ISO 5667-3:2012 establishes general requirements for sampling, preservation, handling, transport and storage of all water samples including those for biological analyses. It is not applicable to water samples intended for microbiological analyses as specified in ISO 19458, ecotoxicological assays, biological assays, and passive sampling as specified in the scope of ISO 5667-23.

ISO 5667-3:2012 is particularly appropriate when spot or composite samples cannot be analysed on site and have to be transported to a laboratory for analysis.