ISNI-IAISNI (International Standard Name Identifier) is an ISO standard (ISO 27729) that provides a globally unique 16-digit identifier for the public identities of contributors to media content. Designed to solve the persistent problem of name disambiguation across libraries, publishing, music, broadcasting, and other media industries, ISNI links together the many different identifiers and name forms that a single creator may have across databases worldwide.
Background
ISNI was developed under the auspices of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and published as ISO 27729 on March 15, 2012. The standard was created in response to the long-standing challenge of reliably identifying persons and organizations across the fragmented landscape of media databases, library catalogs, and rights management systems. The ISO technical committee TC 46/SC 9 was responsible for its development. A consortium of major stakeholders -- including CISAC, CENL, IFRRO, IPDA, OCLC, and ProQuest -- founded the ISNI International Agency (ISNI-IA) as a UK-registered not-for-profit company to manage the system.
Purpose & Scope
ISNI assigns a unique 16-digit identifier to each public identity of a contributor to media content. Key design features include:
- One identity per ISNI -- if an author publishes under multiple names or pseudonyms, each receives its own ISNI
- Cross-domain -- covers books, music, television, film, journalism, and other media
- Organizations included -- ISNI identifies both individuals and organizational entities
- Linking function -- ISNI serves as a bridge identifier, connecting records across private and public identification systems
The identifier format consists of 15 decimal digits plus a check character (digit or "X"), calculated using the ISO/IEC 7064 MOD 11-2 algorithm.
Identifier Format
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Digits 1-15 | Assigned numeric identifier |
| Digit 16 | Check character (0-9 or X) |
| Display format | Four groups of four: 0000 0001 2146 438X |
| URL format | https://isni.org/isni/000000012146438X |
Coverage
As of October 2025, ISNI covers over 16.4 million identities, including approximately 14.3 million individuals and more than 2 million organizations. The database includes about 3 million researcher identities.
Governance & Maintenance
ISNI is governed by the ISNI International Agency, managed by directors nominated from its founding consortium members. The assignment system is built primarily on the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) service operated by OCLC. Access to the system is mediated through independent Registration Agencies, which interface between applicants and the central assignment system. Notable Registration Agencies include the Bibliotheque nationale de France, the British Library, the National Library of Korea, YouTube (since 2018), and WIPO (since 2024). The ISO standard was revised in 2024 as ISO 27729:2024.
Notable Implementations
- OCLC/VIAF -- the Virtual International Authority File serves as the technical backbone for ISNI assignment
- YouTube -- became an ISNI Registration Agency in 2018, creating ISNIs for musicians
- WIPO -- joined as a Registration Agency in 2024, extending ISNI to creators worldwide through its network of Collective Management Organizations
- National libraries -- numerous national libraries serve as Registration Agencies and incorporate ISNI into their authority files
- Sound Credit -- offers free, automated ISNI registration for music industry professionals
Relationship with ORCID
ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) identifiers consist of a reserved block of ISNI identifiers specifically for scholarly researchers. ORCID is administered by a separate organization but coordinates with ISNI-IA to ensure interoperability and avoid duplicate assignments.
Related Standards
ISNI is closely related to VIAF (Virtual International Authority File) for authority control, and to ORCID for researcher identification. It sits alongside other ISO identifier standards including ISBN (books), ISSN (serials), ISRC (recordings), ISMN (music), and DOI (digital objects).