It is vital to extend the service life of existing bridges as far as possible as a means for improved sustainability leading to reduced economic cost and resource consumption. This requirement is especially valid for bridges which are critical components of highly vulnerable infrastructure systems. Achieving this aim requires enhanced methods involving various actions and methods influencing different aspects of the assessment process. A framework is presented in this paper based on three common factors used to describe the assessment actions of existing bridges; (i) model sophistication, (ii) uncertainty consideration, and (iii) knowledge content. The framework elucidates the influence of different decisions on the assessment process and facilitates the planning of appropriate assessment actions. Furthermore, it provides a basic scheme for a risk-based decision analysis for determining suitable assessment actions or activities. A fatigue assessment of an existing bridge detail is used to demonstrate the application of the framework in practical cases.