As an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited Standards Development Organization, APCO International is dedicated to ensuring public safety communications has a role in the development of standards that affect our industry. APCO’s standards development activities have a broad scope, ranging from the actual development of standards to the representation of public safety communications in other standards development areas.

As an ANSI-accredited Standards Development Organization (SDO), APCO International is required to adhere to ANSI’s Essential Requirements for due process and has developed policies accordingly for the development and coordination of American National Standards (ANS). These procedures provide a mechanism for announcements of standards development activities, ensuring that qualified organizations develop them, harmonization if duplicate or conflicting standards exist, and that the approval of standards is coordinated. ANSI further ensures that access to the standards process – including an appeals mechanism – has been made available to anyone directly or materially affected by the activity under development and requires periodic reviews to ensure the standard is a “living” document. Adherence to these guidelines ensures APCO’s standards development process provides due process, balance, and lack of dominance, as well as provides opportunities to address all interests and work together toward a common solution.

APCO ANSI-approved American National Standards.

APCO Standards Activity In Progress.

APCO Standards Development Committee.

Long before APCO International received ANSI accreditation as a SDO, the association strove to ensure that standards and effective practices were developed to address the needs of our members and the public safety communications industry at large. Led primarily in these activities by the APCO Call Center Standards Committee, in the development of these standards, APCO has produced some of the industry’s most recognized and respected standards and effective practices. These Membership Standards include:

Training Standards

• Minimum Training Standards for Public Safety Communications First-Level Supervisor
• Revised Minimum Training Standards for Telecommunicators (Project 33)
• APCO ADA Training Standards for Telecommunicators

• APCO Recommended Best Practices Telematics Call Processing

• Computer Aided Dispatch to Records Management Data Transfer
• CAD Detailed Call for Service Information
• CAD External Alert
• CAD Resource Request
• CAD Unit Status Update Request
• CAD Resource Availability Query
• CAD Summary Call for Service Information
• CAD Unit Status Update*
• Records Management System Query*
• Records Management System Summary Response*

* developed in partnership with the Integrated Justice Information Systems (IJIS) Institute.

For more information on APCO International’s standards development activities contact the Comm Center & 9-1-1 Services Department Staff at 911services@apco911.org or call (888) APCO-911.