Directives and policies

The ISO/IEC Directives define the basic procedures to be followed in the development of International Standards and other publications.

These documents are also centralized in this repository.

There are, however, other documents containing guiding principles for standards development, which can also be found below.

OFFICIAL RULES

Here are the official rules that state how to develop an ISO standard:

• ISO/IEC Directives Part 1 and Consolidated ISO Supplement
  Official procedures to be followed when developing and maintaining an International Standard and procedures specific to ISO
• JTC 1 Supplement
  Procedures specific to JTC 1
• ISO/IEC Directives Part 2
  Principles to structure and draft documents intended to become International Standards, Technical Specifications or Publicly Available Specifications.

SUPPLEMENTARY DOCUMENTS

Here are some supplementary documents that may help guide the standards development process:

• Cooperation with CEN (the Vienna Agreement)
  Committees cooperating with CEN under the Vienna Agreement will need to refer to details on this agreement.
• Global Relevance
  Guidance for how to make sure an International Standard can be implemented as broadly as possible.
• Patent Policy
  Contains guidance for technical committees in case patent rights matters arise.
• Supporting public policy initiatives
  ISO's online resource for public policy makers.
• Using and referencing ISO and IEC standards to support public policy
  The advantages and benefits of using ISO and IEC International Standards to support policy initiatives.
• ISO and IEC International Standards - for policy makers
  A brief summary of  the information found in the brochure "Using and referencing ISO and IEC standards to support public policy".
• Normative References (login required)
  Individuals developing standards are given access to the standards or normative documents referred to in the ISO/IEC Directives.