ISO TR 15801-2017 PDF

Full title and description

ISO/TR 15801:2017 — Document management — Electronically stored information — Recommendations for trustworthiness and reliability. This Technical Report provides recommendations for designing, implementing and operating information management systems so that electronically stored information (ESI) is maintained in a trustworthy and reliable manner across its lifecycle.

Abstract

ISO/TR 15801:2017 describes activities, policies, procedures, technology and audit arrangements needed for systems that store and make available electronically stored information (ESI) of any type (page‑based documents, databases, audio/video, etc.) in a trustworthy and reliable way. It is intended for organisations that retain ESI over time and focuses on ensuring that output from the system is a true and accurate reproduction of the stored ESI; it does not cover pre‑ingest authenticity evaluation.

General information

• Status: Published.
• Publication date: 2017‑05 (May 2017).
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• ICS / categories: 37.080 (document imaging / document management applications).
• Edition / version: Edition 3 (2017).
• Number of pages: 44 pages (ISO catalogue listing).

Scope

Provides recommendations for the implementation and operation of information management systems that store electronically stored information (ESI) in a trustworthy and reliable manner. Applicable to systems that manage a wide range of ESI types and to organisations seeking to ensure authenticity, integrity, availability and reproducibility of stored electronic information over time. The Report explicitly excludes methods for assessing authenticity prior to ingest but can be used to demonstrate that a system’s output faithfully reproduces stored ESI.

Key topics and requirements

• Information management policy: definition of scope, ESI types covered, roles & responsibilities, classification and retention/disposal schedules.
• Duty of care and assignment of responsibilities for maintaining trustworthiness and reliability of ESI.
• Storage media and media management (including considerations for WORM vs rewritable media, migration and media refresh).
• Data file formats, compression and format migration considerations to support long‑term usability.
• Metadata, provenance and audit trails to demonstrate integrity and authenticity of stored information.
• Access controls, security classification and information protection (links to information security practices).
• Outsourcing and third‑party storage: responsibilities, SLAs and requirements for trustworthiness when services are provided externally.
• Retention and disposal scheduling, and evidence requirements to support legal and regulatory needs.
• Monitoring, audit, verification and documentation required to demonstrate ongoing reliability of the system.

Typical use and users

Used by records and archives managers, information governance and compliance teams, IT managers/architects responsible for content/repository systems, legal teams, auditors, and third‑party service providers. Organisations adopt the recommendations to ensure retained ESI is reliable, auditable and legally defensible.

Related standards

Commonly used alongside records and preservation standards such as ISO 15489 (Records management), ISO 30301 (Management systems for records), ISO 19005 (PDF/A for long‑term preservation) and archival models such as the OAIS reference model (ISO 14721). It also complements information security standards like ISO/IEC 27001.

Keywords

Electronically stored information (ESI), document management, records management, trustworthiness, reliability, authenticity, integrity, metadata, retention, audit trail, information management policy, format migration.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO/TR 15801:2017 is a Technical Report that gives recommendations for making electronically stored information (ESI) trustworthy and reliable within information management systems.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers policies, procedures, technology and audit arrangements for storing, managing and making available ESI (documents, databases, audio/video, etc.) so that system output is a true and accurate reproduction of the stored information; it does not define pre‑ingest authenticity evaluation methods.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Records managers, archivists, information governance and compliance teams, IT and systems architects, legal teams, auditors and third‑party service providers involved in long‑term management of ESI.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: The Technical Report was published in May 2017 and is listed as published in the ISO catalogue (Edition 3, 2017). Earlier editions were published in 2004 and 2009; ISO notes the 2009 and 2004 items were revised by the 2017 edition. ISO’s catalogue also indicates the document lifecycle may be subject to revision activity (work toward ISO/FDIS 15801 was noted). Users should check the ISO catalogue or national adoptive bodies for any later amendments or replacement documents.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: It is a Technical Report in the ISO 15801 deliverable line (previous editions 2004, 2009) and sits within ISO/TC 171’s document‑management work; practitioners commonly use it alongside other ISO records, preservation and information security standards.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Electronically stored information (ESI); trustworthiness; reliability; records management; metadata; retention; audit trail; information management policy; format migration; preservation.