ISO 12917-1 specifies manual methods for the calibration of nominally horizontal cylindrical tanks, installed at a fixed location. It is applicable to horizontal tanks up to 4 m in diameter and 30 m in length.

The methods are applicable to insulated and non-insulated tanks, either when they are above-ground or underground. The methods are applicable to pressurized tanks, and to both knuckle-dish-end and flat-end cylindrical tanks as well as elliptical and spherical head tanks.

ISO 12917-1 is applicable to tanks inclined by up to 10 % from the horizontal, provided a correction is applied for the measured tilt