| ID | Property | Obligation | Occ | Definition | Allowed values, constraints, remarks |
| 1 | Identifier | M | 1 | Unique string that identifies the instrument instance | |
| 1.1 | identifierType | M | 1 | Type of the identifier | [1] |
| 2 | SchemaVersion | M | 1 | Version number of the PIDINST schema used in this record | Fixed value [2] |
| 3 | LandingPage | M | 1 | A landing page that the identifier resolves to | URL |
| 4 | Name | M | 1 | Name by which the instrument instance is known | Free text |
| 5 | Owner | M | 1-n | Institution(s) responsible for the management of the instrument. This may include the legal owner, the operator, or an institute providing access to the instrument. | |
| 5.1 | ownerName | M | 1 | Full name of the owner | Free text |
| 5.2 | ownerContact | O | 0-1 | Contact address of the owner | Electronic mail address |
| 5.3 | ownerIdentifier | O | 0-1 | Identifier used to identify the owner | Free text, should be a globally unique identifier. |
| 5.3.1 | ownerIdentifierType | O | 1 | Type of the identifier | Free text |
| 6 | Manufacturer | M | 1-n | The instrument's manufacturer(s) or developer. This may also be the owner for custom build instruments | |
| 6.1 | manufacturerName | M | 1 | Full name of the manufacturer | Free text |
| 6.2 | manufacturerIdentifier | O | 0-1 | Identifier used to identify the manufacturer | Free text, should be a globally unique identifier. |
| 6.2.1 | manufacturerIdentifierType | O | 1 | Type of the identifier | Free text |
| 7 | Model | R | 0-1 | Name of the model or type of device as attributed by the manufacturer | |
| 7.1 | modelName | R | 1 | Full name of the model | Free text |
| 7.2 | modelIdentifier | O | 0-1 | Identifier used to identify the model | Free text, should be a globally unique identifier. |
| 7.2.1 | modelIdentifierType | O | 1 | Type of the identifier | Free text |
| 8 | Description | R | 0-1 | Technical description of the device and its capabilities | Free text |
| 9 | InstrumentType | R | 0-n | Classification of the type of the instrument | |
| 9.1 | instrumentTypeName | R | 1 | Full name of the instrument type | Free text |
| 9.2 | instrumentTypeIdentifier | O | 0-1 | Identifier used to identify the type of the instrument | Free text, should be a globally unique identifier |
| 9.2.1 | instrumentTypeIdentifierType | O | 1 | Type of the identifier | Free text |
| 10 | MeasuredVariable | R | 0-n | The variable(s) that this instrument measures or observes | Free text |
| 11 | Date | R | 0-n | Dates relevant to the instrument | ISO 8601 |
| 11.1 | dateType | R | 1 | The type of the date | Controlled list of values: Commissioned, DeCommissioned |
| 12 | RelatedIdentifier | R | 0-n | Identifiers of related resources | Free text, must be globally unique identifiers. |
| 12.1 | relatedIdentifierType | R | 1 | Type of the identifier | Controlled list of values: ARK, arXiv, bibcode, DOI, EAN13, EISSN, Handle, IGSN, ISBN, ISSN, ISTC, LISSN, PMID, PURL, RAiD, RRID, SWHID, UPC, URL, URN, w3id |
| 12.2 | relationType | R | 1 | Description of the relationship | Controlled list of values: IsDescribedBy, IsNewVersionOf, IsPreviousVersionOf, HasComponent, IsComponentOf, References, HasMetadata, WasUsedIn, IsIdenticalTo, IsAttachedTo |
| 12.3 | relatedIdentifierName | O | 0-1 | A name for the related resource, may be used to give a hint on the content of that resource | Free text |
| 13 | AlternateIdentifier | R | 0-n | Identifiers other than the PIDINST pertaining to the same instrument instance. This should be used if the instrument has a serial number. Other possible uses include an owner's inventory number or an entry in some instrument data base. | Free text, should be unique identifiers |
| 13.1 | alternateIdentifierType | R | 1 | Type of the identifier | Controlled list of values: SerialNumber, InventoryNumber, Other |
| 13.2 | alternateIdentifierName | O | 0-1 | A supplementary name for the identifier type. This is mostly useful if alternateIdentifierType is Other. | Free text |
| 14 | MeasurementTechnique | R | 0-n | The protocol that the instrument follows or the physical phenomenon it makes use of in order to make its observation | |
| 14.1 | measurementTechniqueName | R | 1 | Full name of the measurement technique | Free text |
| 14.2 | measurementTechniqueIdentifier | O | 0-1 | Identifier used to identify the mesurment technique | Free text, should be a globally unique identifier |
| 14.2.1 | measurementTechniqueIdentifierType | O | 1 | Type of the identifier | Free text |
| Value | Definition |
| Commissioned | The date when the instrument started to be in operation |
| DeCommissioned | The date when the instrument ceased to be in operation |
| Value | Definition |
| ARK | Archival Resource Key: a URI designed to support long-term access to information objects. |
| arXiv | arXiv identifier: arXiv.org is a repository of preprints of scientific papers in the fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy, computer science, quantitative biology, statistics, and quantitative finance. |
| bibcode | Astrophysics Data System bibliographic codes: a standardized 19-character identifier. |
| DOI | Digital Object Identifier: a character string used to uniquely identify an object. A DOI name is divided into two parts, a prefix and a suffix, separated by a slash. |
| EAN13 | European Article Number, now renamed International Article Number, but retaining the original acronym, is a 13-digit barcoding standard that is a superset of the original 12-digit Universal Product Code (UPC) system. |
| EISSN | Electronic International Standard Serial Number: ISSN used to identify periodicals in electronic form (eISSN or e-ISSN). |
| Handle | This refers specifically to an ID in the Handle system operated by the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI). |
| IGSN | A persistent unique identifier for physical samples and specimens. See https://www.igsn.org/ |
| ISBN | International Standard Book Number: a unique numeric book identifier. |
| ISSN | International Standard Serial Number: a unique 8-digit number used to identify a print or electronic periodical publication. |
| ISTC | International Standard Text Code: a unique number assigned to a textual work. An ISTC consists of 16 numbers and/or letters. |
| LISSN | The linking ISSN or ISSN-L enables collocation or linking among different media versions of a continuing resource. |
| PMID | PubMed identifier: a unique number assigned to each PubMed record. |
| PURL | Persistent Uniform Resource Locator. |
| RAiD | Research Activity Identifier, see https://www.raid.org.au/ |
| RRID | Research Resource Identifiers, see https://www.rrids.org/ |
| SWHID | SoftWare Hash IDentifiers are persistent, intrinsic identifiers for software source code artifacts such as source code files, source trees, commits, and other objects typically found in version control systems. |
| UPC | Universal Product Code is a barcode symbology used for tracking trade items in stores. |
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator, also known as web address. |
| URN | Uniform Resource Name: a unique and persistent identifier of an electronic document. |
| w3id | Permanent identifier for Web applications. Mostly used to publish vocabularies and ontologies. |
| Value | Definition |
| IsDescribedBy | The linked resource is a document describing the instrument. |
| IsNewVersionOf | If an instrument is substantially modified, a new PID may be attributed to the new version. In that case the old and the new PID should be linked to each other. IsNewVersionOf should be used in the new PID record to link the old instrument before the modification. |
| IsPreviousVersionOf | If an instrument is substantially modified, a new PID may be attributed to the new version. In that case the old and the new PID should be linked to each other. IsPreviousVersionOf should be used in the old PIDrecord to link the new instrument after the modification. |
| HasComponent | In the case of a complex instrument, having multiple components that may be considered as instruments in their own right, with their own PIDs, these PIDs should be linked. HasComponent should be used in the PID record of the compound instrument to link the components. |
| IsComponentOf | In the case of a complex instrument, having multiple components that may be considered as instruments in their own right, with their own PIDs, these PIDs should be linked. IsComponentOf should be used in the PID records of the components to link the compound instrument. |
| References | This may be used in the generic case, if no other more specific relation type applies. |
| HasMetadata | If there is additional metadata describing the instrument, possibly using a community specific metadata standard, that metadata record may be linked using HasMetadata. |
| WasUsedIn | If the instrument has been deployed in some research activity, such as a cruise of a research vessel, WasUsedIn may be used to link that activity. |
| IsIdenticalTo | If multiple PIDs have been attributed to a single instrument (which should preferably be avoided in the first place), these PID records should be linked to each other using IsIdenticalTo. |
| IsAttachedTo | If the instrument is permanently attached to another instrument, the PID records for both instruments should link to each other using IsAttachedTo. |
| Value | Definition |
| SerialNumber | A serial number attributed by the manufacturer |
| InventoryNumber | An inventory number used by the owner |
| Other | Any other kind of identifier |
| [1] | The type of the identifier depends on the provider being used to register the instrument PID. In the case of ePIC, the value of identifierType would be "Handle". |
| [2] | The value of SchemaVersion is defined to be equal to the version number for each release version of the schema. |