Overview
ISO 8000-118:2025 - Data quality: Application of ISO 8000-115 to natural location identifiers specifies how to create unambiguous, machine-readable natural location identifiers. It supplements ISO 8000-115 by defining requirements for the structure and representation of geographic location identifiers, including rules for prefixing, a single sub-domain element, and the representation of latitude, longitude, storey/elevation. The standard focuses on data quality and interoperability for location data rather than methods of measuring or determining geographic coordinates.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Scope and purpose
- Supplements ISO 8000-115 to address natural (non-controlled) identifiers for locations.
- In-scope: requirements for the prefix element and a single sub-domain in a location identifier; representation of latitude, longitude, storey/elevation.
- Out-of-scope: methods to determine latitude, longitude or elevation.
- Identifier representation
- Formal rules for assembling a natural location identifier (elements and their roles).
- Encoding approaches for numeric and spatial components to ensure consistency and machine readability.
- Algorithms and encoding
- Standard includes named algorithms (e.g., EncodeLatitude, EncodeLongitude, EncodeElevation, EncodeStorey, EncodePoint) to transform coordinate and elevation values into identifier components.
- Supporting numeric encodings such as EncodeBase14, EncodeBase19, EncodeBase32, and base variants for storey/ground-level values are specified.
- Supporting material
- Annexes provide encoding tables, illustrative examples, computer-interpretable listings and algorithm descriptions.
- Conformance
- Clauses define how implementations can claim compliance with ISO 8000-118.
Practical applications
- Ensures consistent, interoperable natural location identifiers used in:
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Asset and facilities management (multi-storey buildings, underground structures)
- IoT and location-aware devices
- Supply chain, logistics and field service planning
- Emergency response and mapping services
- Enables reliable data exchange between systems by standardizing how coordinates and elevation/storey are represented in identifiers.
Who should use this standard
- Data architects and data quality managers implementing location data governance
- GIS professionals and geospatial engineers
- Software developers building location-aware applications and APIs
- Asset managers, facility planners, and organizations exchanging geographic master data
Related standards
Keywords: ISO 8000-118, data quality, natural location identifiers, latitude longitude, elevation, location identifier, encoding algorithms, ISO 8000-115.
