ISO and IEC

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) are private international organizations that develop voluntary international standards that have been adopted by all major industries worldwide. ISO and IEC members are both governmental and non-governmental agencies and are composed of national standards bodies and committees.

IEC was established in 1906, and ISO was established in 1926 (as the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations). Over the years, over 19,000 standards have been published through global consensus, with applications in almost every aspect of technology and trade. Both organizations are headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

ISO standards pertain to the creation and trade of safe, reliable, and good-quality products and services in industrial and commercial applications, with the goals of increasing productivity, minimizing waste, facilitating fair trade, and safeguarding consumers.

IEC standards pertain to all electrical, electronic, and related technologies ("electrotechnology") with the goals of promoting global trade and "encouraging the development of products, systems and services that are safe, efficient and environmentally friendly."

Standards that are developed jointly by ISO and IEC carry the "ISO/IEC" prefix.

For more information about ISO, refer to http://www.iso.org/.

For more information about IEC, refer to http://www.iec.ch/.