ISO 1891:2009 provides translation guidance for terms commonly used to describe fasteners. ISO 1891:2009 lays down the terminology of fasteners in English, French and Russian, recommended for use unless otherwise specified in the appropriate product standard.

At present, not all of the fasteners listed are covered by ISO documents. For the main part, the items have been selected from existing national standards. Also included are obsolescent types (those being used up from stock) in order that their terminology may be standardized at the same time.

The drawings are essentially diagrammatic, in particular those showing bolts and screws having special characteristics.

In addition to terms used in the three official ISO languages (English, French and Russian), ISO 1891:2009 gives the equivalent terms in Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and Swedish; these are published under the responsibility of the member bodies for China (SAC), Germany (DIN), Italy (UNI), Japan (JISC), Spain (AENOR), and Sweden (SIS), respectively, and are given for information only. Only the terms given in the official languages can be considered as ISO terms.