ISO/IEC TR15446:2009 provides guidance relating to the construction of Protection Profiles (PPs) and Security Targets (STs) that are intended to be compliant with the third edition of ISO/IEC 15408. It is also applicable to PPs and STs compliant with Common Criteria Version 3.1, a technically identical standard published by the Common Criteria Management Board, a consortium of governmental organizations involved in IT security evaluation and certification.

ISO/IEC TR15446:2009 is not intended as an introduction to evaluation using ISO/IEC 15408. Readers who seek such an introduction should consult ISO/IEC 15408-1.

ISO/IEC TR15446:2009 does not deal with associated tasks beyond PP and ST specifications such as PP registration and the handling of protected intellectual property.