ISO 20340:2009 deals with performance requirements for protective paint systems for offshore and related structures (i.e. those exposed to the offshore environment, as well as those immersed in sea or brackish water). It can also be used for other structures, provided that the paints or protective paint systems selected comply with ISO 20340.

ISO 20340 includes:

• the test methods to be used to determine the composition of the separate components of the protective paint system;
• the laboratory performance test methods for the assessment of the likely durability of the protective paint system;
• the criteria to be used to evaluate the results of performance tests.