Introduction The National Center for Standards and Certification Information (NCSCI), established in 1965, provides information on U.S., foreign, and international voluntary standards; government regulations; and rules of conformity assessment for non-agricultural products. The Center serves as a referral service and focal point in the United States for information about standards and standards-related information. The Center is located in the Standards Services Division (SSD). It contributes to the Institute's goals of improving U.S. competitiveness in domestic and world markets and strengthening and advancing the development and use of the nation's science and technology by providing up-to-date information on standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment programs. NCSCI staff respond to inquiries, maintain a reference collection of standards and standards-related documents, and serve as the U.S. inquiry point for information to and from foreign countries. Information Services General Center staff respond to written, telephone, fax, email and walk-in requests for information by identifying relevant standards and/or regulations ( NCSCI Request Form ). Searches are made with the aid of electronic indexes, by contacting professional and standards-developing organizations, and through communicating directly with foreign standards bodies. The requester is referred to the appropriate standards-developing organization for additional(technical) information and/or copies of the document. NCSCI does not providecopies of standards. The NCSCI reference collection of standards and standards-related documents includes: - hard copy and electronic copy of military and Federal specifications , selected U.S. industry and national standards, and international and selected foreign national standards;
- the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and Federal Register ;
- reference books, including directories, technical and scientific dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks;
- articles, pamphlets, reports and handbooks on standardization and conformity assessment; and
- standards-related periodicals and newsletters.
These documents are available in the Center for review only . NCSCI does not provide copies of its reference documents. If you already know the document you need, contact the standards developer directly or the document reseller . European Union NCSCI recognizes the importance of the European Union (EU) market to U.S.exporters. Center staff utilize the following documents, which are availablein the reference collection, to assist U.S. exporters in identifying productstandards and regulations: - Standards catalogs for most of the EU members;
- Information on the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) ; and
- Copies of relevant documents related to the harmonized standards and legislation for the single European market and EU directives.
Information on draft CEN and CENELEC standards is available from the AmericanNational Standards Institute through its publication Standards Action . WTO, NAFTA and ISONET NCSCI serves as the U.S. inquiry point in response to obligations resultingfrom the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreementon Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) , the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the InternationalOrganization for Standardization Information Network (ISONET) . NCSCI, withother national inquiry points, form networks - for WTO and ISO - that regularlyexchange standards-related information. These networks also provide NCSCI withaccess to foreign trade-related technical standards, regulations and conformityassessment procedures. Signatories to the WTO TBTAgreement are required to notify proposed governmental and state regulationswhich may significantly affect trade. NCSCI maintains information on notifications of proposed foreign regulations issued through the WTO Secretariat and disseminatesthem to interested parties in the United States for their review and comment through the Notify U.S. service.NCSCI staff are responsible for notifying the WTO Secretariat of proposed U.S.technical regulations which may affect trade. For Further Information Write To: National Center for Standards and Certification Information
National Institute of Standards and Technology
100 Bureau Drive, MS 2160
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2160 Telephone: (301) 975-4040 for - information on existing U.S., foreign and international standards and
- information on foreign regulations and conformity assessment; and
- information on the TBT Agreement, NAFTA and notifications of proposed foreign regulations
Fax: (301) 926-1559 Email: ncsci@nist.gov | 