How you reference an ISO standard largely depends on the context or particular publication. While quoting the ISO title is often sufficient for journalistic articles, you’ll need to follow specific conventions when citing ISO standards in academic publications.
More than 22,000 specific ISO standards have been published, and they set out best practices for various organisations, industries, services, and products. With ISO standards playing a vital role in international business, it’s likely that you’ll need to reference them at some point.
In typical journalistic or expository articles, merely referencing the ISO code or title is usually acceptable. It’s also good practice to include a hyperlink if the article is being published online. If, however, you’re referencing ISO standards in an academic paper or journal, you’ll have to abide by the publication’s specific guidelines and conventions. Some of the most common citation styles include Harvard, MLA, Chicago, and APA.
Read on to learn more about how to reference an ISO standard and the different formats and approaches you might encounter.
In this post:
What is an ISO standard?
ISO standards refer to the specifications and best practices that are agreed upon by the members of the International Organisation for Standardisation – a global federation of 167 national standard bodies.
ISO formulates standards for various types of businesses and industries, including chemical manufacturing, the business sector, the labour market, science and technology, and the academic sector.
The specific ISO standards for these industries and products can be classified into different categories. However, three universally important standards are:
- ISO 9001 – Quality management system (QMS)
- ISO 27001 – Information Security Management Systems (ISMS)
- ISO 14001 – Environmental Management Systems
Becoming ISO-accredited can help your business in numerous ways, such as boosting credibility and increasing efficiency. In fact, it’s crucial for any organisation that wants to trade internationally.
How to reference an ISO standard
Citing ISO standards in ordinary articles is very straightforward – you simply need to state the ISO code or title, for example, ISO 9001. It’s also helpful to include a hyperlink to the relevant standard when publishing content online (just like we do in this article).
However, when it comes to academic writing, such as term papers or research in peer-reviewed journals, you’ll need to follow some conventions. These conventions largely depend on the style guidelines or format stipulated by the academic body or publication (more on this later).
When you reference an ISO standard, you may either use inline citations or parenthetical citations. You should also include endnotes or a bibliography that corresponds to the citation style – just make sure you take a consistent approach throughout the document.
Bibliographic referencing of ISO standards
Some people mistakenly include the names of the editors when referencing ISO standards, however, this is the wrong way to create an ISO citation. It’s important to remember that all ISO standards are deliberated upon and written by committees. That means documents should be properly attributed to ISO itself. See the examples below, as written in APA referencing style:
International Organisation for Standardisation. (2018). Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use (ISO Standard No. 45001:2018). https://www.iso.org/standard/63787.html
International Organisation for Standardisation. (2015) Quality Management Systems – Requirements (ISO standard no. 9001:2015) Retrieved from https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:9001:ed-5:v1:en
It’s okay to use the hang indent format when listing ISO references in the bibliography or endnotes section of your paper. Please take note that the year in the parenthesis refers to the year the document was last updated; the year may change when the document is revised again.
How to cite ISO standards 
There are various approaches you can take when citing ISO standards in your article – which one you choose will largely depend on the style guide you’re using. The three main ways you can cite ISO standards in your work are: parenthetical; numerical; and note citations. Regardless of which one you follow, it’s important to make sure you’re consistent throughout the document.
- Parenthetical citations – some identifying relevant details, such as the author and date of publication, are included in the parenthesis.
- Numerical citations – if you’re using a numbered list of references you can either write a number in brackets or a superscript number that corresponds to an entry in your reference list.
- Note citations – this is a full citation that’s included in the footnote or endnote. It’s used in conjunction with a superscript number or symbol.
Inline citations of ISO standards
Inline or text citation refers to the direct or narrative citation of the document. It’s commonly used when you want to naturally incorporate the code or the name of the ISO standard into the text, which is often the case when discussing the content of the standards. The citation format can vary depending on the style you’re using.
Here are some examples of the same reference written in different citation formats:
- Harvard – write the name of the author and a comma, followed by the year of publication in parentheses: (ISO, 2015)
- MLA style – write the name of the author and the page number from where you lifted the quotation or the details: (ISO 12)
- Chicago style – write the name of the author and the year of publication, but don’t include a comma: (ISO 2015)
- APA style – the in-text citation format is similar to the Harvard citation style: (ISO, 2015)
ReAgent’s ISO certifications
ReAgent currently holds four ISO accreditations: ISO 9001 for quality management, the ISO 14001 environmental certification, ISO 13485 for quality management systems relating to medical devices, and ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety. 
If you’d like more information about our ISO certifications, please contact us.
Summary
There are several ways you can reference ISO standards in your work; the exact method depends on whether you’re writing a journalistic-style article or an academic piece. If it’s the latter, you’ll need to use the style recommended or required by the publication. The most common citation styles are Harvard, MLA, Chicago, and APA.
