History of the standard

Read a timeline about how plain language experts first proposed and then developed the standard. At several points along that timeline, the international plain language organizations provided updates and encouraged people to be involved in ISO’s process. 

In 2025, the Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) published a detailed history of the standard (on LinkedIn). It covers the 20 years of work that plain language experts put into the standard.

In a 2018 edition of The Clarity Journal (number 79), people were invited to support the standard and to participate in developing it. Some of the people who came forward at that time, and later, became actively involved in the work.

Here are some articles about the standard:

• The Making of the International Standard for Writing in Plain Language ISO 24495-1: Its Usefulness, Content, and How It Came into Existence
• Standards, training, certification: An update from the International Plain Language Federation (PLAIN e-journal)
• Update on the International Plain Language Standard (Editors Weekly blog post)
• An International Standard for Plain Language Practitioners  (PLAIN Canada CLAIR article)
• A plain-language standard: A tool for all of us (Michigan Bar Journal)
• The ISO plain language standard: For most languages and cultures, and for all sectors (The Language Portal of Canada)