The data protocol used to exchange information in a radio-frequency identification (RFID) system for item management is specified in ISO/IEC 15961:2004 and in ISO/IEC 15962:2004. Both are required for a complete understanding of the data protocol in its entirety; but each focuses on one particular interface:

• ISO/IEC 15961:2004 addresses the interface with the application system.
• ISO/IEC 15962:2004 deals with the processing of data and its presentation to the RF tag, and the initial processing of data captured from the RF tag.

ISO/IEC 15962:2004 focuses on encoding the transfer syntax, as defined in ISO/IEC 15961:2004 according to the application commands defined in that International Standard. The encodation is in a Logical Memory as a software analogue of the physical memory of the RF tag being addressed by the interrogator.
ISO/IEC 15962:2004

• defines the encoded structure of object identifiers;
• specifies the data compaction rules that apply to the encoded data;
• specifies a Precursor for encoding syntax features efficiently;
• specifies formatting rules for the data, e.g. depending on whether a directory is used or not;
• defines how application commands, e.g. to lock data, are transferred to the Tag Driver;
• defines other communication to the application.