There are two common scenarios where you might need to find equivalent standards.

• You’ve come across a foreign standard and you’re wondering if there is a BS or equivalent standard in the UK.

• You’re working on a project that is taking place abroad and need the right standard for that country.

Searching for this can seem like a long and complicated task, contacting the national standards bodies in each country. The good news is there are two ways that you can save time and get what you need.

1. Check the standard’s national foreword

In the case of BS standards that have an international relationship with other foreign standards, you may be able to obtain this information in the national foreword.

This information can indicate various things, like:

• If the standard was produced for guidance to support another standard;

• If there is equivalent information in relation to EN, ISO or IEC documents; or

• If it is a direct implementation of another standard.

2. Extra assistance for BSI Members

If you can’t find what you want on BSI Knowledge, there is help at hand for BSI Members as part of their subscription.

Members can call on the skills and resources of the professional researchers of the BSI Member Enquiry Service who have databases of standards from all over the world. Just email knowledgecentre@bsigroup.com. 

Please provide us with the document identifier or title of the foreign standard you are after and we will try to find the equivalent British Standard for you.

If you are trying to find a standard somewhere else in the world, then the number of the British standard will enable us to find an equivalent or related standard within the country of interest.

We’ll be only too happy to help with equivalent standards questions and any other standards-related query you might have. All as part of BSI Membership.

Discover more about BSI Membership

Become a BSI member and you’ll be joining 11,000+ organizations committed to making positive change through standards. You’ll get extra support in implementing standards via a team of research professionals and stay up to date with relevant changes to standards with a monthly spreadsheet. Your personalized Membership certificate and digital Membership badge will help your organization stand out from the competition too. And every member enjoys a 50% saving on British Standards and BSI Knowledge subscriptions, and up to 50% on other standards and subscriptions. Find out more about BSI Membership here.