ISO/IEC 14443-3:2011 describes:

• polling for proximity cards or objects (PICCs) entering the field of a proximity coupling device (PCD);


• the byte format, the frames and timing used during the initial phase of communication between PCDs and PICCs;


• the initial Request and Answer to Request command content;


• methods to detect and communicate with one PICC among several PICCs (anticollision);


• other parameters required to initialize communications between a PICC and PCD;


• optional means to ease and speed up the selection of one PICC among several PICCs based on application criteria.

Protocol and commands used by higher layers and by applications and which are used after the initial phase are described in ISO/IEC 14443-4.

ISO/IEC 14443-3:2011 is applicable to PICCs of Type A and of Type B (as described in ISO/IEC 14443-2).