INSTITUTION PROFILE / ADHESIVES & ENCAPSULANTS
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
The body that publishes the international rules for how adhesives are tested
ISO is a network of national standards bodies with a Central Secretariat in the Geneva area of Switzerland. It does not make adhesives or encapsulants. Its role is to publish international standards that fix how bond strength is tested and how failures are named, in other words, how things are measured and called. ISO standards, however, are voluntary and carry no legal force of their own. This profile looks at how far ISO's influence actually reaches in adhesives and encapsulants, in terms of the kind of authority it holds and the region it covers.
- ISO in 30 seconds
- What kind of institution: the type of influence
- What ISO does for adhesives and encapsulants
- Scope of influence: authority and geography
- Related bodies and how a standard spreads
- Outlook
- Glossary / References / Claim-to-source audit
1. ISO in 30 seconds
ISO sets common yardsticks, such as how to measure bond strength and how to name the way a joint fails. It does not grant permission to sell or use an adhesive. ISO itself states that its standards are "voluntary", contain no contractual, legal or statutory requirements, and do not replace national laws Sourced. Even so, the standards matter to adhesive engineers, because Japan's JIS, European EN standards and companies' own test specifications refer to ISO standards, which lets suppliers and customers compare strength values obtained under the same conditions.
2. What kind of institution: the type of influence
The institutions in our adhesives profiles do not make products themselves. They can be sorted into four types according to the route by which they influence the industry.
3. What ISO does for adhesives and encapsulants
In ISO's catalogue, adhesives (including adhesive tapes) are grouped under International Classification for Standards (ICS) code 83.180. The main body that writes adhesive standards is subcommittee SC 11, "Products", of ISO/TC 61 (the technical committee on plastics) Sourced.
| Area | Standard (as titled by ISO) | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Bond strength (tensile lap-shear) | ISO 4587:2003 Adhesives — Determination of tensile lap-shear strength of rigid-to-rigid bonded assemblies | A method for measuring tensile lap-shear strength with a standard specimen. ISO states that it does not provide design information. Published March 2003; entered systematic review (stage 90.20) on 15 July 2026 |
| Bond strength (peel) | ISO 11339:2022 Adhesives — T-peel test for flexible-to-flexible bonded assemblies | A peel test in which two flexible adherends are pulled apart in a T shape (published February 2022) |
| Naming failures | ISO 10365:2022 Adhesives — Designation of main failure patterns | Names and diagrams for the main failure patterns of a bonded joint. It applies to all mechanical tests on bonded assemblies, whatever the adherends and adhesive (published January 2022) |
| Ageing conditions | ISO 9142:2003 Adhesives — Guide to the selection of standard laboratory ageing conditions for testing bonded joints | How to choose laboratory ageing conditions (climatic or chemical) for bonded joints. ISO notes that the results are not necessarily applicable to predicting service life (published December 2003) |
| Adhesive tapes | ISO 29862:2024 Self adhesive tapes — Determination of peel adhesion properties | Four 180-degree peel methods (published December 2024) |
| Adhesives for electronics | ISO 16525-1 to -9:2014 Adhesives — Test methods for isotropic electrically conductive adhesives | A nine-part series on isotropic electrically conductive adhesives: electrical characteristics, heat transfer, shear strength, electrochemical migration and more. ISO 21760-1 and -2:2019 cover water vapour transmission rate of adhesives for organic electronic devices |
| Sealants (building) | ISO 11600:2002 Building construction — Jointing products — Classification and requirements for sealants | Types and classes of building sealants, with requirements. It belongs to ISO/TC 59/SC 8, a different committee from the adhesives subcommittee TC 61/SC 11 |
Most ISO adhesive standards define how to test, not what result counts as passing. Take tensile lap-shear strength (ISO 4587): it exists so that values measured under the same conditions can be compared between manufacturers. It does not set a pass mark such as "at least so many megapascals", and the standard itself says it provides no design information Sourced. The specimen shapes and failure modes (cohesive versus interfacial failure) discussed in our explainer on bond-strength testing sit on this foundation. By contrast, I could not find a performance standard for semiconductor encapsulants (such as epoxy molding compounds) in the ICS 83.180 listing Not yet confirmed. Standards from other bodies, such as semiconductor industry groups, probably dominate that area, but this article has not verified that.
The scope of ISO/TC 61 explicitly includes adhesives, sealing, joining and welding. By contrast, ISO/TC 35 (secretariat: the Netherlands) covers paints, varnishes and related products, including raw materials; adhesives do not appear in its stated scope. Joining of plastic pipes belongs to ISO/TC 138 (secretariat: Japan) and is carved out of the scope of SC 11 Sourced. "Adhesives and encapsulants" therefore spans several committees, depending on the standard.
4. Scope of influence: authority and geography
| Aspect | What ISO has | What ISO does not have |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | It publishes international standards by consensus in technical committees: common test methods, terminology and classifications | Power to compel adoption. Its standards are "voluntary" and contain no contractual or legal requirements |
| Geography | 177 members, one per country. JISC (Japan), DIN (Germany), ANSI (United States) and SAC (China) are among them, and national members can adopt and sell ISO standards | Precedence over national law. ISO says national law takes precedence |
| Scope in adhesives and sealing | Test methods, classification and terminology for adhesives (TC 61/SC 11), including test methods for conductive adhesives in electronics and adhesives for organic electronics | A performance standard for semiconductor encapsulants (none found in ICS 83.180). Product certification or safety approval |
| Size and funding | Member subscriptions plus income from selling standards. The Central Secretariat's operations are only about one fifth of the cost of the whole system | Central Secretariat headcount was not found on the official pages |
A product that passes an ISO test method has not thereby satisfied any legal requirement or earned the right to be sold. ISO standards are voluntary and do not replace national law Sourced. Approvals that are practically necessary to reach the market, such as safety or flammability certification, come from other bodies (see our UL Solutions profile in this series).
5. Related bodies and how a standard spreads
ISO adhesive standards become national standards through national standards bodies. In Japan, JIS K 6850 (tensile lap-shear strength) is registered as corresponding to ISO 4587:1995, with the degree of correspondence given as "MOD" (modified). The current ISO 4587 is the 2003 edition, but JIS's corresponding-standard field still names the older 1995 edition, so the two editions do not match Sourced. In Europe, ISO 11339:2022 has been adopted as a European standard, and DIN's catalogue lists it as EN ISO 11339:2022 Sourced. U.S. standards such as those from ASTM come from a separate standards developer, and this article did not verify how they correspond to ISO Not yet confirmed.
Which adhesive manufacturers take part in writing each standard could not be determined from the official pages we checked, so this article does not say.
6. Outlook
| What can be read | Primary information behind it | Status |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 4587 (tensile lap-shear) entered systematic review on 15 July 2026. The outcome (confirm, revise or withdraw) was not found | ISO's standard page (stage 90.20, review start 2026-07-15) | Not yet confirmed |
| The standard on pot life of structural adhesives is being revised. The 2024 edition is marked "to be revised" (90.92) and a draft (DIS) has been registered | ISO's ICS 83.180 listing (ISO 10364:2024 and ISO/DIS 10364) | Not yet confirmed |
| Where JIS refers to an older ISO edition, as with JIS K 6850, JIS may be reviewed to follow ISO's revision | The JIS K 6850 registration record (corresponds to ISO 4587:1995) and the publication of ISO 4587:2003 | Inference |
7. Glossary
- TC / SC
- Technical committee / subcommittee. The units in which ISO standards are actually written, each run by one member body acting as secretariat.
- ICS
- International Classification for Standards. Adhesives (including adhesive tapes) are classified under 83.180.
- DIS
- Draft International Standard. A draft that goes through voting before moving to a final draft and publication.
- MOD (modified)
- JIS's marker for a national standard that adopts an international standard with some modifications.
- JISC
- Japanese Industrial Standards Committee. Japan's ISO member, and the secretariat holder for ISO/TC 61/SC 11.
8. References
- ISO About us (26,515 deliverables, 177 members, 844 technical committees and subcommittees, active since 1946, Central Secretariat location). https://www.iso.org/about-us.html
- ISO Members (177 national standards bodies, member categories, adopting and selling standards nationally) and the individual member pages (JISC, DIN and ANSI are member bodies). https://www.iso.org/members.html
- ISO Structure (Central Secretariat in Geneva, subscriptions and income from standards, Central Secretariat costs about one fifth of the whole system). https://www.iso.org/structure.html
- ISO Foreword - Supplementary information (ISO standards are voluntary and do not replace national law). https://www.iso.org/foreword-supplementary-information.html
- ISO ISO/TC 61 Plastics (secretariat SAC, China; created 1947; scope includes adhesives, sealing, joining and welding; list of subcommittees). https://www.iso.org/committee/49256.html
- ISO ISO/TC 61/SC 11 Products (secretariat JISC, Japan; created 1981; scope; WG 5 Polymeric adhesives; 148 published standards). https://www.iso.org/committee/49424.html
- ISO ICS 83.180 Adhesives (standards listing: ISO 16525, ISO 21760, ISO 10364, ISO/DIS 10364 and others). https://www.iso.org/ics/83.180.html
- ISO ISO 4587:2003 standard page (title, abstract, stage 90.20). https://www.iso.org/standard/34852.html
- ISO ISO 11339:2022 standard page. https://www.iso.org/standard/82657.html
- ISO ISO 10365:2022 standard page. https://www.iso.org/standard/80800.html
- ISO ISO 9142:2003 standard page. https://www.iso.org/standard/36282.html
- ISO ISO 29862:2024 standard page. https://www.iso.org/standard/88050.html
- ISO ISO 11600:2002 standard page (building sealants; responsible committee ISO/TC 59/SC 8). https://www.iso.org/standard/26328.html
- ISO ISO/TC 35 Paints and varnishes (secretariat NEN, Netherlands; scope). https://www.iso.org/committee/47962.html
- ISO ISO/TC 138 Plastics pipes, fittings and valves for the transport of fluids (secretariat JISC, Japan). https://www.iso.org/committee/52500.html
- Japanese Standards Association (JSA) JIS K 6850:1999 registration record (corresponding international standard ISO 4587:1995, degree of correspondence MOD, last confirmed 20 October 2023). https://webdesk.jsa.or.jp/books/W11M0090/index/?bunsyo_id=JIS+K+6850:1999
- DIN Media EN ISO 11339:2022 (European adoption of the ISO standard). https://www.dinmedia.de/en/standard/en-iso-11339/352305174
9. Claim-to-source audit
| Claim in the text | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 26,515 deliverables, 177 members, 844 committees and subcommittees, active since 1946, Central Secretariat in Geneva | Sourced | Reference 1 https://www.iso.org/about-us.html |
| One member per country; members adopt and sell standards; JISC, DIN and ANSI are member bodies | Sourced | Reference 2 https://www.iso.org/members.html |
| Subscriptions and income from standards; Central Secretariat is about one fifth of the cost | Sourced | Reference 3 https://www.iso.org/structure.html |
| Standards are voluntary and do not replace national law | Sourced | Reference 4 https://www.iso.org/foreword-supplementary-information.html |
| TC 61 secretariat (China), scope including adhesives, and pipe joining belonging to TC 138 | Sourced | Reference 5 https://www.iso.org/committee/49256.html |
| SC 11 secretariat (Japan), scope, WG 5, 148 published standards | Sourced | Reference 6 https://www.iso.org/committee/49424.html |
| Titles and stages of standards in ICS 83.180, including ISO 16525, ISO 21760 and ISO/DIS 10364 | Sourced | Reference 7 https://www.iso.org/ics/83.180.html |
| ISO 4587:2003 title, abstract and review stage | Sourced | Reference 8 https://www.iso.org/standard/34852.html |
| ISO 11339:2022 title, abstract and date | Sourced | Reference 9 https://www.iso.org/standard/82657.html |
| ISO 10365:2022 title, abstract and date | Sourced | Reference 10 https://www.iso.org/standard/80800.html |
| ISO 9142:2003 title, abstract and date | Sourced | Reference 11 https://www.iso.org/standard/36282.html |
| ISO 29862:2024 title, abstract and date | Sourced | Reference 12 https://www.iso.org/standard/88050.html |
| ISO 11600:2002 title and responsible committee (TC 59/SC 8) | Sourced | Reference 13 https://www.iso.org/standard/26328.html |
| TC 35 secretariat (Netherlands) and scope (paints and varnishes) | Sourced | Reference 14 https://www.iso.org/committee/47962.html |
| TC 138 secretariat (Japan) and scope (plastics pipes) | Sourced | Reference 15 https://www.iso.org/committee/52500.html |
| JIS K 6850 corresponds to ISO 4587:1995 (MOD) | Sourced | Reference 16 https://webdesk.jsa.or.jp/books/W11M0090/index/?bunsyo_id=JIS+K+6850:1999 |
| EN ISO 11339:2022 (European adoption) | Sourced | Reference 17 https://www.dinmedia.de/en/standard/en-iso-11339/352305174 |
| The four types of institution and the arrangement of Fig. 2 | Our calculation | Classification by this article |
| No performance standard for semiconductor encapsulants appears in the ICS 83.180 listing | Not yet confirmed | Result of this article's check of the titles in Reference 7. Other ICS classes were not searched |
| Outcome of the ISO 4587 review, correspondence with ASTM standards, Central Secretariat headcount | Not yet confirmed | Not found. This article does not estimate them |
| Possible JIS review in Section 6 | Inference | This article's reading of the edition difference between References 8 and 16 |
Last updated 3 October 2026 / Troy Technical
Figures and standards information come from ISO's website, the JSA's JIS record and the DIN catalogue page. Items marked "Inference" are this article's reading of the primary information.