ISO/IEC 38505-1:2026

This document provides principles for governing bodies of organizations (which can comprise owners, directors, partners, executive managers, or similar) on the effective, efficient and acceptable use of data within their organizations by:

• applying the governance principles and model of ISO/IEC 38500 to the governance of data;
• assuring stakeholders that, if the principles and practices proposed by this document are followed, they can have confidence in the organization’s governance of data;
• informing and guiding governing bodies in the use and protection of data in their organizations.
• This document can also provide guidance to a wider community, including:
• executive managers;
• external businesses or technical specialists, such as legal or accounting specialists, retail or industrial associations, or professional bodies;
• internal and external service providers (including consultants);
• auditors.

This document applies to the governance of the current and future use of data that is created, collected, stored, secured, protected, or controlled by IT systems, and impacts the management processes and decisions relating to data.

This document defines the governance of data as a subset or domain of the governance of IT, which itself is a subset or domain of organizational, or in the case of a corporation, corporate governance.

This document is applicable to all organizations, including public and private companies, government entities, and not-for-profit organizations. This document is applicable to organizations of all sizes, regardless of the extent of their dependence on data.