ISO 17712

What is ISO?

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world’s largest developer of voluntary International Standards. A standard is a document that provides requirements, specifications, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose. ISO International Standards ensure that products and services are safe, reliable, and of good quality.
ISO standards for security seals
ISO 17712 is the standardised document that establishes “uniform procedures for the classification, acceptance, and withdrawal of mechanical freight container seals. It provides a single source of information on mechanical seals which are acceptable for securing freight containers in international commerce.”
ISO 17712 defines three types of classes of security seal strength, or barrier capacity: “I” for Indicative; “S” for Security; and “H” for High Security. C-TPAT requires the use of “H” class seals. Suppliers must use independent third party test laboratories to validate a security seal’s classification. The test laboratory must also be accredited according to ISO/IEC 17025 (General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories) to perform testing specific to ISO 17712.
If a High Security Seal is only presented to you with a clause 5 certificate or just a clause 6 certificate then it does not have the “H” classification, which means it is not a High Security Seal.