ISO/IEC 7811-8:2014

Overview

ISO/IEC 7811-8:2014 - "Identification cards - Recording technique - Part 8: Magnetic stripe - Coercivity of 51,7 kA/m (650 Oe)" defines physical and performance criteria for identification cards that use a 51,7 kA/m (650 Oe) magnetic stripe. The standard specifies minimum requirements for the magnetic stripe area (including overlays), signal performance, environmental/test considerations and mechanical characteristics to support reliable international interchange. Encoding formats and character sets are not defined in this part (ISO/IEC 7811‑2 specifications may be used).

Keywords: ISO/IEC 7811-8:2014, magnetic stripe, coercivity 51.7 kA/m, identification cards, magnetic media, hotel key cards.

Key Topics and Requirements

• Coercivity: Media nominal coercivity is 51,7 kA/m (650 Oe). Higher energy is required to record compared with low-coercivity media; exposure to magnetic fields can destroy recorded data.
• Physical card requirements: Cards must conform to ISO/IEC 7810 for basic card dimensions and stiffness.
• Magnetic stripe location & dimensions: Defines stripe placement and recommended stripe widths and clear distortion-free areas to ensure proper head contact.
• Surface profile and height tolerance: Limits on transverse surface deviation, slope and vertical deviation of the stripe area (e.g., vertical deviation h between −0.005 mm and 0.038 mm) to avoid read/write errors.
• Magnetic material performance: Signal amplitude, reference currents, flux transition definitions and minimum readback criteria are specified to ensure interoperability with readers/writers designed for 650 Oe media.
• Environmental and test considerations: Takes into account both human and machine aspects; test procedures referenced in ISO/IEC 10373‑2 (cards with magnetic stripes).
• Interchange and conformance: Cards must meet mandatory requirements; failure to conform is resolved between involved parties. Numeric values are provided in SI and Imperial units (do not mix).

Applications and Who Uses It

• Primary application: hotel guest room entry systems and similar access-control cards where 650 Oe coercivity is common.
• Organizations that design, manufacture or test magnetic stripe cards and readers:
  • Card manufacturers and laminators
  • Access control and hospitality system integrators
  • Test labs and quality assurance teams
  • Card issuers and service providers concerned with international interchange
• Useful for procurement specs, product validation, and interoperability testing of magnetic stripe media and encoders/readers.

Related Standards

• ISO/IEC 7810 - Identification cards: physical characteristics
• ISO/IEC 7811‑2 - Magnetic stripe - Low coercivity (encoding details)
• ISO/IEC 7811‑6, ‑7 - Magnetic stripe - High coercivity variants
• ISO/IEC 10373‑2 - Test methods: cards with magnetic stripes
• ISO 4287 - Surface texture (profile method)

This concise summary helps implementers and procurement teams apply ISO/IEC 7811-8:2014 requirements when specifying, producing, testing or integrating 650 Oe magnetic stripe identification cards.