| Operator | Use to | Example |
| = | Find entries that contain an attribute with a value equal to a specified value | "cn=John Browning" |
| = <string>*<string> | Find entries that contain an attribute with a value equal to a specified substring | "cn=John*"
"cn=J*Brown" |
| >= | Find entries that contain an attribute with a value that is numerically or alphabetically greater than or equal to a specified value | "cn>=D" |
| <= | Find entries that contain an attribute with a value that is numerically or alphabetically less than or equal to a specified value | "roomNumber<=300" |
| =* | Find entries that contain a value for a specified attribute, regardless of the attribute value. | "sn=*" |
| ~= | Find entries that contain an attribute with a value approximately equal to a specified value. | "sn~=Brning" could return sn=Browning |
| & | Find entries that meet the criteria specified in all search filters | "(&(cn=John Browning)(l=Dallas))" |
| | | Find entries that meet the criteria specified in at least one specified search filter | "(|(cn=John Browning)(l=Dallas))" |
| ! | Find entries that do not meet the criteria specified in search filter | "(!(cn=John Browning))" or "(!(l=Dallas))" |