ISO/IEC 10373-2:2015

Overview

ISO/IEC 10373-2:2015 - Identification cards - Test methods - Part 2: Cards with magnetic stripes - specifies standardized test methods for evaluating the physical and magnetic characteristics of identification cards that carry magnetic stripes. It is the third edition (2015) of the part of the ISO/IEC 10373 series that focuses specifically on magnetic‑stripe technology. Tests are cross‑referenced to base and supplementary standards (for example ISO/IEC 7810, the ISO/IEC 7811 series and ISO/IEC 8484) and are intended for use in quality assurance, conformity assessment and product development.

Key topics and technical requirements

ISO/IEC 10373-2:2015 defines procedures, apparatus and reporting requirements for magnetic‑stripe test methods. Major technical topics include:

• Test environment, pre‑conditioning and tolerances - default environmental conditions, sample conditioning, selection of applicable tests, default tolerances and total measurement uncertainty are specified to ensure repeatable results.
• Physical profile tests - warpage (deviation from flatness), magnetic stripe height and surface profile measurements.
• Surface characterization - surface roughness measurements referenced to GPS standards (e.g., ISO 3274, ISO 4288, ISO 1302).
• Wear and durability - wear tests for magnetic stripes and guidance on effects of wear on test heads (informative Annex A).
• Magnetic performance tests - amplitude measurements, static magnetic characteristics, flux transition spacing variation (ft/mm), waveform (Waveform U) and calibration references for readback equipment.
• Adhesion and mechanical robustness - magnetic stripe adhesion tests and tape/adhesive considerations.
• High‑coercivity/high‑density overwrite - test methods for high coercivity magnetic stripes and high density encoding (note: densities in this edition reference 508 ftpi).
• Reporting - standardized test report formats and expression of results for traceability and conformity assessment.

Note: ISO/IEC 10373‑2 provides test methods only. Acceptance criteria are provided in the referenced base standards (e.g., ISO/IEC 7811 series).

Practical applications and users

ISO/IEC 10373-2:2015 is used by:

• Card manufacturers for incoming/outgoing quality control and production verification of magnetic‑stripe cards.
• Test laboratories and QA teams for accredited conformity testing and issuing test reports.
• Equipment vendors and integrators to validate readers/writers and test fixtures.
• Issuers and procurement teams (banks, transit agencies, ID authorities) for supplier qualification and acceptance testing.
• R&D engineers for product development, failure analysis and durability studies.

Practical uses include durability qualification, read/write performance validation, adhesion and wear assessment, and ensuring compatibility with magnetic recording standards.

Related standards (select)

• ISO/IEC 7810 - Identification cards - Physical characteristics
• ISO/IEC 7811‑2, ‑6, ‑7, ‑8 - Magnetic stripe recording techniques (low/high coercivity, high density)
• ISO/IEC 8484 - Magnetic stripes on savingsbooks
• ISO 1302, ISO 3274, ISO 4288 - Surface texture and roughness methods

Keywords: ISO/IEC 10373-2:2015, magnetic stripe, identification cards, test methods, amplitude measurements, flux transition spacing, surface roughness, card warpage, magnetic stripe adhesion.