Key Takeaways
- The new ISO 24495-2 makes plain legal language the global benchmark, transforming clarity from a “nice-to-have” into a professional requirement.
- ISO 24495-2 goes beyond words: it requires contracts to be relevant, findable, understandable, and usable.
- Practical strategies, drawn from the redesign of Contract Nerds’ Terms of Use, show how to apply these principles today.
For too long, legalese has been the default because “that’s how it’s always been done.” But ISO 24495-2 shifts the ground beneath our feet. Clarity is now the global benchmark.
The ISO, or International Organization for Standardization, is an independent, non-governmental organization that develops and publishes international standards across every industry. Its standards are recognized globally, providing a common framework that organizations, regulators, and professionals can rely on.
Having an ISO standard for plain legal language, like ISO 24495-2, is a significant step forward because it gives contract and legal drafters a universally accepted framework for making legal documents clear and understandable.
Why the New ISO Standard Matters
Without a global standard, organizations and legal professionals are left to debate what ‘plain language’ really entails, how to reduce legalese without diluting the meaning of legal obligations, resulting in inconsistency and uncertainty. ISO 24495-2 addresses this problem by providing clear, research-backed guidelines for effective legal communication.
ISO 24495-2 (released in August of 2025) builds on the foundation established by ISO 24495-1 (released in June of 2023) to provide practical guidelines for clear and effective legal communication.
- ISO 24495-1 is an international standard that establishes the principles of plain language for all types of communication. It provides a foundation for making information clear, understandable, and usable for readers, regardless of their background.
- ISO 24495-2 applies these principles specifically to legal communication, where clarity is crucial for readers to understand their rights and obligations.
Applicable across sectors and adaptable to most languages, ISO 24495-2 draws on research and expert experience while accommodating differences in legal systems. Although primarily focused on written communication, its principles can also inform oral interactions, such as client consultations or explanations in court proceedings.
The Framework for Plain Legal Language: Clarity Without Compromise
Plain legal language is no longer just a best practice, it’s an international standard. ISO 24495-2 sets out four principles that every contract, document, policy, or legal communication at large must now meet:
- Relevant: Say what the reader actually needs.
- Findable: Structure information so it’s quick to locate.
- Understandable: Use clear, direct language, supported by explanations where needed.
- Usable: Craft documents so readers can act on them with confidence.
For contract and legal professionals, this is a historic moment. The ISO framework validates what both plain language and contract design experts have championed for years: clarity isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a strategic advantage.
And here’s the part many lawyers might miss: the standard also embeds legal design principles. It explicitly encourages meaningful headings, visuals where they clarify, and layered information for different readers. In other words, ISO makes design-led contracts the new benchmark of professional excellence.
Contract Nerds’ ISO-Compliant Terms of Use
At Legal Creatives, we’ve been applying these principles for years. So when we partnered with Contract Nerds to redesign their Terms of Use in October 2024, we deliberately built them with the ISO’s four pillars in mind. In fact, Terms of Use agreements present a significant opportunity for contract and legal design, enhancing user trust while ensuring legal protection.
Here’s what that looked like in practice.
Relevant: Putting Users First
Traditional terms of use read like a liability shield for the drafter. We flipped the script. Instead of opening with a page of definitions, we began with what users actually care about:
- What the Terms cover.
- What their rights and responsibilities are.
- What happens to their intellectual property.
We also included a visual journey map showing how users interact with Contract Nerds, making relevance both immediate and intuitive.
Understandable: Plain Language with Built-In Explanations
Plain language doesn’t mean dumbing down. It means reducing ambiguity without losing precision.
For legal clauses, we used a dual-layer approach:
- The original legal text for enforceability.
- A side-by-side plain language summary for clarity.
This way, lawyers get the precision they require, while non-lawyers get the understanding they need. The result? A contract that communicates across audiences.
Findable: Navigation That Works Like the Web
Anyone who’s tried to find a specific clause buried in boilerplate knows how frustrating traditional contracts can be. For Contract Nerds, we went beyond a simple table of contents.
- A fixed top menu lets readers jump instantly to major sections and an embedded menu inside the document acts as signposts, like an interactive table of contents.
- Role-based menus allow contributors, speakers, and readers to find their sections without scrolling through irrelevant content.
- A Legal Menu gathers the legal clauses so those who need them can find them fast.
This layered navigation mirrors how people use the web today, and it makes contracts far more usable.
Usable: Contracts as Practical Tools
Finally, we treated the Terms of Use like a digital product, not just a legal artifact.
- Visual hierarchy with short paragraphs, bullet points, and whitespace.
- Embedded links turned “Contact us” into an actionable button.
- Examples clarified how specific clauses applied in practice.
The outcome: users don’t just read the Terms, they can actually use them.
Lessons You Can Apply Right Now
You don’t have to redesign all your contracts overnight to align with ISO. Start small:
- Audit your documents: Can a non-lawyer find, understand, and use the key terms without help?
- Apply the four pillars: Ask yourself: Is this contractual information relevant, findable, understandable, and usable?
- Layer your information: Pair legal text with plain summaries and/or visuals.
- Design for navigation: Treat your contracts like digital products, not PDFs or Word documents.
Every improvement in clarity builds trust, reduces negotiation time, and creates real business value.
Investing in a Contract and Legal Design Certification prepares you and your team to meet these requirements confidently. You’ll not only learn how to draft ISO-compliant contracts, but also:
- Accelerate business deals by making documents clearer and easier to navigate.
- Reduce misunderstandings and disputes through plain language and visuals combined.
- Build trust by delivering contracts that are both legally binding and better for business.
- Develop repeatable processes for ongoing contract drafting, negotiation, and management.
- Enhance collaboration with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders.
Final Thought – ISO Didn’t Just Set a Standard: It Set a Direction
The release of ISO 24495-2 isn’t just a benchmark for legal writing; it’s a roadmap for the future of the profession. Lawyers and contract professionals who embrace these principles will lead the change, while those who cling to outdated practices risk falling behind.
As organizations embrace this approach, the age of fine print can finally give way to agreements that are not only legally sound but genuinely readable. The future of contracts is not buried in dense paragraphs, it’s written in language people can actually understand.
What was once dismissed as “soft skills” or “nice-to-have” is now enshrined in an international standard. And the message to lawyers everywhere is unmistakable: Clarity is no longer optional, it’s professional excellence.
The post The End of Fine Print: Lessons from ISO 24495-2 on Plain Legal Language appeared first on Contract Nerds.