‘Professional Standards for Historians’ (pdf download) is the code of ethics drawn up by the KNHG, modelled on the American Historical Association’s Standards of Professional Conduct.
This code of ethics is intended to support teaching, to stimulate discussion on the fundamental principles of the profession, to serve as a long-term strategy to combat misconduct, and to help demonstrate the professionalism of historians to the wider world, including prosecutors and judges. The Professional Standards for Historians are not intended to stifle the profession of history or to impose sanctions.
The KNHG regularly reviews the existing document to assess whether the standards need to be revised.
New version 2026
During the winter and spring of 2026, a working group of historians examined the topics of ‘truth-finding’ and ‘artificial intelligence’ and incorporated these topics into the Professional Standards for Historians.
Previous versions
Previous versions of this code were published in 2023 and 2025.