How does ISO develop standards?

ISO standards are developed by groups of experts, within technical committees (TCs). TCs are made up of representatives of industry, NGOs, governments and other stakeholders, who are put forward by ISO’s members. Each TC deals with a different subject, for example there are TCs focusing on screw threads, shipping technology, food products and many, many more.

ISO has over 250 technical committees. Details of the technical committees and links to the secretariat and chairman contact details can be found in the list of technical committees.

Searching the list of technical committees is one way to find out which subjects or sectors are the focus of ISO’s technical work.

ISO’s full members (member bodies) can decide if they would like to be a participating member (P-member) of a particular TC or an observing member (O-member). P-members participate actively in the work and have an obligation to vote on all questions submitted to vote within the technical committee. O-members follow the work as an observer but cannot make any comments about the development process or vote. Correspondent members can become O-members of a particular technical committee.

It is possible to see a member’s participation in technical committees by clicking on the relevant entry in the member list

How does ISO develop standards?

An ISO standard is developed by a panel of experts, within a technical committee. Once the need for a standard has been established, these experts meet to discuss and negotiate a draft standard. As soon as a draft has been developed it is shared with ISO’s members who are asked to comment and vote on it. If a consensus is reached the draft becomes an ISO standard, if not it goes back to the technical committee for further edits.

Key principles in standard development

1. ISO standards respond to a need in the market

ISO does not decide when to develop a new standard. Instead, ISO responds to a request from industry or other stakeholders such as consumer groups. Typically, an industry sector or group communicates the need for a standard to its national member who then contacts ISO. Contact details for national members can be found in the list of members.

2. ISO standards are based on global expert opinion

ISO standards are developed by groups of experts from all over the world, that are part of larger groups called technical committees. These experts negotiate all aspects of the standard, including its scope, key definitions and content. Details can be found in the list of technical committees.

3. ISO standards are developed through a multi-stakeholder process

The technical committees are made up of experts from the relevant industry, but also from consumer associations, academia, NGOs and government. Read more about who develops ISO standards.

4. ISO standards are based on a consensus

Developing ISO standards is a consensus-based approach and comments from stakeholders are taken into account.