itut-recommendations

name

itut-recommendations

description

ITU-T Recommendation structure, approval processes, amendment/corrigendum procedures, and ITU-T | ISO/IEC common text conventions. Use when the agent needs to understand how ITU-T Recommendations are structured (clause order, element types, annex conventions), approved (TAP/AAP), amended, or how joint ITU-T/ISO/IEC texts work. Sources: Rec. ITU-T A.1 (09/2019) + Rules for presentation of ITU-T | ISO/IEC common text (2014).

ITU-T Recommendations -- structure & approval

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)

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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-text style with a manually set tab stop at 1.5 cm (851 twips) — this tab stop is not part of the default Normal style 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

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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 word Bibliography — no number prefix.
• Page break: There must be a page break immediately before the Bibliography heading. Apply it as pageBreakBefore: true on 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.

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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.

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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")

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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)"

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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

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References

• references/rules-recommendation-structure.md -- detailed extract from Rules for presentation

Cross-references

• itut-basics -- ITU-T organization, roles, meeting procedures
• itut-contributions -- contribution submission and TDocs
• itut-drafting -- ITU-T contribution .docx template and formatting
• itut-patents -- patent policy, IPR disclosure, licensing declarations
• sdo-docx-formatting -- formatting rules (delegated)