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Standards Open for Comment
open for comment at OSAC
The following OSAC Proposed Standards are being considered for the Registry and submission to an SDO. The final drafts provided to the SDO will be available on the OSAC Registry as an "OSAC Proposed Standard". OSAC welcomes comments on whether they are suitable for release to the SDO, as well as suggestions for improvements to 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 November 30, 2026.
- OSAC 2026-N-1009, Standard Practice for Training Forensic Science Practitioners on Law-Related Topics Relevant to Their Practice.
- OSAC 2026-N-1046, Standard for the Collection of Known Handwriting in Forensic Document Examination.
Open for Comment at SDOs
ASB
The following Academy Standards Board (ASB) documents are open for public comment. Click on the links below to access the documents and comment templates. Submit your comments to asb [at] aafs.org (asb[at]aafs[dot]org) by the deadline.
- ASB Best Practice Recommendation 068-202x, Best Practice Recommendation for the Safe Handling of Firearms and Ammunition (revision of ANSI/ASB 068-20, currently on the OSAC Registry). Comment deadline November 9, 2026.
- ASB Standard 226-202x, Standard for Scene Diagramming. Comment deadline November 16, 2026.
- NOTE: This is OSAC 2023-N-0003, Standard for Diagramming Scenes, currently on the OSAC Registry.
*Please note that comments on a recirculation 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). To provide comments, download the comment template and return it to accreditation [at] astm.org (accreditation[at]astm[dot]org) (copy psa [at] ansi.org (psa[at]ansi[dot]org)) by the comment deadline.
- ASTM WK90158-202x, Standard Practice for Training in the Areas of Video Analysis, Image Analysis, and Photography. Comment deadline November 16, 2026.
- NOTE: This is OSAC 2023-N-0001, currently on the OSAC Registry.
- ASTM E1588-202x, Standard Test Method for Primer Gunshot Residue Analysis by Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry (revision of ANSI/ASTM E1588-25). Comment deadline November 16, 2026.
1In 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 "Standards Open for Comment at SDOs" section above for the standards currently open for comment at SDOs.