GPO's govinfo Becomes Only ISO 16363 Certified Trustworthy Digital Repository in the World

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has once again made history by becoming the only organization to maintain the highest global standard of excellence for digital repositories. GPO successfully completed its second yearly surveillance audit that is required to maintain its ISO 16363 Trustworthy Digital Repository certification for govinfo, the one-stop site for authentic information published by the Government. GPO achieved the certification by meeting official criteria for trustworthy digital repositories as defined by experts in the field.

"This certification of trustworthy digital repository status confirms to the American people and to the world what GPO already knows: govinfo is the one and only resource for authentic, trustworthy information published by the Government," said GPO Director Hugh Halpern. "I am proud of our team for working hard to earn and maintain this certification, which is a huge step towards fulfilling our mission Keeping America Informed."

GPO's govinfo was audited in two stages. As part of the audit, the GPO team provided presentations, responded to questions, and supplied documentation to serve as evidence of GPO's commitment to standards-based digital preservation best practices. Presentations included guided walkthroughs of govinfo internal processes and procedures, policy frameworks, and technology demonstrations.

ISO is the International Organization for Standardization and the world's largest developer of international standards used by Government, business and new information technology companies. The standard achieved by GPO outlines the expectations for digital repositories to be certified as "trustworthy," meaning that they are implementing digital preservation practices to ensure long-term preservation and access. Certification under ISO 16363 provides assurances to the public that govinfo is a a standards-compliant digital archive in which Government information will be preserved, accessible, and usable into the long-term future. The certification demonstrates that not only the documents, but also the organizational structures and systems around those documents, maintain integrity.

The Primary Trustworthy Digital Repository Authorization Body Ltd. first awarded certification to GPO under ISO16363:2012 in December 2018.

Learn more about digital preservation on govinfo.