As an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accredited Standards Developer (ASD), APCO International is dedicated to ensuring public safety communications has a role in the development of standards that affect our industry. The integrity and inclusiveness of the process results in high quality standards that assist ECCs with operational, technical and training guidance. 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.
Standards Working Groups Seeking Members
When APCO creates a new standard or revises an existing one, the working groups are the creative minds behind the standard. Groups include about 15 volunteers with training, operations or technical backgrounds who research and write a standard together. The following working groups are currently seeking members:
- Core Competencies, Operational Factors and Training for Next Gen Tech in the ECC
- Emergency Communications Common Disposition Codes for Data Exchange
- Minimum Operational Standards for the Use of TTY/TDD or Similar Device in the ECC
APCO Announces Final Approval of American National Standard for Incident Handling Process
APCO International received final approval from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on February 27, 2024, for the revision of APCO American National Standard (ANS) Public Safety Communications Incident Handling Process.
The revision of this standard identifies the steps and decision-making points that should be considered while processing public safety requests for service.
Copies of all standards are available at apcointl.org/services/standards/find-standards/
Find Standards
Locate operational, technical and training standards developed by APCO for the public safety communications profession.
Standards Review & Comment
The APCO ANS process allows anyone using APCO standards to have confidence that our standards are based on a consensus of views arrived at through a fair and open process. Anyone can participate in reviewing and commenting.
Help With Standards Development
Join the Standards Development Committee, one of the three subcommittees, or working groups to develop new standards and revise current standards.
APCO Standards Activities in Progress
The following standards are currently in development:
Operational Candidate ANS
- Non 9-1-1 Call Processing and Dispatch
- Supplemental Emergency Responder Recommendations
- Minimum Technical Requirements for Remote Support to Emergency Communication Center (ECC) Operations\
Technical Candidate ANS
- Common Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) GIS Identifiers
Training Candidate ANS
Revisions to Current APCO ANS Standards
- Multi-Functional Multi-Discipline CAD Minimum Functional Requirements
- Public Safety Communications Incident Handling Process
- NENA/APCO Minimum Training Standard for TTY/TDD Use in the Public
- NENA/APCO Standard for Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT)
- APCO/NENA Standard for the Establishment of a QA/QI Program for ECCs
- Minimum Training Standards for Public Safety Telecommunicators
- Core Competencies and Minimum Training Standards for PSC Training Coordinator
- Core Competencies and Minimum Training Standards for PSC Training Officer (CTO)
Questions and Suggestions
If you have any questions, suggestions, or need help finding a specific standard, please email [email protected] or call the Standards Program Manager at (386) 681-8719 .
