The CIDOC CRM emerged from the CIDOC Documentation Standards Group<ref>[{{cite web |title=The CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model – Who we are |url=http://cidoc.icomics.museumforth.gr/content/archive/cidoc_site_2006_12_31/wgdoc1who_we_are.html CIDOC|website=cidoc.ics.forth.gr Documentation|publisher=[[International StandardsCouncil Groupof Museums]]{{Deadlink|date=October 2019(ICOM) |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fixaccess-attempteddate=yes18 July 2025}}</ref> in the International Committee for Documentation of the [[International Council of Museums]]. Initially, until 1994, the work focused on developing an [[entity-relationship model]] for museum information, however, in 1996, the approach shifted to [[Object-Oriented Modeling|object-oriented modeling]] methodologies, resulting in the first ''"CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CRM)"'' in 1999. The process of standardizing the CIDOC CRM began in 2000 and was completed in 2006 with its acceptance as the ISO 21127 standard. The standard was updated and a revised edition was published in 2023.
