The ISSR is a registered nonprofit organization based in Finland. At the 2008 meeting in Gramado, Brazil, then-chair Terttu Katila proposed formally registering the symposium. Katila volunteered to draft the constitution and bylaws, which were subsequently accepted at a meeting held on July 31, 2010, in Lexington, Kentucky.
Terttu Katila, Christine Aurich, and Harald Sieme signed the founding document. Finnish authorities approved the ISSR constitution on May 23, 2012—the symposium’s official date of registration.