ISO/IEC 10373-3:2018

Overview - ISO/IEC 10373-3:2018 (Identification cards - Test methods - Part 3)

ISO/IEC 10373-3:2018 specifies test methods for integrated circuit cards with contacts and related interface devices (IFDs), as defined in ISO/IEC 7816-3. It defines how to verify minimum electrical and logical functionality of contact smart cards and IFDs (e.g., measurement set‑ups, timing checks and contact activation), but does not include acceptability criteria (those are in the base standards) or reliability/field‑life testing. Tests are technology‑specific, intended to be executed independently (not necessarily sequentially), and are complementary to the common tests in ISO/IEC 10373-1.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope of tests
  • Electrical characteristics of contacts (VCC, I/O, CLK, RST, SPU/C6) for cards and IFDs.
  • Logical operation tests including Answer to Reset (ATR), T=0 and T=1 protocol interactions.
  • Physical and electrical behaviour of IFD contacts (activation, deactivation, contact resistance).
• Test environment & pre-conditioning
  • Defined environmental conditions, pre-conditioning steps and default tolerances to ensure repeatability.
• Apparatus & measurement conventions
  • Card‑test‑apparatus and IFD‑test‑apparatus configurations, with guidance on total measurement uncertainty and electrical measurement conventions.
• Timing and protocol tests
  • I/O transmission/reception timing, character repetition, Character Waiting Time (CWT), Block Guard Time (BGT), block sequencing, error recovery, resynchronization, IFSD negotiation and abortion handling.
• Minimum functionality
  • Verification that the card provides an ATR conforming to the base standard and that contact electrical resistance conforms to the base standard.
• Limitations
  • Conformance based on these tests does not guarantee absence of field failures; full functional or reliability testing is out of scope.

Practical applications

• Quality assurance and factory acceptance testing for contact smart cards (payment, ID, access, healthcare, telecom).
• Conformance testing for IFD manufacturers (readers, terminals) to ensure proper contact activation and protocol handling.
• Test laboratories and certification bodies verifying compliance with ISO/IEC 7816 family requirements.
• Procurement and QA teams requiring standardized test evidence for card/reader interoperability.

Who should use this standard

• Card manufacturers, IFD (reader) designers, independent test labs, certification authorities, and systems integrators involved in smart card deployment.

Related standards

• ISO/IEC 7816-3 (contact cards - electrical interface and transmission protocols)
• ISO/IEC 7810 (identification card physical characteristics)
• ISO/IEC 10373-1 (general/common test methods)
• Other parts of the ISO/IEC 10373 series for technology‑specific tests

Keywords: ISO/IEC 10373-3:2018, identification cards, integrated circuit cards with contacts, test methods, IFD, ISO/IEC 7816-3, contact resistance, Answer to Reset, T=0, T=1.