# descriptionLength (field)

A [Description Format Reference Set](/snomed-ct-specifications/snomed-ct-release-file-specification/reference-set-release-file-specification/5.2-reference-set-types/5.2.4-metadata-reference-sets/5.2.4.3-description-format-reference-set.md) field containing an integer which indicates the maximum length of the term string for a specified type of Description .

Note: By default the term is a UTF-8 string of up to 255 characters without markup. However, description types can be specified which are longer in length and/or contain format markup (e.g. HTML). For more details of how this is specified see the file structure specification.

## Related Links

* [Description Format Reference Set](/snomed-ct-specifications/snomed-ct-release-file-specification/reference-set-release-file-specification/5.2-reference-set-types/5.2.4-metadata-reference-sets/5.2.4.3-description-format-reference-set.md)

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