U.S. Info

Standards Developing Organizations

Trade Associations

Conformity Assessment Bodies

U.S. Standards Strategy

U.S. Conformity Assessment Principles

International Trade Resources

Key Information

The hallmark of the United States standardization and conformity assessment systems is its decentralized nature. In large part, this defining characteristic is a product of the United States’ decentralized federal governmental structure organized to balance power with individual U.S. state governments.

While federal regulations must be followed in order to do business within the U.S., it is important to remember that each of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have their own unique regulations as well. This means that a business wishing to operate within the U.S. must also consider which additional requirements may be necessary in the state where their business will operate.

In some cases, regulations may exist at the state level that do not exist at the federal level. In other cases, state level regulations may be more stringent than federal regulations. Companies operating in the U.S. must identify and follow the regulations of each state in which they are doing business.

The Administrative Codes for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia listed below outline relevant state level legislation. Many of the state codes allow users to browse tables of contents or search by relevant agency, document number, or keyword.