.
5.11 PDCP duplication

5.11.1 Activation/Deactivation of PDCP duplication
For the PDCP entity configured with pdcp-Duplication, the transmitting PDCP entity shall:
- for SRBs:
- activate the PDCP duplication;
- for DRBs:
- if the activation of PDCP duplication is indicated for the DRB:
- activate the PDCP duplication for the DRB;
- if the activation of PDCP duplication is indicated for at least one associated RLC entities:
- activate the PDCP duplication for the indicated associated RLC entities;
- activate the PDCP duplication for the DRB;
- if the deactivation of PDCP duplication is indicated for the DRB:
- deactivate the PDCP duplication for the DRB;
- if the deactivation of PDCP duplication is indicated for at least one associated RLC entities:
- deactivate the PDCP duplication for the indicated associated RLC entities;
- if all associated RLC entities other than the primary RLC entity are deactivated for PDCP duplication:
- deactivate the PDCP duplication for the DRB.
5.11.2 Duplicate PDU discard

For the PDCP entity configured with pdcp-Duplication, the transmitting PDCP entity shall:
- if the successful delivery of a PDCP Data PDU is confirmed by one of the associated AM RLC entities:
- indicate to the other AM RLC entities to discard the duplicated PDCP Data PDU;
- if the deactivation of PDCP duplication is indicated for the DRB:
- indicate to the RLC entities other than the primary RLC entity to discard all duplicated PDCP Data PDUs;
- if the deactivation of PDCP duplication is indicated for at least one associated RLC entities:
- indicate to the RLC entities deactivated for PDCP duplication to discard all duplicated PDCP Data PDUs.
ETSI
5.12 Ethernet header compression and decompression

5.12.1 Supported header compression protocols
The EHC protocol is based on the Ethernet Header Compression (EHC) framework defined in Annex A.
5.12.2 Configuration of EHC

PDCP entities associated with DRBs and MRBs can be configured by upper layers TS 38.331 [3] to use EHC. Each
PDCP entity carrying user plane data may be configured to use EHC. Every PDCP entity uses at most one EHC
compressor instance and at most one EHC decompressor instance.
5.12.3 Protocol parameters

The usage and definition of the parameters shall be as specified below.
- MAX_CID_EHC_UL: This is the maximum CID value that can be used for uplink. One CID value shall always
be reserved for uncompressed flows. The parameter MAX_CID_EHC_UL is configured by upper layers
(maxCID-EHC-UL in TS 38.331 [3]);
5.12.4 Header compression using EHC

If EHC is configured, the EHC protocol generates two types of output packets:
- EHC compressed packets (i.e. EHC full header packets and EHC compressed header packets), each associated
with one PDCP SDU;
- standalone packets not associated with a PDCP SDU, i.e. EHC feedback.
An EHC compressed packet is associated with the same PDCP SN and COUNT value as the related PDCP SDU. The
header compression is not applicable to the SDAP header and the SDAP Control PDU if included in the PDCP SDU.
EHC feedback are not associated with a PDCP SDU. They are not associated with a PDCP SN and are not
ciphered/integrity protected.
5.12.5 Header decompression using EHC

If EHC is configured by upper layers for PDCP entities associated with user plane data, the PDCP Data PDUs are
decompressed by the EHC protocol after performing deciphering and integrity verification as explained in clause 5.8
and 5.9, respectively. The header decompression is not applicable to the SDAP header and the SDAP Control PDU if
included in the PDCP Data PDU.
5.12.6 PDCP Control PDU for EHC feedback
5.12.6.1 Transmit Operation

When an EHC feedback is generated by the EHC protocol, the transmitting PDCP entity shall:
- submit to lower layers the corresponding PDCP Control PDU as specified in clause 6.2.3.3 i.e. without
associating a PDCP SN, nor performing ciphering/integrity protection.
5.12.6.2 Receive Operation

At reception of a PDCP Control PDU for EHC feedback from lower layers, the receiving PDCP entity shall:
- deliver the corresponding EHC feedback to the EHC protocol without performing deciphering/integrity
verification.
ETSI
5.12.7 Simultaneous configuration of ROHC and EHC

If both ROHC and EHC are configured for a DRB/MRB, the ROHC header shall be located after the EHC header.
Figure 5.12.7-1 shows the location of the ROHC header and the EHC header in a PDCP Data PDU.
PDCP header
SDAP header
EHC header
ROHC header
Payload
Figure 5.12.7-1: Location of ROHC header and EHC header in a PDCP Data PDU
If a PDCP SDU including non-IP Ethernet packet is received from upper layers, the EHC compressor shall bypass the
ROHC compressor and submit the EHC compressed non-IP Ethernet packet to lower layers according to clause 5.2.1.
If a PDCP Data PDU including non-IP Ethernet packet is received from lower layers, the EHC decompressor shall
bypass the ROHC decompressor and deliver the EHC decompressed non-IP Ethernet packet to upper layers according
to clause 5.2.2.
5.13 Uplink data switching

For DAPS bearers, when upper layers request uplink data switching, the transmitting PDCP entity shall:
- for AM DRBs, from the first PDCP SDU for which the successful delivery of the corresponding PDCP Data
PDU has not been confirmed by the RLC entity associated with the source cell, perform retransmission or
transmission of all the PDCP SDUs already associated with PDCP SNs in ascending order of the COUNT values
associated to the PDCP SDU prior to uplink data switching to the RLC entity associated with the target cell as
specified below:
- perform header compression of the PDCP SDU using ROHC as specified in the clause 5.7.4;
PDCP SDU as specified in the clause 5.9 and 5.8, respectively;
- for UM DRBs, for all PDCP SDUs which have been processed by PDCP but which have not yet been submitted
to lower layers, perform transmission of the PDCP SDUs in ascending order of the COUNT values to the RLC
entity associated with the target cell as specified below:
- perform header compression of the PDCP SDU using ROHC as specified in the clause 5.7.4;
PDCP SDU as specified in the clause 5.9 and 5.8, respectively;
ETSI
5.14 Uplink Data compression and decompression

5.14.1 UDC protocol
The UDC protocol is based on IETF RFC 1951 (DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification) [19].
Static Huffman coding tree defined in [19] is used as the DEFLATE compression strategy.
UDC Data Block should be byte-alignment. Z_SYNC_FLUSH is used as the DEFLATE byte-alignment with
corresponding reference [21], wherein the fixed last four bytes, 0x00 0x00 0xFF 0xFF, are removed before
transmission.
5.14.2 Configuration of UDC

The PDCP entities associated with DRBs can be configured by upper layers, see TS 38.331 [3], to use UDC. If UDC is
configured, the UE shall apply UDC compression function (details see Annex B) to process the received PDCP SDU
from upper layers corresponding to the configured DRB. The size of compression buffer is configured by upper layers
via bufferSize. If pre-defined dictionary is configured by upper layers, the UE shall first set the compression buffer to all
zeros and then prefill the configured pre-defined dictionary in the compression buffer upon configuration of UDC. If
pre-defined dictionary is not configured by upper layers, UE shall set the compression buffer to all zeros.
5.14.3 UDC header

UDC header (1 byte) is added in UDC compression function followed by UDC data block. The UDC header contains
the information about whether the current PDCP SDU is compressed by UDC protocol or not. Only the compressed
packets are stored in the buffer. The UDC header also contains a reset bit to inform the decompressor that the
compression buffer has been reset. The validation bits (checksum) of the compression buffer are also contained in UDC
header. Checksum mechanism could be used to resolve miss-match (if any) between the compression and de-
compression buffers. If both SDAP and UDC are configured for a DRB, the UDC header shall be located after the
SDAP header. Figure 5.14.3-1 shows the location of the UDC header in a PDCP data PDU.
Figure 5.14.3-1: Location of UDC header in a PDCP Data PDU
5.14.4 Uplink data compression

The UDC protocol generates UDC packets, each associated with one PDCP SDU.
A UDC packet is associated with the same PDCP SN and COUNT values as the related PDCP SDU. The uplink data
compression is not applicable to the SDAP header and the SDAP Control PDU if included in the PDCP Data PDU.
5.14.5 PDCP Control PDU for UDC feedback

At reception of a PDCP Control PDU for UDC feedback from lower layers, the receiving PDCP entity shall:
ETSI
- deliver the corresponding UDC feedback to the UDC protocol without performing deciphering/integrity
verification.
5.14.6 Pre-defined dictionary

One standard dictionary for SIP and SDP and one operator defined dictionary can be used as pre-defined dictionaries in
UDC. The standard dictionary for SIP and SDP consists of the first 3468 bytes of the dictionary for SigComp defined in
RFC 3485 [20]. When UDC is configured, at most one dictionary, configured by upper layers, is put into the tail of the
compression buffer. Also, the compression buffer acts as a FIFO and hence the content of the dictionary is to be totally
pushed out of the compression buffer after the size of transmitted uncompressed packets compressed by UDC exceeds
the compression buffer size. If the size of dictionary is larger than the compression buffer size, only the tail of the
dictionary is inserted in the compression buffer.
5.14.7 UDC buffer reset procedure

UDC works on the condition that compression buffer and de-compression buffer are synchronized. UDC buffer reset
mechanism is to resynchronize buffer when error is detected. For resynchronization, UE shall reset the compression
buffer to all zeros.
5.14.8 UDC checksum error handling

UDC checksum error notification PDCP control PDU indicates the compression buffer and de-compression buffer are
out of synchronization. When receiving the notification, the UE shall trigger UDC buffer reset procedure to
resynchonize the compression buffer.
6 Protocol data units, formats, and parameters
6.1 Protocol data units

6.1.1 Data PDU
The PDCP Data PDU is used to convey one or more of followings in addition to the PDU header:
- user plane data;
- control plane data;
- a MAC-I.
6.1.2 Control PDU

The PDCP Control PDU is used to convey one of followings in addition to the PDU header:
- a PDCP status report;
- an interspersed ROHC feedback;
- an EHC feedback;
- a UDC feedback.
ETSI
6.2 Formats
6.2.1 General
A PDCP PDU is a bit string that is byte aligned (i.e. multiple of 8 bits) in length. In the figures in clause 6.2, bit strings
are represented by tables in which the most significant bit is the leftmost bit of the first line of the table, the least
significant bit is the rightmost bit on the last line of the table, and more generally the bit string is to be read from left to
right and then in the reading order of the lines. The bit order of each parameter field within a PDCP PDU is represented
with the first and most significant bit in the leftmost bit and the last and least significant bit in the rightmost bit.
PDCP SDUs are bit strings that are byte aligned (i.e. multiple of 8 bits) in length. A compressed or uncompressed SDU
is included into a PDCP Data PDU from the first bit onward.
6.2.2 Data PDU
6.2.2.1 Data PDU for SRBs

Figure 6.2.2.1-1 shows the format of the PDCP Data PDU with 12 bits PDCP SN. This format is applicable for SRBs.
Figure 6.2.2.1-1: PDCP Data PDU format for SRBs
6.2.2.2 Data PDU for DRBs and MRBs with 12 bits PDCP SN
Figure 6.2.2.2-1 shows the format of the PDCP Data PDU with 12 bits PDCP SN. This format is applicable for UM
DRBs, AM DRBs, UM MRBs and AM MRBs.
ETSI
Figure 6.2.2.2-1: PDCP Data PDU format with 12 bits PDCP SN
6.2.2.3 Data PDU for DRBs and MRBs with 18 bits PDCP SN
Figure 6.2.2.3-1 shows the format of the PDCP Data PDU with 18 bits PDCP SN. This format is applicable for UM
DRBs, AM DRBs, UM MRBs and AM MRBs.
Figure 6.2.2.3-1: PDCP Data PDU format for DRBs with 18 bits PDCP SN
6.2.2.4 Data PDU for sidelink DRBs for groupcast and broadcast, for the sidelink
SRB0 and for the sidelink SRB4
Figure 6.2.2.4-1 shows the format of the PDCP Data PDU with 12 bits PDCP SN. This format is applicable for sidelink
DRBs for groupcast and broadcast, for the sidelink SRB0 and for the sidelink SRB4.
ETSI
Figure 6.2.2.4-1: PDCP Data PDU format for sidelink DRBs for groupcast and broadcast, for the
sidelink SRB0 and for the sidelink SRB4
NOTE: There is no control PDU for SLRBs for groupcast and broadcast. Thus, there is no D/C field in the PDCP
Data PDU format for SLRBs for groupcast and broadcast. SDU type is only applicable for sidelink DRB.
6.2.2.5 Data PDU for sidelink SRBs for unicast

SRB1, SRB2 and SRB3 for unicast.
Figure 6.2.2.5-1: PDCP Data PDU format for sidelink SRB1, SRB2 and SRB3 for unicast
6.2.2.6 Data PDU for sidelink DRBs for unicast with 12 bits PDCP SN
DRBs for unicast.
ETSI
Figure 6.2.2.6-1: PDCP Data PDU format for sidelink DRBs for unicast with 12 bits PDCP SN
6.2.2.7 Data PDU for sidelink DRBs for unicast with 18 bits PDCP SN
DRBs for unicast.
ETSI
Figure 6.2.2.7-1: PDCP Data PDU format for sidelink DRBs for unicast with 18 bits PDCP SN
6.2.3 Control PDU
6.2.3.1 Control PDU for PDCP status report

Figure 6.2.3.1-1 shows the format of the PDCP Control PDU carrying one PDCP status report. This format is applicable
for UM DRBs, AM DRBs (including sidelink DRBs for unicast) and AM MRBs.
Figure 6.2.3.1-1: PDCP Control PDU format for PDCP status report
ETSI
6.2.3.2 Control PDU for interspersed ROHC feedback

Figure 6.2.3.2-1 shows the format of the PDCP Control PDU carrying one interspersed ROHC feedback. This format is
applicable for UM DRBs, AM DRBs (including sidelink DRBs for unicast), UM MRBs and AM MRBs.
D/C PDU Type R R R R Oct 1
Interspersed ROHC feedback Oct 2
...
Figure 6.2.3.2-1: PDCP Control PDU format for interspersed ROHC feedback
6.2.3.3 Control PDU for EHC feedback

Figure 6.2.3.3-1 shows the format of the PDCP Control PDU carrying one EHC feedback. This format is applicable for
UM DRBs, AM DRBs, UM MRBs and AM MRBs.
D/C PDU Type R R R R Oct 1
EHC feedback Oct 2

...
Figure 6.2.3.3-1: PDCP Control PDU format for EHC feedback
6.2.3.4 Control PDU for UDC feedback

Figure 6.2.3.4-1 shows the format of the PDCP Control PDU carrying one UDC feedback. This format is applicable for
AM DRBs.
Figure 6.2.3.4-1: PDCP Control PDU format for UDC feedback
6.3 Parameters
6.3.1 General
If not otherwise mentioned in the definition of each field then the bits in the parameters shall be interpreted as follows:
the left most bit string is the first and most significant and the right most bit is the last and least significant bit.
Unless otherwise mentioned, integers are encoded in standard binary encoding for unsigned integers. In all cases the
bits appear ordered from MSB to LSB when read in the PDU.
ETSI
6.3.2 PDCP SN
Length: 12 or 18 bits as indicated in table 6.3.2-1. The length of the PDCP SN is configured by upper layers (pdcp-SN-
SizeUL, pdcp-SN-SizeDL, or sl-PDCP-SN-Size in TS 38.331 [3]).
Table 6.3.2-1: PDCP SN length

Length Description
12 SRBs, UM DRBs, AM DRBs (including sidelink SRBs and
sidelink DRBs), UM MRBs and AM MRBs
18 UM DRBs, AM DRBs (including sidelink DRBs for unicast),
UM MRBs and AM MRBs
NOTE: For NR sidelink communication for groupcast and broadcast, only 12 bits PDCP SN length is used for the
sidelink DRBs.
6.3.3 Data
Length: Variable
This field includes one of the followings:
- Uncompressed PDCP SDU (user plane data, or control plane data);
- Compressed PDCP SDU (user plane data only).
NOTE: All fields other than PDCP PDU header and MAC-I belong to Data field.
6.3.4 MAC-I
Length: 32 bits
This field carries a message authentication code calculated as specified in clause 5.9.
For SRBs for Uu interface, the MAC-I field is always present. If integrity protection is not configured, the MAC-I field
is still present but should be padded with padding bits set to 0.
For sidelink SRB1, SRB2 and SRB3, the MAC-I field is present only when the sidelink SRB1, SRB2 and SRB3 are
configured with integrity protection.
For DRBs (including sidelink DRBs for unicast), the MAC-I field is present only when the DRB is configured with
integrity protection.
6.3.5 COUNT
Length: 32 bits
The COUNT value is composed of a HFN and the PDCP SN. The size of the HFN part in bits is equal to 32 minus the
length of the PDCP SN.
Figure 6.3.5-1: Format of COUNT
NOTE: COUNT does not wrap around.
ETSI
6.3.6 R
Length: 1 bit
Reserved. In this version of the specification reserved bits shall be set to 0. Reserved bits shall be ignored by the
receiver.
6.3.7 D/C
Length: 1 bit
This field indicates whether the corresponding PDCP PDU is a PDCP Data PDU or a PDCP Control PDU.
Table 6.3.7-1: D/C field

Bit Description
0 Control PDU
1 Data PDU
6.3.8 PDU type

Length: 3 bits
This field indicates the type of control information included in the corresponding PDCP Control PDU.
Table 6.3.8-1: PDU type

Bit Description
000 PDCP status report
001 Interspersed ROHC feedback
010 EHC feedback
011 UDC feedback
100-111 Reserved
6.3.9 FMC
Length: 32 bits
First Missing COUNT. This field indicates the COUNT value of the first missing PDCP SDU within the reordering
window, i.e. RX_DELIV.
6.3.10 Bitmap
Length: Variable. The length of the bitmap field can be 0.
This field indicates which SDUs are missing and which SDUs are correctly received in the receiving PDCP entity. The
bit position of Nth bit in the Bitmap is N, i.e., the bit position of the first bit in the Bitmap is 1.
Table 6.3.10-1 Bitmap

Bit Description
0 PDCP SDU with COUNT = (FMC + bit position) modulo 232 is missing.
1 PDCP SDU with COUNT = (FMC + bit position) modulo 232 is correctly received.
6.3.11 Interspersed ROHC feedback

Length: Variable
ETSI
This field contains one ROHC packet with only feedback, i.e. a ROHC packet that is not associated with a PDCP SDU
as defined in clause 5.7.4.
6.3.12 SDU Type

Length: 3 bits
PDCP SDU type, i.e. Layer-3 Protocol Data Unit type as specified in [13] and [18]. PDCP entity may handle the SDU
differently per SDU Type, e.g. ROHC is applicable to IP SDU but not Non-IP SDU, Ethernet SDU, Unstructured SDU
and ARP SDU.
Table 6.3.12-1: SDU Type

Bit Description
000 IP
001 Non-IP
010 Ethernet
011 Unstructured
100 ARP
101-111 Reserved
6.3.13 KNRP-sess ID
Length: 16 bits
KNRP-sess Identity as specified in TS 33.536 [14].
For the SLRB that does not need integrity and ciphering protection, the UE shall set KNRP-sess ID to "0" in the PDCP
PDU header.
6.3.14 FE
Length: 1 bit
Indication of whether checksum error is detected or not. Value '1' means checksum error is detected and the UE shall
reset the compression buffer.
Table 6.3.14-1: FE field

Bit Description
0 No Error
1 Checksum Error Notification
7 State variables, constants, and timers
7.1 State variables

This clause describes the state variables used in PDCP entities in order to specify the PDCP protocol. The state
variables defined in this clause are normative.
All state variables are non-negative integers, and take values from 0 to [232 – 1].
PDCP Data PDUs are numbered integer sequence numbers (SN) cycling through the field: 0 to [2[pdcp-SN-SizeUL] – 1] or 0
to [2[pdcp-SN-SizeDL] – 1] or 0 to [2[sl-PDCP-SN-Size] – 1].
The transmitting PDCP entity shall maintain the following state variables:
a) TX_NEXT
ETSI
This state variable indicates the COUNT value of the next PDCP SDU to be transmitted. The initial value is 0, except
for SRBs configured with state variables continuation. For target SRB configured with state variables continuation, the
initial value is the value stored in PDCP entity for the corresponding source SRB. For source SRB configured with state
variables continuation, the initial value is the value stored in PDCP entity for the corresponding target SRB.
The receiving PDCP entity shall maintain the following state variables:
a) RX_NEXT
This state variable indicates the COUNT value of the next PDCP SDU expected to be received. The initial value is 0,
except for sidelink broadcast and groupcast, for SRBs configured with state variables continuation, and for broadcast
MRBs. For NR sidelink communication for broadcast and groupcast or sidelink SRB4 for NR sidelink discovery, the
initial value of the SN part of RX_NEXT is (x +1) modulo (2[sl-PDCP-SN-Size]), where x is the SN of the first received
PDCP Data PDU. For broadcast MRBs, the initial value of the SN part of RX_NEXT is (x +1) modulo (2[PDCP-SN-SizeDL]),
where x is the SN of the first received PDCP Data PDU. For target SRB configured with state variables continuation,
the initial value is the value stored in PDCP entity for the corresponding source SRB. For source SRB configured with
state variables continuation, the initial value is the value stored in PDCP entity for the corresponding target SRB.
NOTE 1: For NR sidelink communication for broadcast and groupcast or sidelink SRB4 for NR sidelink discovery,
it is up to UE implementation to select the HFN part for RX_NEXT such that initial value of RX_DELIV
should be a positive value.
NOTE 2: For broadcast MRBs, the initial value of the HFN part of RX_NEXT is set by UE implementation.
b) RX_DELIV
This state variable indicates the COUNT value of the first PDCP SDU not delivered to the upper layers, but still waited
for. The initial value is 0, except for sidelink broadcast and groupcast, for SRBs configured with state variables
continuation, and for MRBs. For NR sidelink communication for broadcast and groupcast or sidelink SRB4 for NR
sidelink discovery, the initial value of the SN part of RX_DELIV is (x – 0.5 × 2[sl-PDCP-SN-Size–1]) modulo (2[sl-PDCP-SN-Size]),
where x is the SN of the first received PDCP Data PDU. For broadcast MRBs, the initial value of the SN part of
RX_DELIV is set to (x – 0.5 × 2[PDCP-SN-SizeDL–1]) modulo (2[PDCP-SN-SizeDL]), where x is the SN of the first received PDCP
Data PDU. For multicast MRBs, the initial value of RX_DELIV is set, if provided, by initialRX-DELIV in TS 38.331
[3]. For target SRB configured with state variables continuation, the initial value is the value stored in PDCP entity for
the corresponding source SRB. For source SRB configured with state variables continuation, the initial value is the
value stored in PDCP entity for the corresponding target SRB.
NOTE 3: For broadcast MRBs, the initial value of the HFN part of RX_DELIV is set by UE implementation.
c) RX_REORD
This state variable indicates the COUNT value following the COUNT value associated with the PDCP Data PDU which
triggered t-Reordering. For target SRB configured with state variables continuation, the initial value is the value stored
in PDCP entity for the corresponding source SRB. For source SRB configured with state variables continuation, the
initial value is the value stored in PDCP entity for the corresponding target SRB.
7.2 Constants
a) Window_Size
This constant indicates the size of the reordering window. The value equals to 2[pdcp-SN-SizeDL] – 1 for SRB/DRB/MRB and
2[sl-PDCP-SN-Size] – 1 for SLRB.
7.3 Timers
The transmitting PDCP entity shall maintain the following timers:
a) discardTimer
This timer is configured only for DRBs. The duration of the timer is configured by upper layers TS 38.331 [3]. In the
transmitter, a new timer is started upon reception of an SDU from upper layer.
The receiving PDCP entity shall maintain the following timers:
ETSI
b) t-Reordering
The duration of the timer is configured by upper layers TS 38.331 [3], except for the case of NR sidelink
communication or sidelink SRB4. For NR sidelink communication or sidelink SRB4, the t-Reordering timer is
determined by the UE implementation. This timer is used to detect loss of PDCP Data PDUs as specified in clause
5.2.2. If t-Reordering is running, t-Reordering shall not be started additionally, i.e. only one t-Reordering per receiving
PDCP entity is running at a given time.
ETSI
Annex A (normative):
Ethernet Header Compression (EHC) protocol
A.1 EHC principle

The Ethernet header compression (EHC) protocol compresses Ethernet header as shown in Figure A.1-1 [15]. The fields
that are compressed (i.e. removed from the Ethernet header) by the EHC protocol are: DESTINATION ADDRESS,
SOURCE ADDRESS, 802.1Q TAG, and LENGTH/TYPE. The fields PREAMBLE, SFD, and FCS are not transmitted
in 3GPP system, and thus not considered in EHC protocol. There may be more than one 802.1Q TAG fields in the
Ethernet header, and all are compressed by the EHC protocol. The padding (PAD) is not compressed by the EHC
protocol.
PREAMBLE 7 octets : Not transmitted
START OF FRAME DELIMITER (SFD) 1 octet : Not transmitted
DESTINATION ADDRESS 6 octets
SOURCE ADDRESS 6 octets

Compressed by EHC
802.1Q TAG (optional) 4 octets
LENGTH/TYPE 2 octets
PAYLOAD (+PAD) 42-1500 octets
FRAME CHECK SEQUENCE (FCS) 4 octets : Not transmitted
EXTENSION
Figure A.1-1: Ethernet packet format [15]
The EHC compressor and the EHC decompressor store original header field information as a "EHC context". Each EHC
context is identified by a unique identifier, called Context ID (CID). The EHC context must be synchronized between
the EHC compressor and the EHC decompressor; otherwise, the EHC decompressor erroneously decompresses the
"Compressed Header (CH)" packets.
For an Ethernet packet stream, the EHC compressor establishes the EHC context and associates it with the CID. Then,
the EHC compressor transmits the "Full Header (FH)" packet to the EHC decompressor including the associated CID.
The EHC compressor keeps transmitting the FH packets until the EHC feedback is received from the EHC
decompressor.
NOTE: If the maximum number of EHC contexts are already established for the compressed flows and a new
Ethernet flow does not match any established EHC context, the compressor should associate the new
Ethernet flow with one of the EHC CIDs allocated for the existing compressed flows or send PDCP
SDUs belonging to the Ethernet flow as uncompressed packet.
When the EHC decompressor receives the FH packet, the EHC decompressor establishes the EHC context identified by
the CID, and transmits the EHC feedback to the EHC compressor to indicate that the EHC context associated with the
CID is successfully established in the EHC decompressor.
ETSI
After receiving the EHC feedback, the EHC compressor starts to transmit the CH packets to the EHC decompressor
including the associated CID. The CH packet includes only the header fields not stored in the EHC context.
When the EHC decompressor receives the CH packet, the EHC decompressor restores original header fields based on
the stored EHC context identified by the associated CID.
Figure A.1-2 represents a conceptual view of EHC operation.
CIDx EHC Context CIDx EHC Context

CIDy EHC Context CIDy EHC Context
CIDz EHC Context CIDz EHC Context
CIDx FH Payload
Decompressor
Compressor
Feedback = CIDx
Ethernet Header Payload Ethernet Header Payload
CIDx CH Payload
Figure A.1-2: EHC operation
A.2 EHC packet format and parameters
A.2.1 EHC packet format

A.2.1.1 EHC Full Header packet and EHC Compressed Header packet
Figure A.2.1.1-1 and Figure A.2.1.1-2 show the formats of EHC FH packet and EHC CH packet, respectively.
ETSI
F/C CID
CID (present when 15 bits CID is configured)
Ethernet header
PAYLOAD (+PAD)
Figure A.2.1.1-1: EHC Full Header packet format
F/C CID
PAYLOAD (+PAD)
Figure A.2.1.1-2: EHC Compressed Header packet format
A.2.1.2 EHC feedback packet

Figure A.2.1.2-1 shows the format of the EHC feedback packet.
R CID
Figure A.2.1.2-1: EHC feedback packet format
ETSI
A.2.2 Parameters
A.2.2.1 F/C
Length: 1 bit
This field indicates whether the corresponding EHC packet is a FH packet or a CH packet.
Table A.2.2.1-1: F/C field

Bit Description
0 FH packet
1 CH packet
A.2.2.2 CID
Length: 7, or 15 bits. The length of the CID is configured by upper layers (ehc-CID-Length in TS 38.331 [3]).
The CID = "all zeros" indicates that the corresponding Ethernet header is "uncompressed". The EHC decompressor
does not establish the EHC context identified by the CID = "all zeros".
ETSI
Annex B (normative):
Uplink Data Compression Protocol
B.1 UDC general description

A UDC packet consists of a UDC header and a UDC data block. A UDC data block contains either DEFLATE
compressed blocks generated by UDC protocol or original PDCP SDU for SDU not compressed by UDC protocol; the
type is specified in FU field (details see Annex B.2.2.1) in UDC header. The FR field (details see Annex B.2.2.2) and
the Checksum field (details see Annex B.2.2.3) in UDC header are used only if FU field is set to 1.
If reset procedure is triggered, after performing the reset, the FR field in UDC header of the first compressed PDU shall
be set to 1.
NOTE: UE is allowed not to compress the PDCP SDUs if the UL data rate before compression is higher than
what the UE is capable of.
B.2 UDC packet format and parameters
B.2.1 UDC Header and UDC Data Block format

Figure B.2.1-1 shows the format of UDC Header and UDC Data Block.
FU FR R R Checksum Oct 1
UDC Data Block Oct 2
...
Figure B.2.1-1: UDC header and UDC data block format
B.2.2 UDC parameters

B.2.2.1 FU
Length: 1 bit
Indication of whether this packet is compressed by UDC protocol or not. Value '1' means the packet is compressed by
UDC protocol.
Table B.2.2.1-1: FU field

Bit Description
0 Packet is not compressed using UDC protocol
1 Packet is compressed using UDC protocol
B.2.2.2 FR
Length: 1 bit
ETSI
Indication of whether UDC compression buffer is reset or not. Value '1' means this is the first compressed packet after
UDC buffer reset.
Table B.2.2.2-1: FR field

Bit Description
0 Compression buffer is not reset.
1 Compression buffer has been reset.
B.2.2.3 Checksum
Length: 4 bits
This field contains the validation bits for the compression buffer content: The checksum is calculated by the content of
current compression buffer before the current packet is put into buffer.
The checksum is derived from the values of the first 4 bytes and the last 4 bytes in the whole compression buffer. The
calculation is described as follows:
- Each byte is divided into two 4-bit numbers.
- The 16 4-bit numbers are added together to obtain a sum;
- The checksum is one's complement of the right-most 4 bits (i.e. 4 LSB) of the sum.
An example of checksum calculation is shown in Annex B.2.3.
B.2.3 An example of UDC Checksum calculation

The current UDC compression/decompression buffer has the following binary values for example:
Header <1,1,0,0,0,1,0,1,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,0,0,1, ……,

0,1,1,1,1,1,0,1,1,0,0,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,1,1,1,0,0> Tail
The sum of the first 4 bytes and the last 4 bytes can be calculated:
1100+0101+0011+1111+0001+1001+0101+0001+0111+1101+1000+1010+1001+1111+1001+1100 = 10000110;
And checksum value will be one's complement of the right-most 4 bits (i.e. 4 LSB) of the above sum. Hence checksum
is 1001.
ETSI
Annex C (informative):
Change history
ETSI
Change history
Date Meeting TDoc CR Rev Cat Subject/Comment New
Version
2017.03 RAN2#9 R2-1703512 - - - First version. x.y.z
7bis
2017.04 RAN2#9 R2-1703916 - - - Change clause name "Retransmission" to "Data recovery" 0.0.1
7bis
2017.05 RAN2#9 R2-1704076 - - - Initial draft TS capturing outcome of e-mail discussion [97bis#24] 0.0.5
8
2017.06 RAN2 R2-1706868 - - - Capture agreements made in RAN2#98 0.1.0
NR AH
2017.08 RAN2 R2-1707507 - - - Capture agreements made in RAN2 NR AH#2 0.2.0
NR AH
2017.08 RAN2#9 R2-1709097 - - - Adding integrity protection in section 5.1.2 0.2.1
9
2017.08 RAN2#9 R2-1709753 - - - Capture agreements made in RAN2#99 0.3.0
9
2017.09 RANP#7 RP-171993 - - - Provided for information to RAN 1.0.0
7
2017.10 RAN2#9 R2-1713660 - - - Capture agreements made in RAN2#99bis 1.0.1
9bis
2017.11 RAN2#1 R2-1714273 - - - Capture agreements made in RAN2#100 1.1.0
00
2017.12 RP-78 RP-172335 - - - Provided for approval to RAN 2.0.0
2017/12 RP-78 Upgraded to Rel-15 (MCC) 15.0.0
2018/03 RP-79 RP-180440 0002 1 F Corrections to PDCP specification 15.1.0
2018/06 RP-80 RP-181215 0006 3 F Corrections to PDCP specification 15.2.0
RP-80 RP-181215 0009 1 B Introduction of PDCP duplication 15.2.0
2018/09 RP-81 RP-181942 0011 4 F Clarification on PDCP transmission 15.3.0
2018/12 RP-82 RP-182650 0022 1 F Suspend and resume of security 15.4.0
RP-82 RP-182655 0023 - F Introducing PDCP suspend procedure 15.4.0
RP-82 RP-182656 0024 - F Clarification on ciphering MAC-I 15.4.0
2019/03 RP-83 RP-190544 0025 2 F Correction on the PDCP re-establishment for AM DRB 15.5.0
RP-83 RP-190540 0027 1 F Correction on PDCP SN length 15.5.0
2019/06 RP-84 RP-191375 0031 1 F PDCP association with RLC for RBs configured with PDCP 15.6.0
duplication
2020/03 RP-87 RP-200346 0038 2 B 38.323 CR for NR V2X 16.0.0
RP-87 RP-200352 0039 3 B Introduction of NR IIOT 16.0.0
RP-87 RP-200347 0042 2 B Introduction of DAPS handover 16.0.0
2020/07 RP-88 RP-201190 0032 6 F PDCP security issue about duplicate detection 16.1.0
RP-88 RP-201195 0045 3 C CR on 38.323 for NR mobility enhancement 16.1.0
RP-88 RP-201176 0048 1 F 38.323 CR for NR V2X 16.1.0
RP-88 RP-201181 0049 1 F NR PDCP corrections for NR IIOT 16.1.0
2020/09 RP-89 RP-201963 0050 2 F Correction on receive operation when both EHC and out-of-order 16.2.0
delivery are configured for a DRB
RP-89 RP-201932 0052 1 F PDCP entity associated with AM RLC entity 16.2.0
RP-89 RP-201927 0056 - F 38.323 corrections on Sidelink 16.2.0
2021/03 RP-91 RP-210692 0064 1 F Correction on PDCP transmit operation 16.3.0
2021/06 RP-92 RP-211485 0074 1 A Correction on suspended AM DRB in PDCP re-establishment 16.4.0
RP-92 RP-211470 0078 1 F PDCP miscellaneous corrections 16.4.0
2021/09 RP-93 RP-212442 0080 1 F CR for the ciphering of EHC header 16.5.0
2021/12 RP-94 RP-213342 0082 1 F Correction to Window_Size for SLRB 16.6.0
2022/03 RP-95 RP-220495 0085 1 B Introducing support of UP IP for EPC connected architectures using 17.0.0
NR PDCP
RP-95 RP-220491 0086 2 B Introduction of SL Relay in 38.323 17.0.0
RP-95 RP-220489 0087 1 B Introduction of the support for UDC in NR 17.0.0
RP-95 RP-220484 0088 - B Introduction of NR MBS into 38.323 17.0.0
2022/06 RP-96 RP-221712 0092 - A Correction on PDCP SN setting for SLRB transmit operation 17.1.0
RP-96 RP-221732 0093 1 F Correction on PDCP for SL relay 17.1.0
RP-96 RP-221731 0094 1 F Corrections to UDC 17.1.0
RP-96 RP-221712 0095 - A Corrections on receiving PDCP entity establishment for SL-SRB0/SL- 17.1.0
SRB1
RP-96 RP-221754 0096 - F PDCP Corrections for MBS 17.1.0
2022/09 RP-97 RP-222524 0097 1 F Correction on PDCP for L2 U2N Relay 17.2.0
RP-97 RP-222523 0098 1 F Corrections for MBS 38.323 17.2.0
2022/12 RP-98 RP-223406 0102 4 F MBS corrections for PDCP 17.3.0
RP-98 RP-223412 0104 2 F PDCP correction for SL relay 17.3.0
RP-98 RP-223413 0105 2 F Correction on PDCP Control PDU for UDC feedback 17.3.0
RP-98 RP-223414 0111 1 A Data volume calculation for DAPS 17.3.0
RP-98 RP-223406 0112 - F PDCP Initialisation of MRB 17.3.0
2023/03 RP-99 RP-230692 0115 1 F Clarification on PDCP for L2 U2N Relay 17.4.0
ETSI
History
Document history
V17.0.0 May 2022 Publication
V17.1.0 August 2022 Publication
V17.2.0 October 2022 Publication
V17.3.0 January 2023 Publication
V17.4.0 April 2023 Publication
ETSI

ETSI TS 138 323: 5G NR Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Specification (3GPP TS 38.323 Version 17.4.0 Release 17)

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ETSI TS 138 323 V17.4.

Tel.: +33 4 92 94 42 00 Fax: +33 4 93 65 47 16

Siret N° 348 623 562 00017 - APE 7112B

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Modal verbs terminology

5.11.2 Duplicate PDU discard ............................................................................................................................... 27

Annex A (normative): Ethernet Header Compression (EHC) protocol ..........................................43

Annex B (normative): Uplink Data Compression Protocol..............................................................47

Annex C (informative): Change history ...............................................................................................49

x the first digit:

1 presented to TSG for information;

2 presented to TSG for approval;

3 or greater indicates TSG approved document under change control.

- For a specific reference, subsequent revisions do not apply.

[1] 3GPP TR 21.905: "Vocabulary for 3GPP Specifications".

[2] 3GPP TS 38.300: "NG Radio Access Network; Overall description".

[15] IEEE Standard 802.3™-2018: "Ethernet".

[21] IETF RFC 1979: "PPP Deflate Protocol".

3 Definitions and abbreviations

AM DRB: a data radio bearer which utilizes RLC AM.

Broadcast MRB: a radio bearer configured for MBS broadcast delivery.

Multicast MRB: a radio bearer configured for MBS multicast delivery.

UM DRB: a data radio bearer which utilizes RLC UM.

UM MRB: an MRB associated with only RLC UM.

CID Context Identifier

Figure 4.2.1-1: PDCP layer, structure view (normal)

Figure 4.2.1-2: PDCP layer, structure view (L2 U2N relay)

4.2.2 PDCP entities

Figure 4.2.2-1: PDCP layer, functional view

Transmitting PDCP entity Receiving PDCP entity

Transmission buffer: Sequence numbering

Header Compression Header Compression

Ciphering Ciphering Integrity Verification Integrity Verification

Add PDCP header Deciphering Deciphering

Routing Remove PDCP Header

Radio Interface (Uu)

- transfer of user plane data;

- transfer of control plane data;

- uplink data compression;

4.3.2 Services expected from lower layers

- unacknowledged data transfer service.

- transfer of data (user plane or control plane);

- maintenance of PDCP SNs;

- header compression and decompression using the ROHC protocol;

- header compression and decompression using the EHC protocol;

- uplink data compression and decompression using the UDC protocol;

- ciphering and deciphering;

- integrity protection and integrity verification;

- timer based SDU discard;

- for split bearers and DAPS bearer, routing;

- reordering and in-order delivery;

5.1 PDCP entity handling

- establish a PDCP entity for the radio bearer;

- set the state variables of the PDCP entity to initial values;

- follow the procedures in clause 5.2.

5.1.2 PDCP entity re-establishment

- for SRBs and UM DRBs, set TX_NEXT to the initial value;

- consider the PDCP SDUs as received from upper layer;