This International Standard provides guidelines to enable translators and translation support staff to record, maintain and quickly and easily retrieve terminological information in connection with translation work.

The quality of a translation can be measured partly in terms of linguistic elements, such as style and grammar, and partly in terms of the accurate use of the terminology involved. The guidelines in this International Standard provide the necessary elements for quality control of terminological information in translations. The guidelines can also be adapted to provide a basis for the administration of source-language texts, parallel texts, translations, and other information (e.g. bibliographies, references) in the target language.

This International Standard is applicable to the work of an individual translator as well as the work of a team or a department. It also lays down guidelines that are essential for the interchange of terminological data.