Document types by lifecycle stage
| Document type | Meaning | Approval |
|---|---|---|
| Recommendation | Normative output of a study group | TAP or AAP |
| Amendment | Changes/additions to published Recommendation | Same approval as the Recommendation |
| Corrigendum | Corrections to published Recommendation | Same approval as amendment |
| Erratum | Publication/editorial error fix | Published by TSB with Chairman concurrence (no SG approval) |
| Annex (integral) | Material necessary for completeness | Same approval as Recommendation |
| Appendix (non-integral) | Supplementary, not essential | Agreed by study group (not full approval) |
Recommendation clause structure
Per the Rules for presentation of ITU-T | ISO/IEC common text, a Recommendation is organized as follows:
| Clause | Element | Content |
|---|---|---|
| (preliminary) | Cover page, Contents, Foreword, Introduction | Roman numeral pages |
| 1 | Scope | Defines subject and limits; no requirements |
| 2 | Normative references | Documents whose provisions are referenced normatively |
| 3 | Definitions (optional) | Terms defined for this Recommendation. Subdivided into 3.1 "Terms defined elsewhere" and 3.2 "Terms defined in this Recommendation" (if both are used). See term formatting below. |
| 4 | Abbreviations (optional) | All abbreviations used in the text |
| 5 | Conventions (optional) | Any particular notation used |
| 6+ | Text | Body of the Recommendation |
| Annex A+ | Integral annexes | Normative material (same approval as Recommendation) |
| Annex (continues) | Non-integral annexes | Informative/supplementary (SG agreement, not full approval) |
| (last, optional) | Bibliography | Informative references not cited normatively; heading style Appendix_No & title with page break before |
| (last) | Index (optional) |
Canonical skeleton template
For new Recommendation drafting and for checking currently published Word style definitions, use the local downloaded skeleton first:
assets/itu-t-recommendation-skeleton.docx
Upstream source URL (for refresh):
https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/studygroups/Documents/Doc-ITUT-Recs-Skelet.docx
Term formatting (clause 3)
Terms in clause 3 are formatted as pseudo-subclauses: they carry subclause-style numbering (3.1.1, 3.1.2, ...) but are not real heading paragraphs and do not appear in the table of contents.
Each term follows this pattern:
<bold>3.1.N\tTERM NAME</bold>: definition text
- The number prefix (
3.1.N) and term name are bold - A tab separates the number from the term name
- The term name ends with a colon and space, followed by the definition text (not bold)
- The paragraph uses
body-textstyle with a manually set tab stop at 1.5 cm (851 twips) — this tab stop is not part of the defaultNormalstyle in the ITU-T template
This format applies to both 3.1 "Terms defined elsewhere" and 3.2 "Terms defined in this Recommendation".
Subdivision numbering
- Digits separated by periods: 1, 1.1, 1.1.1
- No trailing period after single number
- Do not create subclause 1.1 unless 1.2 also exists
Bibliography
The Bibliography is an optional, non-normative clause containing informative references (sources not cited normatively in the body).
- Position: Always the last clause of the Recommendation, after all integral and non-integral annexes (and before the Index if present).
- Heading: Formatted with style
Appendix_No & title(the same style used for non-integral appendix headings). Write only the wordBibliography— no number prefix. - Page break: There must be a page break immediately before the
Bibliography heading. Apply it as
pageBreakBefore: trueon the heading paragraph, not as a separate break paragraph. - Entries: Each entry uses style
References— the same style as normative reference entries in clause 2. Format:[N]\t<citation text>with a{SEQ Ref \* ARABIC}field and bookmark.
See itut-drafting for the concrete style-name mapping and officecli
commands.
Notes (from the Rules)
- Integrated in text: shall not contain requirements. Use "NOTE -- " for single note, "NOTE 1 -- ", "NOTE 2 -- " for multiple.
- Notes to tables/figures: may contain requirements. Start with "NOTE 1 -- ". Located within table frame or above figure title.
- Notes are indented from the main text margin.
Use of normative words
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| shall | Mandatory requirement |
| shall not | Prohibition |
| may | Permission; indicates an action that is permitted but not required |
| need not | Negative of "may" (avoid "may not") |
Figures and tables (from the Rules)
Figures
- Numbered with Arabic numerals, independent of clauses (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2)
- Title below figure, centred: "Figure x -- title"
- Referenced as "see Figure 1" (uppercase "F")
Tables
- Numbered with Arabic numerals, independent of clauses (e.g. Table 1, Table 2)
- Title above table, centred: "Table x -- title"
- Columns framed, headings separated by horizontal line
- Spanning pages: "(continued)" / "Table x (concluded)"
ITU-T | ISO/IEC common text
When a Recommendation is jointly developed with ISO/IEC:
Terminology
- Common text: Identical text in both ITU-T Rec and ISO/IEC IS
- Identical Recommendations | International Standards: Same text
- Paired Recommendations | International Standards: Technically aligned but not identical ("twin text")
Self-reference
- In Scope/boilerplate: "this Recommendation | International Standard"
- Elsewhere: use a capitalized descriptive term (e.g. "this Specification")
Dual notation
External references use ITU-T first: "see Rec. ITU-T X.882 | ISO/IEC 13712-3"
Title
- Introductory element: "Information technology"
- Up to 3 elements, general to particular
- First letter of each element capitalized
References
- references/rules-recommendation-structure.md -- detailed extract from Rules for presentation
Cross-references
itut-basics-- ITU-T organization, roles, meeting proceduresitut-contributions-- contribution submission and TDocsitut-drafting-- ITU-T contribution .docx template and formattingitut-patents-- patent policy, IPR disclosure, licensing declarationssdo-docx-formatting-- formatting rules (delegated)