ISO/IEC 15693-1:2018

Overview

ISO/IEC 15693-1:2018 specifies the physical characteristics of contactless vicinity cards (VICCs). It is Part 1 of the ISO/IEC 15693 series and is intended to be used in conjunction with the other parts of the series that define radio-frequency interfaces and test methods. The document defines form-factor options, antenna constraints, magnetic-field resilience requirements, and informative guidance on printing surfaces and hole/slot design to support interoperability of vicinity objects.

Key Topics

• Form factor and conformity

  • A VICC may be produced as a standard card conforming to ISO/IEC 7810 or as a thin flexible card conforming to ISO/IEC 15457-1, or it may be an object of another shape or size.

• Antenna limits

  • For VICCs whose overall dimensions conform to ISO/IEC 7810 or ISO/IEC 15457-1, the antenna dimensions shall not exceed 86 mm × 54 mm × 3 mm. This restriction improves interoperability because RF power and signal tests in related parts of the series are based on ID-1 card dimensions.
  • Note: test methods in ISO/IEC 10373-7 and RF requirements in ISO/IEC 15693-2 rely on ID-1 sized antennas; antennas larger than the stated limit can give unreliable test results.

• Alternating magnetic field tolerance

  • The VICC shall continue to operate as intended after continuous exposure to an alternating magnetic field with an average level of 10 A/m rms at 13.56 MHz (averaging time 30 s), with a maximum level limited to 12 A/m rms.

• Additional design considerations

  • Surface quality for printing (Annex A): areas intended for overprinting should be of sufficient quality for the chosen printing technique.
  • Hole/slot guidance (Annex B): any slot or hole added to a card body must not interfere with the integrated circuit (IC) or the inductive coupling element (antenna).

Applications

• Issuers and manufacturers of contactless vicinity cards and tags can use this part as the primary reference for physical design constraints to ensure device interoperability and reliable testing.
• System integrators benefit from clear antenna and magnetic-field requirements when selecting VICCs for access control, asset identification, ticketing, and other contactless applications.
• Card personalization and printing services will find the surface quality guidance useful to avoid printing defects and maintain readability.

Related Standards

• ISO/IEC 7810 - Identification cards: physical characteristics
• ISO/IEC 15457-1 - Thin flexible cards: physical characteristics
• ISO/IEC 15693-2 - RF interface for vicinity cards (see for radio requirements)
• ISO/IEC 10373-7 - Test methods: vicinity cards
• Other related contactless series: ISO/IEC 10536, ISO/IEC 14443, and parts of ISO/IEC 7811 cited in the bibliography.

For implementers, following ISO/IEC 15693-1:2018 helps ensure VICCs meet expected physical constraints and perform reliably in established test environments, promoting interoperability across manufacturers and systems.