ISO 30301, as a Management System for Records, serves as a guidance for organizations to develop policies and objectives regarding records. By using its defined responsibilities, systematic processes, evaluation, and improvement processes, it assists organizations in achieving these objectives.

It has a wide range of applicability, as it can be used by any organization that intends to establish, implement, maintain, and improve an MSR to support its business, assure itself of conformity with its stated records policy, and demonstrate conformity by taking a self-assessment or self-declaration, seeking confirmation of its self-declaration by a party to the organization, or seeking certification to its MSR.