Glossary Updates6 new terms added to the glossaries · October 11, 2026, 13:38 CEST
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Glossary · Document and evidence governance

IEC 82045 (document management)

Also known as: IEC 82045, IEC 82045-1, IEC 82045-2, EN 82045-2, DIN EN 82045-2

IEC 82045 is the IEC standard series on document management: IEC 82045-1:2001 specifies principles, methods and information models for the metadata used to manage documents associated with objects throughout their life cycle, and IEC 82045-2:2004 provides a standardized set of metadata elements and an information reference model as a basis for document management systems and data exchange.

  • Standards
  • Technical documentation

In one sentence

IEC 82045 is the document management series: Part 1 principles and methods, Part 2 metadata elements and a reference model, the base of VDI 2770 metadata.

Example

A plant operator's document management system stores, for every manufacturer document, a document ID with its ID domain, the version, its status such as released, the responsible party and the classification — metadata elements in the sense of IEC 82045-2.

How it applies

  • Part 1 (2001): Principles, methods and information models for document metadata over the whole life cycle of a document, from the conceptual idea to its deletion; a general basic standard for computerized document management systems and the framework for Part 2.
  • Part 2 (2004): A comprehensive set of standardized metadata elements, an information reference model in EXPRESS and an XML DTD for document exchange; a corrigendum was published in 2014. Both parts are horizontal standards and have been adopted in Europe as EN 82045-1 and EN 82045-2.
  • Documents and document versions: Models built on IEC 82045 separate the document as a lasting concept from its versions over time, so that the link between an object and its documents stays stable when a new revision is released. iiRDS makes the same split with the iiRDS InformationObject and its versions.
  • VDI 2770: The information model of VDI 2770 Blatt 1 is based on IEC 82045-2; an annex lists the changes VDI 2770 made to it.
  • iiRDS: The iiRDS specification uses metadata from DIN EN 82045-2 and allows administrative metadata to be used in line with it.
  • Classification codes: The classes of IEC 61355 and its successor IEC 81355-1 are meant as metadata values in document management systems according to IEC 82045.
  • Status: As of October 2026 both parts are listed as current editions; their metadata model does not by itself make a document management process compliant with any quality or regulatory requirement.

Document vs. document version

In IEC 82045-based models the document carries what stays the same — identifier, classification, the objects it belongs to — and each document version carries what changes: language, title, status, author and the files. A controlled document process then decides which version is valid.

External references