How to Request an Interpretation

A request for interpretation may be either "official" or "unofficial" (personal). An official interpretation is defined as a written explanation of the meaning of a specific provision of a standard or guideline, as determined by an existing cognizant Project Committee (PC) or an Interpretation Committee (IC), in response to a written request. An unofficial or personal interpretation is a written explanation of the meaning of a specific provision of a standard or guideline, as determined by the Manager of Technical Services, the past or current Chair of the cognizant PC, or the Manager of Standards (MOS), in response to a written request.

ASHRAE will not normally respond to a follow-up request for official interpretation to confirm a previous unofficial interpretation. No provision is included for responding to requests for interpretation of superceded standards or guidelines. A typical response time for an unofficial interpretation is 30 days, while the official interpretation might require 6-12 months for response.

The requester shall decide whether to request an "official" or "unofficial" interpretation. Requests for official interpretation must meet the requirements of D3.1-D3.4 of the Standards Committee Manual of Procedures (MOP). MOP D3 contains the procedures for processing interpretation requests. See below for a current copy of MOP D3. If an official interpretation is requested, the requester should complete and submit the Form for Requesting an "Official" Interpretation to a Standard or Guideline included below.

The official interpretations available on the ASHRAE Standards website at
Interpretations
will provide the requester with the general format.

An interpretation shall not be used to change the content of a standard or guideline. Letters that are in fact not requests for interpretation but rather proposals for changes to published standards or guidelines will be referred to the cognizant PC if one exists.

Procedures for Requesting an Interpretation (MOP-Appendix D3) - (July 2005) (PDF)

Form for Requesting an "Official" Interpretation to a Standard or Guideline (Word Document)

Interpretation requests for the currently published edition of a standard or guideline shall be submitted to the MOS.

Manager of Standards
ASHRAE
1791 Tullie Circle, NE
Atlanta, GA 30329-2305
E-mail: standards.section@ashrae.org
Fax: 404-321-5478