Standards Open for Comment

Standards open for comment at OSAC

SDO Published Standards Under Consideration for the OSAC Registry 

The OSAC Registry approval process for published standards is used to review existing SDO-published standards for technical quality and placement on the Registry. Please submit your comments by 11:59 p.m. ET on December 2, 2024 on whether the following SDO-published standard should be added to the Registry: 

• ANSI/ASB Standard 133, Standard for Age Estimation in Forensic Anthropology. 1st Ed. 2024. Submit your comments here.

NOTE: IN JANUARY 2022, OSAC’S FORENSIC SCIENCE STANDARDS BOARD (FSSB) APPROVED THAT THE REQUIREMENT FOR AN OSAC-MANAGED COMMENT PERIOD FOR REGISTRY APPROVAL OF SDO PUBLISHED STANDARDS CAN BE MET DURING THE SDO’S PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. THE PUBLIC WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON A STANDARD DURING ITS DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE SDO’S PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. THIS CHANGE ALLOWS COMMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED DURING THE SDO DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, PRIOR TO PUBLICATION, ENABLING UPGRADES TO BE DIRECTLY INCORPORATED INTO THE STANDARD RATHER THAN RECEIVING THE COMMENTS AFTER THE STANDARD IS PUBLISHED. IN CASES WHERE OSAC CAN DOCUMENT THE SDO’S PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY, OSAC WILL NOT EXECUTE A SECOND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD DURING ITS REGISTRY APPROVAL PROCESS. SEE THE SDO UPDATES BELOW FOR INFORMATION ON THE STANDARDS CURRENTLY OPEN FOR COMMENT AT SDOS.

OSAC Proposed Standards Under Consideration for the OSAC Registry

The OSAC Registry approval process for OSAC Proposed Standards is used to review OSAC drafted standards for technical quality and placement on the Registry. The following draft OSAC Proposed Standards are being considered for submission to an SDO. The final draft provided to the SDO will be available on the OSAC Registry as an “OSAC Proposed Standard.” OSAC welcomes comments on whether the current drafts are suitable for release to the SDO as well as suggestions for improvements in content and wording. To be considered, comments must be placed in the OSAC Comment Form and sent to comments [at] nist.gov (comments[at]nist[dot]gov) by 11:59 p.m. ET on December 2, 2024. 

• OSAC 2025-N-0002, Standard for Qualifications for Forensic Anthropology Practitioners.
• OSAC 2025-N-0007, Standard for the Medical Forensic Examination: Sexual Violence of Adolescents and Adults.
• OSAC 2025-N-0008, Standard for the External Evaluation of Human Remains by Medicolegal Death Investigators at Scenes.

Standards Open for Comment at SDOs

Academy Standards Board (ASB)

The Academy Standards Board (ASB) encourages all interested parties to provide comments on documents in progress. The following documents are open for public comment. To provide comments, download the comment template and return it to asb [at] aafs.org (asb[at]aafs[dot]org) by the deadline.    

Crime Scene Investigation & Reconstruction:

• ASB Standard 207, Standard for Collection and Preservation of Document Evidence. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline December 16, 2024. NOTE: This is OSAC 2022-N-0035, Standard for On-Scene Collection and Preservation of Document Evidence, currently on the OSAC Registry. 

Firearms & Toolmarks:

• Recirculation* -  ASB Standard 124, Minimum Requirements and Recommendations for a Firearm and Toolmark Examiner Training Program. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline November 11, 2024. NOTE: This is OSAC 2021-N-0012, Requirements and Recommendations for a Firearm and Toolmark Examiner Training Program, currently on the OSAC Registry. 

Footwear & Tire:

• Recirculation* - ASB Best Practice Recommendation 021, Best Practice Recommendation for the Preparation of Test Impressions from Footwear and Tires. 202x. 2nd Ed. Comment deadline November 18, 2024. NOTE: This is a revision of ANSI/ASB 021, Best Practices for the Preparation of Test Impressions from Footwear and Tires. 2019.1st Ed., currently on the OSAC Registry.  

Wildlife Forensic Biology:

• ASB Standard 216, Standard for Construction of Multilocus Databases. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline December 23, 2024. NOTE: This is OSAC 2022-S-0011, Standard for Construction of Multilocus Databases, currently on the OSAC Registry. 

*Comments on a re-circulation will only be accepted on revised sections of a document, comments made to text not revised from the previous public comment period will not be accepted. 

ASTM 

The following ASTM standards are currently open for public comment through ANSI. To obtain an electronic copy of the document, email accreditation [at] astm.org (accreditation[at]astm[dot]org). Please submit your comments to accreditation [at] astm.org (accreditation[at]astm[dot]org) (copy psa [at] ansi.org (psa[at]ansi[dot]org)) by the comment deadline. 

Digital Evidence:

• ASTM E3148-20xx, Standard Guide for Postmortem Facial Image Capture. Comment deadline November 18, 2024. NOTE: This is a revision of ANSI/ASTM E3148-18, currently on the OSAC Registry. 

Trace Materials: 

• ASTM WK78747-202x, Standard Guide for Forensic Examination of Fibers. Comment deadline November 18, 2024. NOTE: This is OSAC 2022-S-0019, Standard Guide for Forensic Examination of Fibers, currently on the OSAC Registry.
• ASTM WK78748-202x, Standard Practice for Forensic Fiber Training Program. Comment deadline November 18, 2024. NOTE: This is OSAC 2022-N-0018, Standard Practice for a Forensic Fiber Training Program, currently on the OSAC Registry.
• ASTM WK86273-202x, Guide for Interpretation and Reporting in Forensic Comparisons of Trace Materials. Comment deadline November 18, 2024.