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. 

• There are no SDO-published standards under consideration for the OSAC Registry at this time.

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 draft is 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 November 4, 2024. 

• OSAC 2025-N-0003, Standard Terminology for Shooting Reconstruction.

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.    

Dogs & Sensors:

• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 076, Standard for Training and Certification of Canine Detection of Human Remains: Human Remains on Land. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline October 28, 2024. 

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, which is 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., which is currently on the OSAC Registry.  

Forensic Document Examination: 

• Recirculation* - ASB Technical Report 071, Forensic Document Examination Terms and Definitions. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline November 4, 2024. 

Forensic Toxicology:

• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 173, Standard for Education, Training, Continuing Education, and Certification of Forensic Toxicology Laboratory Personnel. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline October 14, 2024.  

Medicolegal Death Investigation:

• Recirculation* - ASB Technical Report 151, Medicolegal Death Investigation: Terms and Definitions 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline October 14, 2024. NOTE: This is OSAC 2022-N-0026, Medicolegal Death Investigation: Terms and Definitions, which is currently on the OSAC Registry. 
• ASB Standard 202, Standard for Interactions Between Medicolegal Death Investigation Authorities and Organ and Tissue Procurement Organizations and Eye Banks. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline October 21, 2024. NOTE: This is OSAC 2023-N-0004, Standard for Interactions Between Medical Examiner, Coroner and all other Medicolegal Death  Investigation Agencies and Organ and Tissue Procurement Organizations and Eye Banks, which is 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, which is currently on the OSAC Registry. 

Fire Debris: 

• ASTM WK73484-202x, Standard Practice for Standard Practice for Reporting Results and Opinions of Explosives Analysis (new standard). Comment deadline October 21, 2024.

Gunshot Residue:

• ASTM WK72526-202x, Standard Practice for Opinions on the Interpretation of Primer Gunshot Residue (pGSR) Analysis by Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry (SEM/EDS). Comment deadline October 21, 2024.

Trace Materials: 

• ASTM WK89493-202x, Standard Guide for Detection and Preservation of Forensic Trace Evidence. Comment deadline October 21, 2024. NOTE: This is OSAC 2023-N-0027, Standard for Forensic Trace Evidence Recovery, which is currently on the OSAC Registry. 
• 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, which is 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, which is currently on the OSAC Registry.
• ASTM WK86273-202x, Guide for Interpretation and Reporting in Forensic Comparisons of Trace Materials. Comment deadline November 18, 2024.

FISWG

The Facial Scientific Working Group (FISWG) is accepting public comments on the following documents. Visit the FISWG website for the comment submission instructions and template. Comment deadline November 1, 2024.

• Guide For Capturing Facial Images For FR Use or Manual Comparisons.
• Minimum Guidelines for Facial Image Comparison Documentation.
• Physical Stability of Facial Features of Adults.
• Recommendations for Legal Communications and Court Preparation.
• Guide For Visual Image Manipulation Detection.