Undoubtedly, the document (record) plays a significant role in the management sphere, in establishing social ties, delegating commercial powers, functions of interpretation, translation, etc. Traditionally, it is used as an instrument of social, managerial control in administration, as proof of legal relations or events. However, it is the object of study of document science – a discipline that comprehensively deals with the study of the document as a system object, specially created for storage and dissemination of information in space and time, a discipline that emerged during the 20-80 s of last century in the USSR in the process of theoretical understanding of practical problems that arose for the state in the field of record keeping and archiving. Subsequently, experts in computer science, historical sources, diplomacy, cybernetics, administration, law, etc. joined the discussions, which left its mark on the understanding of the term "document", each of which considers it as object of its knowledge. Today there are many views on the role and status of the document as a means of communication, which differ in different concepts, views on the structure of document science, its interdisciplinary nature, methodological advantages using attributive or functional-cybernetic approach to documented information resulting in uncertainty of the term "document", the ambiguity of its definitions in the works of scientists and in laws, standards and other regulations. This article is devoted to the question of the evolution of definitions of the term "document" in the publications of scientists, regulations of the Soviet period, various inconsistent interpretations of the term "document", its differences in laws and national standards, depending on the affiliation of their authors; to the need to revise certain standards, actively conduct terminological research, language expertise, unification of the terminological system

document, definition, term, national standard, information