4.1. Standards conformance

Source packages should specify the most recent version number of this policy document with which your package complied when it was last updated.

The version is specified in the Standards-Version control field. The format of the Standards-Version field is described in Standards-Version.

For a package to have an old Standards-Version value is not itself a bug, however. It just means that no-one has yet reviewed the package with changes to the standards in mind.

When updating existing packaging, the Standards-Version must not be updated except after reviewing the changes between the old and the new versions of the standards and updating your package if necessary (the Upgrading checklist can help with this task).

A very old Standards-Version can mean that infelicities in the package are likely. It is recommended that each package be reviewed at least once per Debian release, so a Standards-Version older than the previous Debian release is indicative of work (if only review work) that needs doing.