ADOPTING AND LOCALIZING THE STANDARD

How can I get my country to adopt the standard?

You can look at the information we’ve prepared on this.

If you have questions after reading these, please send us a follow-up email.

What is localizing?

What does localizing mean for an international standard? It means translating, or adjusting, the standard for your country. It can also mean making additions to the standard to reflect local needs.

A country’s standards body that is a member of ISO can either

  • endorse the standard (just say they agree with the standard as it is), or
  • they can adopt the standard as a standard for their country.

Some countries choose to just refer to ISO standards rather than endorse or adopt them. 

If a country adopts the ISO standard, they can translate it and they can make some minor changes to it. ISO has rules about how much can be changed in a standard and still have it be the same standard.

There is more detail in the “Localizing the ISO standard” section of the PLAIN e-journal issue called Standards, training, certification: An update from the International Plain Language Federation.

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