The term is especially associated with governments and intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations, although some non-governmental organizations (for example, the International Organization for Standardization) also refer to their administrative department as their secretariat.
Istilah ini terutama terkait dengan pemerintah dan organisasi antarpemerintah seperti PBB, meskipun beberapa lembaga swadaya masyarakat (misalnya Organisasi Internasional untuk Standardisasi) juga merujuk departemen administratif sebagai sekretariat.