This part of ISO/IEC 7816 specifies the physical characteristics of integrated circuit cards with contacts. It applies to identification cards of the ID-1 card type, which can include embossing and/or a magnetic stripe and/or tactile identifier mark as specified in ISO/IEC 7811. Test methods are specified in ISO/IEC 10373-1.

This part of ISO/IEC 7816 applies to cards which have a physical interface with electrical contacts. It does not, however, define the nature, number and position of the integrated circuits in the cards.