DOI System Overview > Standardization of the DOI System

The DOI system has been standardised through the International Organization for Standardization, ISO (within the responsibility of committee ISO TC46/SC9, Identification and documentation) as ISO 26324:2022, Digital Object Identifier System. This International Standard specifies the syntax, description and resolution functional components of the DOI System, and the general principles for the creation, registration and administration of DOI names. It does not specify specific technologies to implement the DOI System. These are selected and implemented by the registration authority.

The DOI Foundation is ISO 26324 Registration Authority: as with other identifier standards, the creation of a public standard for the DOI System creates a controlled namespace which is populated through the Registration Authority.

NOTE Norman Paskin wrote a history/case study of DOI standardization, "The Digital Object Identifier: From Ad Hoc to National to International".