Founded in 1918, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private, nonprofit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards in the United States for every industry.
The organization also coordinates U.S. voluntary standards with international standards so that American products can be sold and used worldwide. The Institute collaborates with stakeholders from industry and government to identify and develop standards and conformance-based solutions to national and global priorities. Globally relevant standards and the conformance measures that assure their effective use in turn help to increase efficiency, open markets, boost consumer confidence, and reduce costs.
ANSI's International Procedures govern the process by which U.S. stakeholders participate in ISO standards development activities. ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 174 national standards bodies. Through its members, it brings together experts to share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus-based, market relevant International Standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges. The ISO Central Secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
ANSI is not itself a standards-developing organization. It serves as a neutral venue for coordination of standards-based solutions, providing a framework for fair standards development and quality conformity assessment systems, and working to safeguard their integrity.
While many American National Standards (ANS) include "ANSI" as part of their designation/name (leading some people to incorrectly assume that ANSI developed these "ANSI standards"), ANSI's role is to approve ANS that are developed by more than 240 independent ANSI-Accredited Standards Developers (ASDs), when ANSI’s due process requirements have been met. The ASD may then choose to include "ANSI" in the standard's designation.
Through its membership, partnerships, and diverse programs and activities, ANSI represents the interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations.