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The Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science

OSAC Registry

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The OSAC Registry is a repository of selected published and proposed standards for forensic science. These documents contain minimum requirements, best practices, standard protocols, terminology, or other information to promote valid, reliable, and reproducible forensic results.

The standards on this Registry have undergone a technical and quality review process that actively encourages feedback from forensic science practitioners, research scientists, human factors experts, statisticians, legal experts, and the public. Placement on the Registry requires a consensus (as evidenced by 2/3 vote or more) of both the OSAC subcommittee that proposed the inclusion of the standard and the Forensic Science Standards Board. 

OSAC encourages the forensic science community to implement the published and proposed standards on the Registry to help advance the practice of forensic science.

The OSAC Registry includes two types of standards:

  • SDO-published standards have completed the consensus process of an external standards developing organization (SDO) and have been approved by OSAC for placement on the Registry.
  • OSAC Proposed Standards have been drafted by OSAC and given to an SDO for further development and publication. They have undergone the same OSAC technical and quality review process as the SDO-published standards on the Registry. Each OSAC Proposed Standard may be revised during the SDO development process; once available, an SDO-published standard will replace the OSAC Proposed Standard on the Registry after completing the technical and quality review at OSAC. To help fill the standards gap while an SDO completes its process, OSAC encourages the forensic science community to implement the OSAC Proposed Standards. 

As of September 5, 2023, the OSAC Registry contains 158 forensic science standards (109 published and 49 OSAC Proposed Standards) representing the following disciplines:

Anthropology | Biology/DNA | Bloodstain Pattern Analysis | Crime Scene Investigation | Digital Evidence | Dogs & Sensors | Facial Identification | Fire & Explosion Investigation | Fire Debris & Explosives | Firearms & Toolmarks | Footwear & Tire | Forensic Document Examination | Friction Ridge | Gunshot Residue | Medicolegal Death Investigation | Odontology | Seized Drugs | Speaker Recognition | Toxicology | Trace Evidence | Video/Imaging Technology & Analysis | Wildlife Forensics | Interdisciplinary 

Anthropology

Published Standards (1):

Biology/DNA

Published Standards (13):

OSAC Proposed Standards (5) - sent to ASB for further development and publication:

Bloodstain Pattern Analysis

Published Standards (2):

OSAC Proposed Standards (4) - sent to ASB for further development and publication:

Crime Scene Investigation & Reconstruction

OSAC Proposed Standards (5) - sent to ASB for further development and publication:

Digital Evidence

Published Standards (5):

Dogs & Sensors

Published Standards (4):

Facial Identification

Published Standards (4):

OSAC Proposed Standards (5) - sent to ASTM for further development and publication:

Fire & Explosion Investigation

Published Standards (2):

Fire Debris & Explosives

Published Standards (10):

OSAC Proposed Standards (1) - sent to ASTM for further development and publication:

Firearms & Toolmarks

Published Standards (7):

OSAC Proposed Standards (1) - sent to ASB for further development and publication:

Footwear & Tire

Published Standards (5):

Forensic Document Examination

Published Standards (2):

Friction Ridge

Published Standards (1):

OSAC Proposed Standards (4) - sent to ASB for further development and publication:

Gunshot Residue

Published Standards (2):

OSAC Proposed Standards (3) - sent to ASTM for further development and publication:

Medicolegal Death Investigation

Published Standards (7):

OSAC Proposed Standards (7) - sent to ASB for further development and publication:

Odontology

Published Standards (3):

OSAC Proposed Standards (1) - sent to an SDO for further development and publication:

Seized Drugs

Published Standards (7):

OSAC Proposed Standards (1) - sent to ASTM for further development and publication:

Speaker Recognition

Published Standards (1):

Toxicology

Published Standards (9):

OSAC Proposed Standards (1) - sent to ASB for further development and publication:

Trace Evidence

Published Standards (16):

OSAC Proposed Standards (4) - sent to ASTM for further development and publication:

Video/Imaging Technology & Analysis

Published Standards (2):

OSAC Proposed Standards (6) - sent to ASTM for further development and publication:

Wildlife Forensics

Published Standards (4):

OSAC Proposed Standards (2) - sent to ASB for further development and publication:

Interdisciplinary

Published Standards (6):

 

View previous versions of standards in the OSAC Registry Archive.

View the standards on the OSAC Registry by fiscal year (FY):

FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 

Learn more about:

Forensic Science and Law enforcement
Created October 27, 2015, Updated September 20, 2023