ISO/IEC 38507 Governance of AI

Jurisdiction:

OECD

voluntary

Effective:

Apr 8, 2022

Authority:

International Organization for Standardization

Official text Verified Mar 26, 2026

Obligations Covered

Human Oversight

Provisions (1)

Board-Level AI Governance #

Obligation:

Human Oversight

enforcing

Effective:

Apr 1, 2022

Risk tier:

all

Scope:

deployers

cross-domain

ISO/IEC 38507 is the only international standard specifically addressed to governing bodies (boards, executives) rather than technical teams — directing boards to evaluate, direct, and monitor AI use. As regulators increasingly hold organisations accountable at the board level for AI governance, this standard defines what board-level AI oversight looks like.

Requirements

Requirement	Details
Governing body responsibility	Boards and governing bodies must evaluate, direct, and monitor the organisation's use of AI
Effective use	Ensure AI is used effectively to fulfil organisational objectives
Efficient use	Ensure AI use delivers value proportionate to resources and risks
Acceptable use	Ensure AI use complies with applicable laws, regulations, and ethical expectations
AI governance framework	Establish governance structures for oversight of AI across the organisation
Accountability assignment	Assign clear accountability for AI-related decisions and outcomes at executive level

Penalties

Violation	Fine
Non-compliance	Voluntary — no binding enforcement mechanism