Specification
3GPP TS 23.501: System architecture for the 5G System (5GS); Stage 2
At a glance
- Title
- System architecture for the 5G System (5GS); Stage 2
- Newest version
- V20.3.0 (Rel-20)
- Versions indexed
- 9
- Newest per release
- Rel-16: V16.20.0 (2024-06-26); Rel-17: V17.15.0 (2025-12-19); Rel-18: V18.12.0 (2025-12-19); Rel-19: V19.9.0 (2026-09-24); Rel-20: V20.3.0 (2026-09-24)
In plain words
TS 23.501 defines "the Stage 2 system architecture for the 5G System" for the 5G System (5GS). It covers roaming and non-roaming scenarios, interworking between 5GS and EPS, mobility within 5GS, QoS, policy control and charging, authentication, and 5G System wide features. V20.3.0 includes CRs on sensing function description and NEF service, and AIoT Aspect for AMF and NEF Services. Other CR subjects include User Plane Media Distribution, Energy related attribute to NF profile, and energy related UE policy decision.
Source: 3GPP TS 23.501 V20.3.0, clause 1. © 3GPP Organizational Partners (ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TSDSI, TTA, TTC). Official text: https://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/archive/23_series/23.501/23501-k30.zip
Newest version in each release
| Release | Newest version | In the archive | TSG meeting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rel-20 | V20.3.0 | 2026-09-24 | TSG SA #113 |
| Rel-19 | V19.9.0 | 2026-09-24 | TSG SA #113 |
| Rel-18 | V18.12.0 | 2025-12-19 | TSG SA #110 |
| Rel-17 | V17.15.0 | 2025-12-19 | TSG SA #110 |
| Rel-16 | V16.20.0 | 2024-06-26 | TSG SA #104 |
| Rel-15 | V15.13.0 | 2022-03-23 | TSG SA #95-e |
Source: 3GPP specification archive, versions indexed by 3GPP Scout. Each version links its official file.
Change requests in V20.3.0
V20.3.0 of TS 23.501 includes 9 CRs.
| CR | Category | Subject | Source | Working group meeting | TSG TDoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CR 6494 rev 4 | A | CN assigned subgroup handling update | Ericsson, Qualcomm Incorporated | SA2 #176 | SP-260744 |
| CR 6572 rev 2 | B | Adding the sensing function description and NEF service | ZTE | SA2 #176 | SP-260749 |
| CR 6604 rev 1 | A | Introduce AIoT Aspect for AMF and NEF Services | ZTE | SA2 #176 | SP-260741 |
| CR 6628 rev 2 | B | User Plane Media Distribution | China Mobile, Huawei, HiSilicon | SA2 #176 | SP-260751 |
| CR 6631 | B | Adding Energy related attribute to NF profile | ZTE | SA2 #176 | SP-260747 |
| CR 6633 rev 2 | F | Update on the energy related UE policy decision | Vivo, MediaTek Inc., China Telecom, CAICT, Lenovo | SA2 #176 | SP-260747 |
| CR 6634 | F | AIoT NF Profile Updates | Huawei, HiSilicon | SA2 #176 | SP-260746 |
| CR 6638 rev 2 | B | Correction of the Energy Consumption exposure. | Huawei, HiSilicon | SA2 #176 | SP-260747 |
| CR 6641 | A | AIML_CN SCP related alignment | Vivo | SA2 #176 | SP-260743 |
Source: 3GPP CR database.
Meetings behind the latest versions
Working group meetings that agreed the CRs in V20.3.0, V19.9.0:
- SA2 #176: 12 CRs
Plenary meetings:
- TSG SA #113 approved V20.3.0 (Rel-20)
- TSG SA #112 approved V20.2.0 (Rel-20)
- TSG SA #113 approved V19.9.0 (Rel-19)
Source: 3GPP CR database and specification archive, as indexed by 3GPP Scout.
Clauses changed in V20.3.0
17 clauses changed or added in V20.3.0. The 10 with the largest edits are listed. Each clause number opens Scout on that clause.
| Clause | Title | Change | CRs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.51.2.4 | Energy Consumption information exposure | changed | CR 6628, CR 6638 |
| 5.55 | User Plane Media Distribution | added | CR 6628 |
| 7.2.32 | SenF Services | added | CR 6572 |
| 5.4.12a.2 | Core Network Assistance for LP-WUSPS | changed | CR 6494, CR 6628 |
| 5.51.2.2.3 | Energy Consumption information collection from OAM | changed | CR 6628, CR 6638 |
| 6.2.6.2 | NF profile | changed | CR 6572, CR 6631, CR 6634 |
| 7.2.8 | NEF Services | changed | CR 6572, CR 6604 |
| 4.2.3 | Non-roaming reference architecture | changed | CR 6641 |
| 4.2.6 | Service-based interfaces | changed | CR 6641 |
| 4.2.7 | Reference points | changed | CR 6641 |
Source: 3GPP Scout comparison of this version with the one before it.
Sources
- 3GPP TS 23.501 V20.3.0, clause 1. © 3GPP Organizational Partners (ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TSDSI, TTA, TTC). Official text: https://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/archive/23_series/23.501/23501-k30.zip
- 3GPP CR database.
How this page was made
The facts box and the tables come straight from the 3GPP specification archive and CR database as indexed by 3GPP Scout. An AI model (GPT-6 Luna) wrote the paragraph and named the source of each sentence. Code checked every quote word for word against the stored source text and every number against the cited source. A second AI model from another company (Claude Opus 5.5) reviewed the paragraph against the same sources. The 3GPP documents themselves govern.