ISO 1996-2:2017 describes how sound pressure levels intended as a basis for assessing environmental noise limits or comparison of scenarios in spatial studies can be determined. Determination can be done by direct measurement and by extrapolation of measurement results by means of calculation. This document is primarily intended to be used outdoors but some guidance is given for indoor measurements as well. It is flexible and to a large extent, the user determines the measurement effort and, accordingly, the measurement uncertainty, which is determined and reported in each case. Thus, no limits for allowable maximum uncertainty are set up. Often, the measurement results are combined with calculations to correct for reference operating or propagation conditions different from those during the actual measurement. This document can be applied on all kinds of environmental noise sources, such as road and rail traffic noise, aircraft noise and industrial noise.