International Standards
and other publications

IEC TCs/SCs (Technical Committees and Subcommittees) develop International Standards and other types of publications for a specific area of electrotechnology. (See the full list of IEC TCs/SCs.)

These publications fall into two broad categories:

• Normative publications reflect agreements on the technical description of the characteristics to be fulfilled by the product, system, service or object in question.
• Informative publications provide background information such as implementation procedures or guidelines

International Standards and other publications are the result of full or limited international consensus among the IEC's members (National Committees). Any member of the IEC may participate in the preparatory work of an International Standard, and any liaison organization i.e. international, broad regional organizations, consortia and fora may also participate in this preparation.

IEC publications are bilingual in English and French, while the Russian Federation National Committee prepares Russian-language editions. Certain publications have also been translated into Spanish.