NIST Technical Series Publications

 NIST Technical Series publications are written by or for NIST and published by the NIST Research Library. These publications consist of technical reports, recommendations, practice guides, industry handbooks, and other similar technical documents intended for external distribution.

Policies

All NIST Technical Series publications are assigned Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to ensure continuing public access and deposited with the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO) to ensure digital preservation.

Copyright, Use, and Licensing

In accordance with Public Law 100-519, Section 107 (Oct 24, 1988), NIST maintains a research information center to support the research, publishing, and preservation needs required to fulfill the scientific and technical mission of NIST.  This includes publishing the NIST Technical Series: technical reports and Journal of Research of NIST.  Works authored by NIST employees are not subject to Copyright protection within the United States; foreign rights are reserved.  To the extent NIST may assert rights outside of the United States, the public is granted the non-exclusive, perpetual, paid-up, royalty-free, worldwide right to reprint works in all formats including print, electronically, and online, and in all subsequent editions, and derivative works.  Please use the recommended citation format below followed by “Republished courtesy of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.”  Some works published by NIST may have been written by third parties and may be subject to copyright protection.

See additional Copyright, Use, and Licensing statements.

Publication Identifiers

As of April 2022, NIST Technical Series publications follow a specific publication identifier (PubID) syntax – like those used by Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs).

Versions

A single NIST Technical Series publication may have multiple versions. Each version will receive a separate DOI, and each version will remain at its assigned DOI. Drafts posted for public comment are not deposited with GPO. As of August 2022, the PDF version of a publication may have a button that links to the current status of that version, including redirects to any errata updates, revisions, editions, or the final version of a draft.

1. Draft posted for public comment – A non-final version that is made available to the public for their input.
2. Final publication – The final version that is made available to the public.
3. Errata update – A new copy of the final publication with corrections made. Corrections made in an errata update may not alter existing or introduce substantive technical information, but rather are intended to remove ambiguity and improve interpretation of the work.
4. New revision/edition – A new version of the final publication with significant changes or updates. Examples include updating data to change results, revising guidelines based on new information, citing new studies, revising content based on reader feedback, etc.

Author Instructions

Review the author instructions before you start writing your NIST Technical Series publication. To ensure that your report is well structured and accessible, download the correct template from the NIST Internal website.

How to Cite NIST Technical Series Publications

Please follow the suggested reference format for all NIST Technical Series Publications.