ISO IEC TR 49794-2022 PDF

Full title and description

Information technology — Transition examples from the ISO/IEC 19794:2005 series to the ISO/IEC 39794 series for ID documents (ISO/IEC TR 49794:2022). This technical report provides practical transition and implementation examples to help eMRTD issuers and reader vendors migrate from legacy ISO/IEC 19794‑4:2005 / 19794‑5:2005 biometric formats to the newer ISO/IEC 39794 series formats (including examples for 39794‑4:2019, 39794‑5:2019 and an implementation example for 39794‑6:2021).

Abstract

This technical report supplies summarized tables of data elements, correspondence (mapping) tables between the old (19794:2005) and new (39794:2019/2021) formats, notes on which elements are normative or optional, TLV (tag-length-value) encoding examples for implementation, and informative annexes with tag lists and extended examples to support migration for eMRTD applications.

General information

• Status: Published (Technical Report).
• Publication date: 17 January 2022.
• Publisher: ISO/IEC (developed under ISO/IEC JTC 1, published as a joint ISO/IEC technical report; committee: JTC 1/SC 17).
• ICS / categories: 35.240.15 (Identification cards; chip cards; biometrics).
• Edition / version: Edition 1.0 (2022).
• Number of pages: 53 pages (English edition as published by ISO/IEC).

Scope

ISO/IEC TR 49794:2022 is intended to provide concrete examples and guidance for transitioning biometric data representations used in electronic Machine Readable Travel Documents (eMRTDs) from the ISO/IEC 19794:2005 family (notably 19794‑4 and 19794‑5) to the ISO/IEC 39794 series (including 39794‑4:2019, 39794‑5:2019 and implementation guidance for 39794‑6:2021). The report explicitly excludes second and later editions of the 19794 series (2011 and after) and does not address ASN.1/XML formats specified in the 39794 series. It focuses on eMRTD issuer and reader vendor needs for migration and implementation.

Key topics and requirements

• Summarized tables of data elements from ISO/IEC 19794‑4:2005 and 19794‑5:2005 and their counterparts in ISO/IEC 39794‑4:2019, 39794‑5:2019 and 39794‑6:2021.
• Correspondence (mapping) tables showing element-by-element transition notes and whether elements are normative or optional.
• Tag‑Length‑Value (TLV) encoding examples for the ISO/IEC 39794 series to support implementation in eMRTD LDS (biometric data template DO '7F2E').
• Tag lists and informative annexes, including extended examples (for example, face image data examples) to help implementers and vendors.
• Guidance targeted at practical migration (issuer/reader interoperability) rather than specification of new biometric algorithms.

Typical use and users

Primary users are eMRTD issuers (passport/ID authorities), eMRTD‑reader vendors, system integrators, and biometric implementation engineers who must migrate existing biometric records and reader software from legacy 19794:2005 encodings to the 39794 series formats. Secondary users include standards developers, laboratory test houses, and security architects concerned with biometric data interchange in travel documents.

Related standards

Closely related and referenced standards include ISO/IEC 19794‑4:2005 and ISO/IEC 19794‑5:2005 (legacy biometric formats), ISO/IEC 39794‑4:2019 and ISO/IEC 39794‑5:2019 (updated biometric data formats), and ISO/IEC 39794‑6:2021 (additional implementations referenced in examples). The report also references data encoding considerations for eMRTD LDS biometric templates (DO '7F2E') and encoding rules such as DER (ISO/IEC 8825‑1) and the ICAO/ISO eMRTD data object model (ISO/IEC 7816‑11 is relevant to LDS DO structures).

Keywords

eMRTD, biometric data template, transition guide, ISO/IEC 19794, ISO/IEC 39794, face image data, TLV encoding, ASN.1, DER, DO '7F2E', passport biometrics.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO/IEC TR 49794:2022 is a technical report giving transition examples and practical guidance for moving biometric data encodings used in eMRTDs from the older ISO/IEC 19794:2005 formats to the ISO/IEC 39794 series formats.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers summarized data‑element tables, correspondence (mapping) between old and new data elements, notes on normative vs optional elements, TLV encoding examples for ISO/IEC 39794 formats, and tag lists/annexes to assist implementers and vendors. It does not cover later editions of the 19794 series (post‑2005) or ASN.1/XML formats of the 39794 series.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: eMRTD issuers (passport/ID authorities), reader and middleware vendors, biometric system integrators, and developers responsible for ensuring interoperability between legacy biometric records and systems using the 39794 series.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: As of its publication it is a current technical report published in January 2022. It is an implementation/transition guide and not a replacement of normative standards; users should check for any later related normative updates to the 39794 or 19794 series from ISO/IEC if required.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: It is a TR that cross‑references the ISO/IEC 19794 series (legacy) and the ISO/IEC 39794 series (current biometric data formats) and provides examples specifically tied to several parts of those series (notably 39794‑4, 39794‑5 and an example for 39794‑6).

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: eMRTD, biometric template, transition examples, TLV, ASN.1/DER, ISO/IEC 19794, ISO/IEC 39794, face image, passport biometrics.