CAN standardization

The CAN protocol specification is standardized by the International Organization of for Standardization (ISO) headquartered in Geneve (Switzerland). The ISO 11898 document is under review and will be published in different parts. Part 1 will define the CAN protocol, part 2 specifies the high-speed (non fault-tolerant) physical layer, and part 3 describes the low-speed fault-tolerant physical layer. Part 4 is under development specifies the time-triggered communication (TTCAN) protocol.

Besides these basic specifications, there are several international activities in official standardization bodies and non-profit trade associations regarding higher-layer protocols for CAN networks. Some of these specifications are very application-specific while others are more generic. In automotive applications, OSEK-COM and OSEK-NM are going to be standardized within ISO 17356. For truck/trailer communication ISO has developed the 11992 standard, which is based on the J1939 application profile. The SAE J1939-71 application profile defines the CAN-based in-vehicle communication in trucks and buses.

For embedded networking, CiA members have developed the CANopen profile family. The CANopen application layer and communication profile is submitted for European standardization as prEN 50325-4. DeviceNet, dedicated for factory and process automation, is already standardized as EN 50325-2 as well as the CAN-based Smart Distributed Systems (EN 50325-3).

More information for CiA members

Current information on officially released CAN basic standards, CAN automotive-specific standards, CAN general-purpose specific standards are available at: