This document establishes governing principles and guidelines for developing plain language documents. The guidelines detail how the principles are interpreted and applied.

This document is for anybody who creates or helps create documents. The widest use of plain language is for documents that are intended for the general public. However, it is also applicable, for example, to technical writing, legislative drafting or using controlled languages.

This document applies to most, if not all, written languages, but it provides examples only in English.

While this document covers the essential elements of plain language, it has some intentional limits, as follows:
— It does not cover all types of communication. It applies only to printed or digital information that is primarily in the form of text.
NOTE 1 However, creators of other types of communications, such as podcasts and videos, can find this document useful.
— It does not include existing technical guidance about accessibility and digital documents, although the guidance can apply to both.
NOTE 2 For guidance on accessibility, authors of digital documents can consider the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines^[4] and EN 301 549.^[2]