This American National Standard defines a method to determine a card application class for the intended card use. Once the service life application is determined, the standard defines test methods and requirements for the card application.

An identification (ID) card is defined as a card identifying its holder and issuer which may carry data required as input for the intended use of the card. Identification cards include, but are not limited to: fishing licenses, driver's licenses, access control cards, credit cards bankcards, student ID cards, government ID cards and military ID cards.

This standard is to be used by card end users, card issuers, card manufacturers, card component suppliers, and card personalization equipment manufacturers to make predictive comparisons of performance of ID cards. This standard should be useful for comparing the relative durability of newly issued cards and to predict service life. Failure to conform to specified criteria noted within this document shall be negotiated between the involved parties.