Issuers are responsible for the registration of ‘Registrants’ (production device owners or entities acting on production device owners’ behalf) and their respective production devices in a country or region. Without Issuer authorization for a specific country or region, it is not possible to issue I-REC(E) or I-TRACK certificates for production devices in that country or region. In addition, Issuers are responsible for the issuance of I-REC or I-TRACK certificates, which includes the verification of data.

For each Product Code, in each country, the International Tracking Standard Foundation (I-TRACK Foundation) Board must authorize or promote an Issuer to implement the rules established in the Product Code that are adherent to the International Attribute Tracking Standard (Standard).

It is our preference for a local Issuer to be appointed, as a well-informed stakeholder in the country or region as they can stay up to date with legislation and ensure the reliability of the implementation of the Standard. However, the role of the Issuer can be fulfilled by a variety of entities such as for-profit organizations, non-profit organizations, or governmental bodies. But most importantly, Issuers must be able to act independently of the market, which means that they cannot be involved in the production of the underlying I-REC(E) or I-TRACK certificate nor the trade of I-REC(E) or I-TRACK certificates.