RFC 2026: The Internet Standards Process -- Revision 3
In plain English — editorial summary, not part of the RFC
This memo documents the process used by the Internet community for the standardization of protocols and procedures. It defines the stages in the standardization process, the requirements for moving a document between stages and the types of documents used during this process. This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements.
Document record
- Document ID
- RFC2026
- Published
- October 1996
- Authors
- S. Bradner
- Status
- BEST CURRENT PRACTICE
- Stream
- IETF
- Area
- gen
- Pages
- 36
- Also known as
- BCP9
Topics
Standards lineage
This document is one revision in a chain of 4 RFCs, each formally replacing the one before it.
- RFC 1310 (1992)
- RFC 1602 (1994)
- RFC 1871 (1995)
- RFC 2026 (1996)
Read the full history of The Internet Standards Process -- Revision 3 →
Referenced by
15 later RFCs formally update or obsolete part of this document.
- RFC 3667IETF Rights in ContributionsObsoleted
February 2004
- RFC 3668Intellectual Property Rights in IETF TechnologyObsoleted
February 2004
- RFC 3932The IESG and RFC Editor Documents: ProceduresObsoleted
October 2004
- RFC 3978IETF Rights in ContributionsObsoleted
March 2005
- RFC 3979Intellectual Property Rights in IETF TechnologyObsoleted
March 2005
- RFC 5378Rights Contributors Provide to the IETF TrustCurrent
November 2008
- RFC 5657Guidance on Interoperation and Implementation Reports for Advancement to Draft StandardCurrent
September 2009
- RFC 5742IESG Procedures for Handling of Independent and IRTF Stream SubmissionsCurrent
December 2009
- RFC 6410Reducing the Standards Track to Two Maturity LevelsCurrent
October 2011
- RFC 7100Retirement of the "Internet Official Protocol Standards" Summary DocumentCurrent
December 2013
- RFC 7127Characterization of Proposed StandardsCurrent
January 2014
- RFC 7475Increasing the Number of Area Directors in an IETF AreaCurrent
March 2015
- RFC 8179Intellectual Property Rights in IETF TechnologyCurrent
May 2017
- RFC 8789IETF Stream Documents Require IETF Rough ConsensusCurrent
June 2020
- RFC 9282Responsibility Change for the RFC SeriesCurrent
June 2022
Related documents
Ranked automatically by shared keywords, IETF area and stream — not by editorial selection.
- RFC 2450Proposed TLA and NLA Assignment RuleCurrent
December 1998
- RFC 9880Semantic Definition Format (SDF) for Data and Interactions of ThingsCurrent
January 2026
- RFC 2027IAB and IESG Selection, Confirmation, and Recall Process: Operation of the Nominating and Recall CommitteesObsoleted
October 1996
- RFC 2028The Organizations Involved in the IETF Standards ProcessObsoleted
October 1996
- RFC 2031IETF-ISOC relationshipObsoleted
October 1996
- RFC 2282IAB and IESG Selection, Confirmation, and Recall Process: Operation of the Nominating and Recall CommitteesObsoleted
February 1998
- RFC 2316Report of the IAB Security Architecture WorkshopCurrent
April 1998
- RFC 2418IETF Working Group Guidelines and ProceduresUpdated
September 1998
Also filed under
About this page
The document record above — title, authors, date, status, stream, area, relationships, DOI and errata — is imported verbatim from the public RFC Editor index. The “in plain English” section is editorial: written by The metasystema editorial team, not part of the RFC. Where the two differ, the RFC text governs.
Last checked against the RFC Editor index on . RFCs are never revised after publication; changes are issued as new documents.
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