Standard subscription service

The SFS standard subscription service is based on an annual fee, and it allows users to view standards in a browser by logging in to the service. In the subscription service, standards are accessible 24/7 and always up to date. Subscriptions are updated regularly to ensure that users always have access to the latest versions of their standards.

If you are already using the subscription service, you can log in to the service in the top right corner of the page.

Standard subscriptions tailored to your needs

Subscription agreements can be tailored to include electronically available publications by SFS, IEC and ISO as well as ASTM, ASME, SAE and IEEE. In addition to standards, other similar publications are also available, including technical reports, technical specifications and harmonization documents as well as certain SFS handbooks. You can choose the standards and other publications to be included in your subscription agreement based on subject or individually.

Publications available only in print and some additional products such as certain handbooks cannot be purchased using the subscription service.

If you already have a subscription agreement to which you wish to add products by a publisher not included in the agreement, please contact our customer service.

How does the subscription service work?

Subscriptions are valid for one year at a time and will continue automatically unless they are terminated separately in accordance with the contract terms. Publications by each publisher are included in the agreement as separate subscriptions detailing the publications covered and the right of use concerning them. Subscription holders can add individual standards and other publications to their existing subscriptions at any point during the subscription agreement period. For example, if an agreement already includes a subscription for SFS standards, new SFS standards can be added to the subscription in the SFS Store service. However, to add a subscription for a new publisher, subscription holders must contact SFS Customer Service.

Access to standards in terms of service levels

The different service levels indicate the level of access and right of use subscription holders have to the standards covered by their agreement. Service level is specified separately for each subscription and publisher.

Four service levels are available:

Service level	Description
Reader	Allows users to read standards in a browser. Includes the currently valid versions of standards covered by the subscription agreement.
Advanced	Allows users to read standards in a browser. In addition to currently valid versions, this service level also includes the withdrawn versions of standards. This service level is applied to ASTM standard subscriptions.
Pro	Allows users to read, download and print standards. Includes all versions of standards covered by the subscription agreement.
Enterprise	In addition to reading, downloading and printing, users may also use standard contents in their organisation’s own systems. You may use the contents of standards internally within your organization in accordance with the conditions of the written permission granted separately by SFS.

As some publishers have restricted the right of use to and delivery methods for their publications, some service levels may not be available for products by all publishers.

How much does the subscription service cost?

An annual fee is charged for the right of use to standards covered by the subscription service agreement. The annual fee is determined based on the total price of the standards covered, the number of individual users and the desired level of access and right of use, i.e. the selected service level.

A maintenance fee is always added to the subscription.

How can subscriptions be modified?

Individual standards may be added to an existing subscription at any time in SFS Store by the organisation’s administrator. Upon addition, a right of use fee is charged for the period of time between the addition and the collection of the next annual fee. The administrator can view both sums in the shopping cart before completing the purchase. The minimum subscription period is one full contract year.

In SFS Store, subscription holders may add new standards to existing subscriptions only. To add new publishers and subscriptions to an organisation’s subscription service agreement, subscription holders must contact SFS Customer Service. As some publishers reserve the right to price each subscription and addition separately, the self-service option is unfortunately not available for publications by all publishers.

If you wish to remove standards from a subscription, please contact your organisation’s Account Manager or SFS Customer Service before the commencement of the next subscription agreement period.

The selected service level can be changed upon the commencement of a new subscription agreement period. New quotes are provided for service level changes.

What are the available user roles?

User role	Description
Käyttäjä (Sub. Reader)	User, who may use the selected standards according to the service level chosen by the organisation. The user may not make one-off purchases or edit the contents of subscriptions.
Peruskäyttäjä (Sub. Reader & Shop User)	User with the same rights as Käyttäjä (Sub. Reader), who may also make one-off purchases for personal use.
Ostaja (Sub. addon & Shop User)	User with the same rights as Käyttäjä (Sub. Reader), who may also make one-off purchases and add publications to their organization's subscriptions
Pääkäyttäjä (Subscription Administrator)	Subscription Administrator has full access and purchase rights plus the right to manage the organisation’s users and subscription settings.

What does the Subscription Administrator do?

The administrator acts as a contact person between the organisation and SFS, receiving all messages and notifications concerning the service.

The administrator is responsible for ensuring that all users within the organisation have access to the standards they need. The administrator manages the subscription access rights and user roles for the organization's users. For example, the administrator can assign a certain subscription to certain users only. The administrator also determines whether the user can make one-off purchases in SFS Store., The administrator can also register new users and remove users from the organization's records.

The administrator has the right to edit the organization's subscriptions by adding publications to subscriptions in the service. In addition to administrators, users with the "Ostaja" (Sub. Addon & Shop User) role are also permitted to make similar additions.

There can be one or several administrators.

What is the HMTL view?

In the HTML view, the selected standard is displayed in a browser in the form of a web page. The HTML view allows users to create direct links to standard contents (sub-headers, figures and tables). For bilingual standards, the different language versions are displayed consecutively in the HTML view. Use the table of contents to quickly navigate within the document.

Standards not available in the HTML view will be displayed as PDF files that open in a browser window by default and can also be opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The previous subscription service, SFS Online, will continue to operate alongside the new SFS Store Subscription Service for a short transition period. Please note that SFS Online will be fully discontinued in early 2026.

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