When you’re working with Standards, you’ll often find that there are administrative terms you don’t understand. Corrigendum is such a word. It is used extensively by ISO, IEC and the European Standards Bodies. But it is “foreign” to those of us here in the U.S.
So, what is a corrigendum? Quite simply, it’s a correction sheet. Think of it as an Errata, for example. At ISO, it is only issued to correct a mistake or an ambiguity. It might be something that was introduced during the publishing cycle. And it addresses an issue that could lead to an incorrect or unsafe outcome.
Corrigenda (that’s the plural) are issued only in specific cases. One, the information must not have become outdated. Two, it is not usually issued for a document that’s over 3 years old.
How are corrigenda created? There is a specific process for bringing these types of errors to the attention of the committee. Any such findings should be directed to the secretariat and chair of the committee or subcommittee responsible for the publication. Once identified, the committee will confirm and issue a correction. This is submitted through the administrative process along with an explanation of the rationale for the fix.
Is a corrigendum always issued to fix errors? If it’s a small correction, sometimes the corrigendum is enough. For some standards, both a corrigendum and a corrected reprint will be issued. The Corrected Reprint will include the fix and an explanation will be inserted into the Forward. Some errors are more extensive and will generate an amendment. Amendments are separate documents, and must be purchased separately.
Do you always need to get a Corrigendum? In almost every case, we recommend that you make sure you have all corrections (including corrigenda) for any document you use. However, every once in a while a corrigendum is issued for an edition in a language other than English. If you’re using the English edition, the corrigendum is not applicable.
Document Center Inc. is a great source for information on corrections to the standards you use. Find out more by reviewing your standards at our webstore, www.document-center.com. We have detailed data on over 1 million publications.
Still have questions? Just check in with our staff. You can reach us by phone (650-591-7600) or email (info@document-center.com). We’re happy to assist you with all your standards needs and questions. Make us your Standards Experts!
