AGeoP-25
AGeoP-25 place name spelling on maps and charts
The agency producing a map, chart or digital geographic information product for NATO Armed Forces use, deciding how place names on it are sourced and spelt
AGeoP-25 is NATO's Allied Geographic Publication for spelling place names in Roman script on maps, charts and digital geographic information produced for NATO Armed Forces use, covered by STANAG 3689.
- Edition
- A
- Published
- 2019-10
What it is
AGeoP-25 is the NATO Allied Geographic Publication that sets the rules for spelling place names on maps, charts and in digital geographic information (DGI) produced for use by the NATO Armed Forces. Nations record their agreement to use it in STANAG 3689; AGeoP-25 itself supplies the technical rule, published by the NATO Standardization Office. The current edition is Edition A Version 1, promulgated October 2019; the document names no earlier edition it supersedes.
The core rule: Roman script, from an official source
"The Roman script will be used for writing place names on all maps, charts and in DGI produced for use by the NATO Armed Forces." So far as they are available, those names are the ones officially used by the area's own supreme administering authority, or derived from them by an approved Romanization system, with modified letters and diacritical marks retained. The approved Romanization systems themselves are not listed in AGeoP-25: they sit in a separate Standards Related Document, "Transliteration of Maps, Charts and Digital Geographic Information".
Where a producing agency has discretion
Three exceptions sit alongside the core rule, and all three are left to the map or chart producing agency's own judgement. Country, protectorate, dependency and international-feature names may be shown in their conventional English or other-language form instead - the document's own example is "Danube rather than Donau, Dunaj, Duna or Dunav". Additional Roman-script names not otherwise authorised for primary use "may be added at the discretion of the map or chart producing agency to aid in the identification of entities", shown in parentheses or brackets, after or under the primary name, at a smaller size. And where circumstances require it, an area's non-Roman script form may also be shown alongside the Roman-script form. Where a designated Romanization system, or the necessary non-Roman script, is not yet practicable for every name needed, "alternative sources and procedures may be followed for the time being" - a temporary allowance, not a standing option.
The names disclaimer
Where applicable, AGeoP-25 expects a note in the lower margin of a map or chart, and in DGI, worded along these lines: "The names shown on this product should not to be taken as necessarily representing an official view on boundaries, political status or place-names." STANAG 3676 carries the disclaimer wording for maps and charts, and STANAG 2586, the NATO Geospatial Metadata Profile, carries it for DGI.
What it does not cover
AGeoP-25 names no certification body, notified body or audit scheme, and describes no organisation being assessed against it. It is silent on retention, on how a dispute over a specific name is resolved, and on who checks a finished product against the rule; that is left to whichever national or contractual process produced the map, chart or DGI in question. A recorded national reservation from France shows that a nation's own preference can sit ahead of the general rule in specific cases: its reservation applies its own national Romanization systems first, then UN recommendations, and STANAG 3689 only otherwise.
How we help
AGeoP-25 is an operational, technical standard: the work of sourcing the right place name, applying the correct Romanization system, and adding a disclaimer note happens in the cartographic production process itself, not in software. ComplyTrain does not produce maps, charts or DGI, and it does not apply a Romanization system on your behalf. What it supports is the paperwork around that work: a documented procedure for how an agency sources and spells place names, training records for the people who apply it, and the audit trail, a signed-off procedure, a training log, a corrective action when a product goes out against the wrong convention, that a customer or a national review would ask to see.
Which naming convention a given tender or contract actually calls for, and what else STANAG 3689 brings with it, is set by the contract and the customer's quality clause, not by this page. See the standards explorer for what sits alongside AGeoP-25, and talk to us about the evidence trail behind it.
Standards it references
- STANAG 3676Background
- STANAG 2586Background
Questions
Is AGeoP-25 mandatory?
Not by itself. Nations record their agreement to use it in STANAG 3689, and a nation can ratify with reservations, as France's recorded reservation on Romanization systems shows. Whether a given map, chart or DGI product has to follow AGeoP-25 comes down to what the relevant contract, tender or national mapping procedure requires.
What is the difference between AGeoP-25 and STANAG 3689?
STANAG 3689 is the agreement: the record of NATO nations agreeing to use the place name spelling rules. AGeoP-25 is the Allied Geographic Publication that actually contains those rules.
Where do the approved Romanization systems come from?
Not from AGeoP-25 itself. It points to a separate Standards Related Document, "Transliteration of Maps, Charts and Digital Geographic Information", for the Romanization systems approved for NATO use.
Can ComplyTrain get us AGeoP-25 certified?
No such certification exists. AGeoP-25 names no certification body, notified body or accredited scheme; it sets a spelling and formatting rule, not something a body audits or certifies against.
Where can I get a copy of AGeoP-25?
From the NATO Standardization Document Database, which lists it free of charge. NATO's documents are not sold by ComplyTrain and we do not host copies of them.