Overview
ISO 19160-3:2020 - "Addressing - Part 3: Address data quality" is an international standard that defines a framework for describing, measuring and reporting the quality of address data. Acting as a profile of ISO 19157 (Geographic information - Data quality), the document establishes a set of data quality elements and measures specific to address datasets, specifies procedures for reporting quality, and provides guidelines for applying those measures. It does not prescribe minimum acceptable quality thresholds.
Keywords: ISO 19160-3, address data quality, ISO 19157, address standard, geospatial data quality
Key technical topics and requirements
- Profile of ISO 19157: Tailors general geographic data quality concepts to the unique characteristics of addresses.
- Data quality elements: Defines the elements used to describe address quality (for example completeness, logical consistency, positional accuracy, temporal quality, thematic accuracy, usability).
- Measurement methods: Describes ways to measure and quantify each data quality element and distinguishes sub-elements (e.g., commission vs omission under completeness; absolute vs relative positional accuracy).
- Evaluation and reporting procedures: Outlines evaluation processes, metaquality considerations, and standardized reporting practices so quality can be communicated consistently between producers and consumers.
- Conformance and terminology: Includes terms, definitions and conformance statements to ensure consistent interpretation across projects and organizations.
- Annexes: Contains normative abstract test suites and informative annexes with measurement methods and worked examples for evaluating and reporting address data quality.
Practical applications
ISO 19160-3 provides a practical, interoperable approach to assess and communicate the fitness-for-use of address data across contexts:
- Improving master address repositories and authoritative address databases
- Standardizing quality reporting for address data aggregation (local → regional → national)
- Supporting decision-making in postal services, emergency response, logistics, utilities, land administration, and location-based services
- Enabling data exchange and interoperability between organizations and systems through consistent quality metadata
Keywords: address quality reporting, address data evaluation, master address database, address aggregation
Who should use this standard
- Address data managers and custodians establishing quality management practices
- Address data aggregators consolidating datasets from multiple sources
- Address data users (public agencies, postal operators, emergency services, mapping and GIS teams) who need to evaluate or document address dataset fitness-for-use
- GIS/data quality professionals implementing ISO-aligned quality assessment and metadata workflows
Related standards
- ISO 19157:2013 - Geographic information - Data quality
- ISO 19160-1:2015 - Addressing - Part 1: Conceptual model
- ISO 19115-1 / 19115-2 - Geographic information - Metadata (fundamentals and acquisition/processing extensions)
Using ISO 19160-3 helps organizations measure, compare and communicate address data quality consistently, improving interoperability and supporting reliable location-based operations.
