Can I just pick whichever records standard is easiest, since DoD 5015.2, ISO 15489, and ISO 16175 all basically do the same thing?

Short answer: no. These standards overlap in spirit, but they were written for different purposes and operate at different levels. Picking one because it looks “easiest” can leave you out of compliance with a requirement that actually applies to your organization, while solving a problem you don’t have.

They are not the same thing

Think of them as three different lenses on recordkeeping:

• ISO 15489 is a high-level management standard. It defines the principles and characteristics of an authoritative records program (authenticity, reliability, integrity, usability) and the processes to get there. It tells you what good records management looks like, not which buttons a system must have.
• ISO 16175 focuses on records in digital environments. It addresses functional requirements and good practice for managing digital records across business systems, not just dedicated recordkeeping applications.
• DoD 5015.2 is a system certification standard. It is a detailed, testable set of functional requirements originally created for U.S. Department of Defense records systems and widely referenced beyond it. It governs what a records management application must be able to do.

One is about your program, one is about digital records broadly, and one is about system functionality. They complement each other rather than substitute for one another.

How to choose correctly

The standard you follow should be driven by obligation and purpose, not convenience:

1. Start with what is mandatory. If a law, regulation, contract, or agency policy names a specific standard, that choice is already made. This is common in government and defense work.
2. Match the standard to the question. Designing or evaluating a system? Functional standards apply. Building or maturing a program? A management standard fits. Managing digital content in line-of-business systems? Look to the digital-records guidance.
3. Layer rather than pick. Mature programs often use a management standard as the framework and a functional standard to specify and test the technology underneath it.

Choosing for ease alone risks failing an audit, a discovery request, or an accreditation review. Choose based on your legal drivers, your records, and the decision in front of you.

Learn more at the compliance and standards hub.