Standards Open for Comment

Standards open for comment at OSAC

The following SDO-published standards are being considered for the OSAC Registry.

• None at this time. 

The following 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.” 

• None at this time.

Visit the Registry Approval Process webpage for more information about the Registry approval processes for SDO-published and OSAC Proposed Standards¹. 

Standards 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 document and its comment template. Submit your comments to asb [at] aafs.org (asb[at]aafs[dot]org) by the deadline.  

• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 188, Standard for Processing Evidence for the Detection of Friction Ridge Impressions, 202x, 1st Ed. Comment deadline December 8, 2025.
  • NOTE: This is OSAC 2022-N-0033, currently on the OSAC Registry.
• ASB Standard 223, Standard for the Medical Forensic Examination in the Clinical Setting, 202x, 1st Ed. Comment deadline December 8, 2025.
  • NOTE: This is OSAC 2023-N-0014, currently on the OSAC Registry.
• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 207, Standard for Collection and Preservation of Document Evidence, 202x, 1st Ed. Comment deadline December 15, 2025.
  • NOTE: This is OSAC 2022-N-0035, currently on the OSAC Registry.
• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 032, Standard for a Bloodstain Pattern Analyst's Training Program, 202x, 2nd Ed. Comment deadline December 22, 2025.
• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 173, Standard for Education, Training, Continuing Education, and Certification of Forensic Toxicology Laboratory Personnel. 202x, 1st Ed. Comment deadline December 22, 2025.
• ASB Standard 036, Standard for Test Method Selection, Development, Validation, and Verification in Forensic Toxicology, 202x, 2nd Ed. Comment deadline January 15, 2026.
• ASB Guideline 236, Guideline for Conducting Test Method Development, Validation, and Verification in Forensic Toxicology, 202x, 1st Ed. Comment deadline January 15, 2026.  
• ASB Best Practice Recommendation 174, Best Practice Recommendation for Age Estimation in Forensic Anthropology, 202x, 1st Ed. Comment deadline January 19, 2026.
• ASB Standard 186, Forensic Autosomal STR DNA Statistical Analyses General Protocol, Protocol Verification, and Case Record Requirements. 202x, 1st Ed. Comment deadline January 19, 2026.  
  • NOTE: This is OSAC 2021-S-0021, currently on the OSAC Registry.
• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 196, Standard for the Documentation and Processing of Shooting Scenes. 202x, 1st Ed. Comment deadline January 19, 2026.  
  • NOTE: This is OSAC 2021-N-0019, currently on the OSAC Registry.
• ASB Best Practice Recommendation 206, Best Practice Recommendation for Mass Fatality Incident Management. 202x, 1st Ed. Comment deadline January 19, 2026.   
  • NOTE: This is OSAC 2022-N-0020, currently on the OSAC Registry.
• ASB Standard 225, Standard for Skeletal Preparation and Sampling in Forensic Anthropology, 202x, 1st Ed. Comment deadline January 19, 2026.  
  • NOTE: This is OSAC 2021-N-0010, currently on the OSAC Registry.
• ASB Standard 234, Standard for Qualifications for Forensic Anthropology Practitioners, 202x, 1st Ed. Comment deadline January 19, 2026.  
  • NOTE: This is OSAC 2025-N-0002, 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). 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 January 19, 2026. 

• ASTM WK88832-202x, Practice for the Collection of Primer Gunshot Residue (pGSR) Particles from Clothing, Vehicles, and Other Inanimate Objects using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Stubs.
  • NOTE: This is OSAC 2023-N-0010, currently on the OSAC Registry.
• ASTM E3148-202x, Guide for Postmortem Facial Image Capture (revision of ANSI/ASTM E3148-2018).

NFPA

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is accepting public comments until January 6, 2026, on the following standard. Visit the NFPA website to submit comments. You will need to sign in or create a free account. 

• NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations (revision of the 2024 version).

SWGDE 

The Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE) is accepting public comments on the following drafts until January 4, 2026. Visit the SWGDE website to access the documents and the instructions for how to submit your comments. 

• 2025-10-23 Best Practices Apple MacOS Forensic Acquisition (23-F-005-1.1).
• 2025-10-23 Best Practices for Data Destruction Media Sterilization and Sanitization (24-F-001-1.0).
• 2025-10-23 Best Practices for Radio Frequency Propagation Surveys (25-F-003-1.0).
• 2025-10-23 Technical Notes on the Use of Timing Advance Records (25-F-002-1.0).

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.