ISO 14230-2:2016 specifies data link layer services tailored to meet the requirements of UART-based vehicle communication systems on K-Line as specified in ISO 14230-1. It has been defined in accordance with the diagnostic services established in ISO 14229-1 and ISO 15031-5, but is not limited to use with them and is also compatible with most other communication needs for in-vehicle networks. The protocol specifies an unconfirmed communication.

The diagnostic communication over K-Line (DoK-Line) protocol supports the standardized service primitive interface as specified in ISO 14229-2.

ISO 14230-2:2016 provides the data link layer services to support different application layer implementations like the following:

- enhanced vehicle diagnostics (emissions-related system diagnostics beyond legislated functionality, non-emissions-related system diagnostics);

- emissions-related OBD as specified in ISO 15031, SAE J1979-DA and SAE J2012-DA;

- in addition, ISO 14230-2:2016 clarifies the differences in initialization for K-line protocols defined in ISO 9141 and ISO 14230. This is important since a server supports only one of the protocols mentioned above and the client has to handle the coexistence of all protocols during the protocol determination procedure.