U.S. federal, state and local government agencies rely on voluntary consensus standards as alternatives to specifications that had previously been developed only for government use. In cases where a needed standard does not exist, government employees cooperate with private-sector representatives on standards developing committees.

Usage may include any of the following methods:

• Adoption:
  An agency may adopt a voluntary standard without change by incorporating the standard in an agency's regulation or by listing (or referencing) the standard by title. For example, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) adopted the National Electrical Code by incorporating it into its regulations by reference.
• Strong Deference:
  An agency may grant strong deference to standards developed by a particular organization for a specific purpose. The agency will then use the standards in its regulatory program unless someone demonstrates to the agency why it should not.
• Basis for Rulemaking:
  This is the most common use of externally developed standards. The agency reviews a standard, makes appropriate changes, and then publishes the revision in the Federal Register as a proposed regulation. Comments received from the public during the rulemaking proceeding may result in changes to the proposed rule before it is instituted.
• Regulatory Guides
  An agency may permit adherence to a specific standard as an acceptable, though not compulsory, way of complying with a regulation.
• Guidelines:
  An agency may use standards as guidelines for complying with general requirements. The guidelines are advisory only; even if a firm complies with the applicable standards, the agency may conceivably still find that the general regulation has been violated.
• Deference in Lieu of Developing a Mandatory Standard:
  An agency may decide that it does not need to issue a mandatory regulation because voluntary compliance with either an existing standard or one developed for the purpose will suffice for meeting the needs of the agency.

This direction for private and public sector cooperation is documented in the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) (Public Law 104-113) and an accompanying guidance document, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-119, Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities

NTTAA Tenth Anniversary Commemorative booklet: published by the Standards Engineering Society

Each federal agency is also responsible for coordinating its conformity assessment activities with those of other appropriate government agencies and with those of the private sector. The policy guidance on federal conformity assessment activities was introduced to increase efficiency and productivity while eliminating unnecessary duplication.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Commerce Department's Technology Administration, coordinates federal implementation of the NTTAA.

Quick Links

• The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains all the rules published by the U.S. Federal Government. The CFR is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to regulation; each title is divided into chapters, which usually bear the name of the issuing agency; and each chapter is further subdivided into parts that cover specific regulatory areas. The CFR is updated once each calendar year.
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• Access U.S. public and private laws on GPO Access, the website of the Office of the Federal Register (OFR). This site contains the text of public and private laws enacted from the 104th Congress to the present.
  
  • The OFR also publishes the Federal Register, the U.S. government’s newspaper that provides access to the official text of Federal Laws, Presidential Documents, Administrative Regulations and Notices, as well as notice of draft rules and regulations that are available for comment.
• Regulations.gov is a U.S. government website that provides users with a search, view and comment opportunity for regulations from each of the Federal agencies.
  
• Standards.gov contains background materials, useful links, and search tools for locating more information about the use of standards in government. The website can also be used to search a database of Standards Incorporated by Reference (SIBR) in U.S. regulations and for standards used for U.S. government procurement.
  
• Learn more about how laws are made in the United States