ISO 8000-118:2025

Overview

ISO 8000-118:2025 - Data quality: Application of ISO 8000-115 to natural location identifiers specifies how to create unambiguous, machine-readable natural location identifiers. It supplements ISO 8000-115 by defining requirements for the structure and representation of geographic location identifiers, including rules for prefixing, a single sub-domain element, and the representation of latitude, longitude, storey/elevation. The standard focuses on data quality and interoperability for location data rather than methods of measuring or determining geographic coordinates.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope and purpose
  • Supplements ISO 8000-115 to address natural (non-controlled) identifiers for locations.
  • In-scope: requirements for the prefix element and a single sub-domain in a location identifier; representation of latitude, longitude, storey/elevation.
  • Out-of-scope: methods to determine latitude, longitude or elevation.
• Identifier representation
  • Formal rules for assembling a natural location identifier (elements and their roles).
  • Encoding approaches for numeric and spatial components to ensure consistency and machine readability.
• Algorithms and encoding
  • Standard includes named algorithms (e.g., EncodeLatitude, EncodeLongitude, EncodeElevation, EncodeStorey, EncodePoint) to transform coordinate and elevation values into identifier components.
  • Supporting numeric encodings such as EncodeBase14, EncodeBase19, EncodeBase32, and base variants for storey/ground-level values are specified.
• Supporting material
  • Annexes provide encoding tables, illustrative examples, computer-interpretable listings and algorithm descriptions.
• Conformance
  • Clauses define how implementations can claim compliance with ISO 8000-118.

Practical applications

• Ensures consistent, interoperable natural location identifiers used in:
  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • Asset and facilities management (multi-storey buildings, underground structures)
  • IoT and location-aware devices
  • Supply chain, logistics and field service planning
  • Emergency response and mapping services
• Enables reliable data exchange between systems by standardizing how coordinates and elevation/storey are represented in identifiers.

Who should use this standard

• Data architects and data quality managers implementing location data governance
• GIS professionals and geospatial engineers
• Software developers building location-aware applications and APIs
• Asset managers, facility planners, and organizations exchanging geographic master data

Related standards

• ISO 8000-115 (directly supplemented)
• Other parts of the ISO 8000 series (e.g., ISO 8000-1, ISO 8000-2, ISO 8000-8) for broader data quality governance and vocabulary.

Keywords: ISO 8000-118, data quality, natural location identifiers, latitude longitude, elevation, location identifier, encoding algorithms, ISO 8000-115.