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Resources of interest in digital networks originate from a wide variety of sources, and may carry identifiers from different established public schemes, official standards, de facto schemes, or private cataloguing numbering. A key step in facilitating preservation, re-use and exchange of information is to enable users to re-use these identifiers (and their associated data) across different applications.

For example, where several Registry Agencies (RA) are issuing DOI names to journal articles from different publishers, it is likely that some RAs and publishers will want their DOI names to be included in journal-related services supported by other RAs. In a similar way, many RAs will want DOI names issued by other RAs to be available for inclusion in services they themselves are providing. Such interoperability is one of the principal benefits of the DOI System.

To achieve identifier interoperability in the DOI System, tools and policies are used: see Structured Semantics Based on Strict Principles.