This International Standard provides a simple procedure for identifying, estimating and correcting for unintended degradation in the elemental composition or chemical state of a material which occurs as a result of X-radiation during the time that a specimen material is exposed to the X-rays used in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). This International Standard does not address comparisons between different types of material nor does it address the mechanisms, depth, or chemical nature of the degradation that occurs. The correction procedure proposed is only valid if the changes are caused by the X-rays and result in less than a 30 % reduction or increase in intensity of a chosen photoelectron peak from the sample material.