NEW: In order to address the COVID-19 national crisis, many organizations are making their covid-related standards open access to help in the National Emergency.
Through the ANSI portal, Freely Available ISO Standards to Help Address COVID-19 Crisis, the following ISO standards are accessible in read-only format at no cost during the crisis; additional standards may be added in the near future. To access the portal, users must accept the license agreement and register. Once registered for the portal, users can return to the portal via https://asc.ansi.org.
ASTM International is providing no-cost public access to important ASTM standards used in the production and testing of personal protective equipment - including face masks, medical gowns, gloves, and hand sanitizers - to support manufacturers, test labs, health care professionals, and the general public as they respond to the global COVID-19 public health emergency. Requires you to register if you are a new user to our reading room and then you may access and download a PDF of the standards relevant to the global health pandemic. You will be asked to login at no cost to you.
AAMI Standards: To promote the ready and rapid accessibility of information relevant to the COVID-19 public health emergency, AAMI – a member and accredited standards developer of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) – is providing free access to several relevant standards and other documents used in health care settings.
The National Fire Protection Agency is offering free public access to codes and standards to help organizations address the COVID-19 pandemic.
What are standards?
A standard is "a recognized unit of comparison by which the correctness of others can be determined." Another definition is "a set of characteristics or qualities that describes features of a product, process, or service." (ANSI Course "Why Standards Matter")
Who produces them?
Scientific and Professional Organizations such as the ASTM, ASME, IEEE, trade organizations, and governments create and produce standards. Standards are produced nationally and internationally. In the United States, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) coordinates many standards producing organizations. ANSI is also the sole ANSI US representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
How do I identify which ones I need?
There are many search tools on the internet to assist you in locating standards in your area of study. Some of them are listed on the page "Finding Standards".