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URN Specification for the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)

Introduction

This document specifies the Uniform Resource Name (URN) namespace for identifiers published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The namespace ID (NID) is iec.

IEC identifiers share structural similarities with the ISO URN namespace (RFC 5141) but differ in several key aspects:

  • Date-based identification — IEC URNs use a date field (year, year-month, or year-month-day) in the base document position, whereas ISO URNs treat the year as metadata that is generally omitted.

  • Deliverable types — IEC defines product-oriented deliverable types (CSV, CMV, EXV, PRV, RLV) that indicate the form of the published document.

  • Adjunct model — Supplements (amendments, corrigenda, interpretation sheets) are modelled as adjuncts to the base document. A relation field distinguishes between a reference to the adjunct itself versus a consolidation of the base document with its adjuncts.

  • Component references — A fragment identifier (#) syntax references specific document elements (clauses, figures, tables, terms, annexes, notes).

  • Related assets — An asset identifier (=) syntax references external resources (software supplements, voting reports, web pages, forums).

This specification is based on the IEC URI model documents dated 2019-12-10 and 2020-03-24.

Namespace ID

iec

Registration Information

Version: 1.0 (2020-03-24)

Declaration of Structure

Definition

The Namespace Specific Strings (NSSs) of all URNs assigned by IEC conform to the syntax defined in Section 2.2 of RFC 2141.

The NSS has the following ABNF specification:

NSS           = std-nss

std-nss       = "std:" basedocument *( adjunct ) [ reference ]

basedocument  = header ":" docnumber [":" date] [":" type]
                [":" deliverable] [":" language]

header        = publisher *("-" copublisher)

publisher     = "iec" / "iso" / "cispr"

copublisher   = "iso" / "ieee" / "itu" / "astm" / "sae"
                / other-org

other-org     = 1*(ALPHA / DIGIT)

docnumber     = 1*DIGIT *( "-" 1*(DIGIT / ALPHA) )

date          = year ["-" month ["-" day]]

year          = 4DIGIT

month         = 2DIGIT

day           = 2DIGIT

type          = "is" / "ts" / "tr" / "pas" / "guide" / "srd" / "ser"
              / "data" / "isp" / "r" / "tta"

deliverable   = "csv" / "cmv" / "exv" / "prv" / "rlv"

language      = lang-code *("-" lang-code)

lang-code     = 2ALPHA

adjunct       = relation-marker adjunct-type ":" adjunct-number
                [":" adjunct-date]

relation-marker = ":" ":" / ":" "plus" ":"

adjunct-type  = "amd" / "cor" / "ish"

adjunct-number = DIGITS

adjunct-date  = date

reference     = "#" element-id
              / "=" asset-name

element-id    = element-type "-" element-number *( "-" element-number )

element-type  = "sec" / "fig" / "tabl" / "anx" / "not" / "con"
              / "term" / "clause"

element-number = 1*(DIGIT / ALPHA / "." / "-")

asset-name    = 1*(ALPHA / DIGIT / "-" / "." / "_")

General Rules

If any field is absent, leave it empty (empty fields between colons are preserved)::

`urn:iec:std:iec:60601-1-1::::` (all optional fields empty)
vs `urn:iec:std:iec:60601-1-1:2005-10:tr:prv:fr` (all fields present)
All values in lower-case

URN elements use lowercase. Language codes are listed in alphabetical order (e.g., en-fr-ru, not fr-en-ru).

Extensibility

All URNs are extensible to define adjuncts (amendment, corrigendum, interpretation sheet) and to name consolidations (base edition plus its amendments).

Separators

Separator Rule Examples

:

Between fields in the URN

urn:iec:std:iec:60601

-

Within a field (part numbers, date components, copublishers, languages)

urn:iec:std:iec-iso:60601-1-1

`

`

Between base edition and adjunct (reference to adjunct itself)

urn:iec:std:iec:60601-1-1:2015-10:::fr||amd:1:2017-01

_

Between base edition and adjunct in a consolidation

urn:iec:std:iec:60601-1-1:2015-04:csv:_amd:1:2016-07_amd:2:2017-02

#

Between URI and document element IDs

urn:iec:std:iec:60601-1-1:2015-10:::#fig-1

=

Element Descriptions

header (publisher/copublishers)

The organization(s) from which a document emanates. The primary publisher is listed first, followed by copublishers joined by hyphens.

Current values:

iec

International Electrotechnical Commission
iso

International Organization for Standardization
cispr

International Special Committee on Radio Interference
iec-iso

jointly developed by IEC and ISO
iec-ieee

jointly developed by IEC and IEEE
iec-itu

jointly developed by IEC and ITU
iec-astm

jointly developed by IEC and ASTM

docnumber

The project number assigned to the document. Multi-part documents use hyphens within the field:

  • 60445 — single document

  • 60068-2-2 — multipart document, part 2-2

  • 60050-121-10-34 — database entry (e.g., IEV terminological entry)

date

The publication date of the document. May be:

  • blank — undated reference

  • YYYY — year only (e.g., 2010)

  • YYYY-MM — year-month (e.g., 2015-06)

  • YYYY-MM-DD — full date (e.g., 2010-10-11)

type

Designates the IEC deliverable type. If the type element is blank or is, the classification is "International Standard".

is

International Standard (can be blank)
ts

Technical Specification
tr

Technical Report
pas

Publicly Available Specification
guide

Guide
srd

Systems Reference Deliverable
ser

Series (all parts)
data

Data (document type no longer published)
isp

International Standardized Profile
r

Recommendation (document type no longer published)
tta

Technology Trends Assessment

deliverable

Designates the product type (form in which the document is published). If blank, the document is in its standard form.

csv

Consolidated version (base + all supplements integrated)
cmv

Committee version
exv

Expert version
prv

Prerelease version
rlv

Redline version

language

One or more ISO 639-1 alpha-2 language codes. Multiple languages are joined by hyphens (not commas as in the ISO URN scheme), listed in alphabetical order.

en

English
fr

French
ru

Russian
en-fr

English and French bilingual
en-fr-ru

English, French, and Russian trilingual

If blank, the document’s default language applies.

adjunct

An adjunct is a document that modifies or supplements the base document. Adjuncts are appended to the base document URN.

The relation-marker distinguishes two reference modes:

Empty (no plus) — Reference to the adjunct itself

urn:iec:std:iec:60068-2-2:1974:::amd:1:1993 Amendment 1:1993 to IEC 60068-2-2:1974

plus — Reference to the consolidated document

urn:iec:std:iec:60068-2-2:1974::plus:amd:1:1993 Consolidation of IEC 60068-2-2:1974 with Amendment 1:1993

Adjunct types:

amd

Amendment — alters and/or adds technical provisions; subject to ballot
cor

Technical Corrigendum — corrects technical error or ambiguity; not balloted
ish

Interpretation Sheet — official interpretation of a published standard

Adjuncts may be chained. For example, a Corrigendum to an Amendment:

urn:iec:std:iec:60068-2-2:1974-01:::amd:2:1994-05||cor:1:2001-01
// Corrigendum 1:2001 to Amendment 2:1994 to IEC 60068-2-2:1974

Consolidation with multiple adjuncts:

urn:iec:std:iec:60027-1:1992::csv:_amd:1:1997_amd:2:2005
// Consolidated version of IEC 60027-1:1992 incorporating
// Amendment 1:1997 and Amendment 2:2005

reference

A reference identifies either a specific element within the document or an external asset associated with the document.

Element references (#)
urn:iec:std:iec:60601-1-1:2015-10:::#fig-1
// Figure 1 in IEC 60601-1-1:2015-10

urn:iec:std:iec:60050-121:2010-10:::#con-121-10-23
// Concept 121-10-23 within IEC 60050-121:2010-10

Element types:

sec

Section / clause
fig

Figure
tabl

Table
anx

Annex
not

Note
con

Concept (terminological database entry)
term

Term
clause

Clause
Asset references (=) 
urn:iec:std:iec:60601-1-1:2015-10:tr:prv:fr=Human-body-model.pdf
// External asset associated with the document

Asset types (exterior asset scheme not yet fully defined):

software supplement

Software associated with the document
voting report

Voting results for the document
webpage

Web page related to the document
forum

Discussion forum related to the document

Examples

Basic identifiers

urn:iec:std:iec:60445
// IEC 60445 (undated)

urn:iec:std:iec:60445:2001
// IEC 60445:2001

urn:iec:std:iec:60068-2-2:1974
// IEC 60068-2-2:1974

Copublishers

urn:iec:std:iso:14971:2000
// ISO 14971:2000

urn:iec:std:iso-iec:11801
// ISO/IEC 11801 (undated)

urn:iec:std:iec-ieee:80004
// IEC/IEEE 80004 (undated)

Document types

urn:iec:std:iso-iec:tr:11802-9901:2014
// ISO/IEC TR 11802-9901:2014

urn:iec:std:iec::pas:62825
// IEC PAS 62825 (undated)

urn:iec:std:iec::guide:111:2004-07
// IEC Guide 111:2004-07

Series references

urn:iec:std:iec:61076::ser
// IEC 61076 series (all parts)

urn:iec:std:iec:61076-7::ser
// IEC 61076-7 series (all sub-parts)

Language

urn:iec:std:iec:60068-2-2:1974:::fr
// IEC 60068-2-2:1974 in French

Adjuncts (amendments and corrigenda)

urn:iec:std:iec:60068-2-2:1974:::amd:1:1993
// Amendment 1:1993 to IEC 60068-2-2:1974

urn:iec:std:iec:60068-2-2:1974:::amd:2:1994
// Amendment 2:1994 to IEC 60068-2-2:1974

Chained adjuncts (Corrigendum to Amendment)

urn:iec:std:iec:60068-2-2:1974-01:::amd:2:1994-05||cor:1:2001-01
// Corrigendum 1:2001 to Amendment 2:1994 to IEC 60068-2-2:1974-01

Consolidations

urn:iec:std:iec:60068-2-2:1974::plus:amd:1:1993
// Consolidation of Amendment 1:1993 with IEC 60068-2-2:1974

urn:iec:std:iec:60027-1:1992::csv:_amd:1:1997_amd:2:2005
// Consolidation of IEC 60027-1:1992 with
// Amendment 1:1997 and Amendment 2:2005 (CSV)

Prerelease versions

urn:iec:std:iec:60601-2-63:2012:::amd:1:2017-03-01
// Amendment 1:2017 to IEC 60601-2-63:2012

urn:iec:std:iec:60601-2-63:2012::prv:amd:1:2017-03-01
// Prerelease version of Amendment 1:2017 to IEC 60601-2-63:2012

Database entries

urn:iec:std:iec:60417
// Entire IEC 60417 database (undated)

urn:iec:std:iec:60417:2010-10
// Entire IEC 60417 database (dated)

urn:iec:std:iec:60417-5012:2010-10
// Single graphical symbol entry (60417-5012) with its own date

urn:iec:std:iec:60050-121-10-34:2016-11
// Single terminological entry (IEV 121-10-34) with its own date

urn:iec:std:iec:60050-121:2010-10::#con-121-10-23
// Entry 121-10-23 within a dated set of IEV entries

CISPR documents

urn:iec:std:cispr:11:2015-06
// CISPR 11:2015-06

Adopted documents

urn:xyz:std:iec:60065:2001
// IEC 60065:2001 adopted by another organization XYZ
// (uses different SDO namespace)

Identifier Uniqueness Considerations

Assignment of URNs for documents in the IEC namespace is managed by the IEC Central Office. Uniqueness is ensured by:

  • The combination of header (publisher), docnumber, and date uniquely identifies a base document.

  • Adjunct numbering is consecutive per supplement type per document.

  • Database entries are identified by their extended project numbers (e.g., 60417-5012).

Identifier Persistence Considerations

Assigned URNs will not be reused and will remain valid beyond the lifecycle of the referenced resources. The status of a referenced resource may change (e.g., from draft to published, or from published to withdrawn).

Process for Identifier Resolution

A URN identifying an IEC document can be transformed to a valid HTTP URI by:

  1. Replacing the URN namespace prefix (urn:iec:) and the std: prefix with the IEC web domain.

  2. Replacing occurrences of : within the identifier with /.

  3. Converting characters to lowercase.

Rules for Lexical Equivalence

URNs are lexically equivalent if they are octet-by-octet equal after the following preprocessing:

  1. Normalize the case of the leading urn: token.

  2. Normalize the case of the NID.

  3. Normalize the case of any %-escaping.

  4. Normalize the case of all elements.

All elements use lowercase. Language codes are listed in alphabetical order to ensure deterministic equivalence.

Conformance with URN Syntax

No special considerations beyond RFC 2141.

Validation Mechanism

None specified.

Scope

Global.

Differences from ISO URN (RFC 5141)

Feature ISO URN (RFC 5141) IEC URN

Namespace ID

iso

iec

Date handling

Year in edition slot; undated URN omits year

Date field in YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD format

Deliverable types

Not applicable

csv, cmv, exv, prv, rlv

Language separator

Comma (en,fr)

Hyphen (en-fr)

Supplement model

Appended with : separator

Adjunct model with `

` (adjunct ref) and _ (consolidation)

Relation marker

Not applicable

plus for consolidations

Component references

:clause:, :figure: etc. via docelement

#sec-1, #fig-1 via fragment identifier

Asset references

:tech and isodefined via addition

= asset name syntax

Interpretation sheets

References

Normative References

  • [IEC/ISO Directives Part 1] — Procedures for the technical work.

  • [RFC 2141] — Moats, R., "URN Syntax", May 1997.

  • [RFC 5141] — Goodwin, J., Apel, H., "A URN Namespace for ISO", March 2008.

  • [RFC 5234] — Crocker, D., Overell, P., "Augmented BNF for Syntax Specifications: ABNF", January 2008.

Informative References

  • IEC URI Model, version 2019-12-10 (internal IEC document).

  • IEC URI Model, version 2020-03-24 (internal IEC document).

  • [ISO 639-1:2002] — "Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 1: Alpha-2 code".

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