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An International Standard is the result of an agreement between the member bodies of ISO. It may be
used as such, or may be implemented through incorporation in national standards of different countries.
International Standards are developed by ISO technical committees (TC) and subcommittees (SC) by a
six-step process:
- Stage 1: Proposal stage
- Stage 2: Preparatory stage
- Stage 3: Committee stage
- Stage 4: Enquiry stage
- Stage 5: Approval stage
- Stage 6: Publication stage
5See the stage code table for a visual representation of the development stages.
If a document with a certain degree of maturity is available at the start of a standardization project, for
example a standard developed by another organization, it is possible to omit certain stages. In the socalled
"fast-track procedure", a document is submitted directly for approval as a draft International
Standard (DIS) to the ISO member bodies (stage 4) or, if the document has been developed by an
international standardizing body recognized by the ISO Council, as a final draft International Standard
(FDIS, stage 5), without passing through the previous stages.
The following is a summary of each of the six stages:
For greater detail on how an International Standard is developed, refer to the publication ISO/IEC
Directives, Part 1, Procedures for the technical work. For work in the information technology area, see
the ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 Directives.
Stage 1: Proposal stage
The first step in the development of an International Standard is to confirm that a particular
International Standard is needed. A new work item proposal (NP) is submitted for vote by the members
of the relevant TC or SC to determine the inclusion of the work item in the programme of work.
The proposal is accepted if a majority of the P-members of the TC/SC votes in favour and if at least five
P-members declare their commitment to participate actively in the project. At this stage a project leader
responsible for the work item is normally appointed.
Stage 2: Preparatory stage
Usually, a working group of experts, the chairman (convener) of which is the project leader, is set up by
the TC/SC for the preparation of a working draft. Successive working drafts may be considered until the
working group is satisfied that it has developed the best technical solution to the problem being
addressed. At this stage, the draft is forwarded to the working group's parent committee for the
consensus-building phase.
Stage 3: Committee stage
As soon as a first committee draft is available, it is registered by the ISO Central Secretariat. It is
distributed for comment and, if required, voting, by the P-members of the TC/SC. Successive committee
drafts may be considered until consensus is reached on the technical content. Once consensus has been
attained, the text is finalized for submission as a draft International Standard (DIS).
Stage 4: Enquiry stage
The draft International Standard (DIS) is circulated to all ISO member bodies by the ISO Central
Secretariat for voting and comment within a period of five months. It is approved for submission as a
final draft International Standard (FDIS) if a two-thirds majority of the P-members of the TC/SC are in
favour and not more than one-quarter of the total number of votes cast are negative. If the approval criteria are not met, the text is returned to the originating TC/SC for further study and a revised document will again be circulated for voting and comment as a draft International Standard.
Stage 5: Approval stage
The final draft International Standard (FDIS) is circulated to all ISO member bodies by the ISO Central
Secretariat for a final Yes/No vote within a period of two months. If technical comments are received
during this period, they are no longer considered at this stage, but registered for consideration during a
future revision of the International Standard. The text is approved as an International Standard if a twothirds
majority of the P-members of the TC/SC is in favour and not more than one-quarter of the total
number of votes cast are negative. If these approval criteria are not met, the standard is referred back to
the originating TC/SC for reconsideration in light of the technical reasons submitted in support of the
negative votes received.
Stage 6: Publication stage
Once a final draft International Standard has been approved, only minor editorial changes, if and where
necessary, are introduced into the final text. The final text is sent to the ISO Central Secretariat which
publishes the International Standard.
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