Research Guides: Standards and Specifications: Finding and Obtaining Standards

Register for Access to ANSI Standards Connect

ANSI Standards Connect Portal for UCI Standards
All UCI affiliates seeking the IEC and AAMI standards must register first. Then you will be connected to https://asc.ansi.org/ and you can then click on "View My Documents" on the right side and find the standard(s) you seek.

Specific Campus Needs for Standards

All faculty, researchers and graduate students who need specific standards not available through local licensed and available channels should contact Julia Gelfand (jgelfand@uci.edu) with specific need and provision will be made to acquire individual standard either by Inter Library Loan if available or by direct purchase from Document Supply source. Please make sure that you have the exact issuing body, title and order number. Standard will usually be issued as PDF and due to DRM & copyright provisions can't be shared or distributed beyond requestor.

Introduction

World Standards Day 2025 is Thursday, October 23, 2025 and will highlight standards for Public Health and Safety.

World Standards Week 2025 runs October 21-33 and ANSI celebrates with many virtual programs that week requiring registration.

Welcome to learning more about standards and how to find them at UCI. This powerpoint presentation will explain some backgound about standards and what is available at UCI.

Engineering Standards 2021

Finding Guides & Searching for Standards

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
No full text is available open access however you can search the index of standards to determine needs and options.
ANSI Through History With Standards Overview
ASSIST Quick Search
ASSIST-Quick Search provides direct access to US Defense and Federal specifications and standards available in the official DoD repository, the ASSIST database. You may get a message about the website certificate as the website is produced by the Department of Defense. You will need to register for an account to use this site.
EverySpec
Index to free military standards and others released by the US federal government.
A Guide to Standards at UCSD
International Organization for Standardization
The largest inventory of international standards. Have to be purchased. UCI affiliates should contact Engineering Librarian to make requests.
Learn How to Fnd Standards
Background information from NIST that covers: What is a standard? What do I need to know to find a standard? How do I find details about a standard? How do I locate and obtain standards?
NISO Standards
NISO produces technical standards to manage information in today's continually changing digital environment. Three main functions or kinds of standards reviewed by NISO: 1) Information Creation & Curation; 2) Information Discovery & Interchange; 3) Information Policy & Analysis
Selected Standards Organizations on the Web
Standards.gov
Standards at UC Berkeley
Standards Information at UC Davis
Underwriters Laboratory
UL is an accredited standards developer in the US and Canada. In extending its global public safety mission, it provides a nationally recognized Standards Development Organization (SDO) able to develop National Standards of Canada (NSCs).

Alphabetical List of Standards by Organization

ACI Manual of Concrete Practice: Most-current manual is in print at the Science Library Reference collection TA 439 A358

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) - a limited number of ISO, IEC and ASHRAE standards obtained from ANSI are available via ANSI Standards Connect for UCI affiliates only. You will have to register here. To find the standard that you want, go to "View My Documents" on the Right Side Bar and click to find the standard needed.
American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) standards: ASCE Library (online) (or Search catalog for "ASCE standards" in Guided Keyword Search ) Some ASCE standards are also included as part of the Knovel digital library.
American Society for Quality: Some ASQ standards are also included as part of the Knovel digital library.
Annual Book of ASTM Standards: Regular access to both current and past standards via: ASTM Standards and Engineering Digital Library

American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Standards - makes sure you are in the Dashboard with UCI banner across the top .
(U.S.) Department of Defense Military Standards and Specifications: Everyspec.com (online; contains many free military and Dept. of Defense standards and handbooks) or ASSIST Quicksearch (online)
IEEE Standards: All IEEE standards (except for “draft” standards) are accessible via IEEE Xplore.

International Building Code - latest available is 2018 International Building Code Illustrated Handbook available.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO): International Organization for Standardization ISO standards are generally only available for individual purchase. The library may be willing to purchase such standards as a normal materials request. However, ISO standards are licensed and watermarked to the purchaser. Contact the Engineering librarian to inquire. Also check above under ANSI.
National Fire Protection Association: NFPA (all are free to view online but can only be downloaded or printed with individual purchase).
National Information Standards Organization: NISO
National Electrical Code: 2017 Edition of Code and National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) 2017 edition
National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Physical Reference Data Page (SI standard units, conversion factors, universal constants): NIST Physical Reference Data Page.

National Resource for Global Standards (National Standards Systems Network): NSSN - Search Engine for Standards
SAE Standards (SAE Ground Vehicle, Aerospace, & Aerospace Material Specifications): Available via SAE Mobilus - Standards
Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME): Part of the Knovel digital library
Uniform Building Code (1997 superseded by International Building Code): Science Library TH223 .I5 1997 is latest edition. Later online editions restricted to UCI Law School affiliates only.

Standards Available at UCI

ACI (American Concrete Institute)
SCI Drum TA 439 A358
ACI Manual of Concrete Practice
SCI Reference TA 439 A358; Latest issue only.
American Society for Quality (ASQ)
Selective ASQ standards are also included as part of the Knovel Digital Library
ANSI Standards Connect
This is where UCI Licensed content is kept for UCI affiliates only. To find the standard that you want, go to "View My Documents" on the Right Side Bar and click to find the standard needed. You have to register at http://asc.ansi.org/User/Register.aspx?rt=84773954-a558-44d0-9bc2-ab7c70faffd7
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A customized link that is unique to each Standards Connect account is sent to you to enable your users to register. After filing in the User Registration form, Communication Preferences and accepting the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, clicking the Register button will submit your infomation and you will be automatically logged into the UCI account. After registration is completed, users can return to Standards Connect at https://asc.ansi.org and log in with the credentials they created during the registration process.
ANSI Standards related to COVID-19 made free
To support rapid response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is providing access to key international standards supporting biological evaluation of medical devices; protective clothing used in health care settings; and business continuity management, security, and resilience. The coordinator of the U.S. voluntary consensus standardization system, ANSI is also the U.S. member body to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Through the ANSI portal, Freely Available ISO Standards to Help Address COVID-19 Crisis, the following ISO standards are accessible in read-only format at no cost during the crisis; additional standards may be added in the near future
ASME Standards
Click on the "Click on Institutional Account" at top right of screen and scroll down to all the different standards by sector and select specific standard.
ASTM SEDL (Standards & Engineering Digital Library) or Compass
ASTM, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, is a globally recognized leader in the development and delivery of international voluntary consensus standards. SEDL includes 15,500 active ASTM standards used around the world to improve product quality, enhance safety, facilitate market access & trade, &build consumer confidence. Also, there are 28,500 historical & withdrawn standards, plus 12,300 Redlined Standards (PDF documents that provide change marks to compare changes between an active standard & the prior version) included where revisions were made. There are nearly 100 categories of standards. with the largest number in the categories of Construction, Metals, Paint & Related Coatings, Petroleum, Plastics, Environmental, Rubber, Steel, Textiles, Electronics, new areas that reflect 3D Imaging standards, Additive Manufacturing & Medical Device Standards.
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The SEDL requires that all users click through and accepts the terms of the license. While ASTM is best known for it’s standards, SEDL also includes nearly every other ASTM publication, including 1500+ books and 60,000+ papers and chapters dating back to 1932.

In addition to the standards, three main collections of publications compose the books, journals and papers of the SEDL, and the CDL Shared Cataloging or SCP unit will be processing individual bibliographic records at the source level for the following content that will be noted in Melvyl and local opacs:
1. Peer reviewed conference proceedings/Special Technical Publications (STPs)
2. Journals – ASTM issues the following titles:
a. Geotechnical Testing Journal
b. Journal of Testing and Evaluation
c. Journal of ASTM International
d. Journal of Forensic Sciences Backfile from 972-2005
e. Journal of Cement, Concrete and Aggregates (CCA) – historical issues
f. Journal of Composites Technology and Research (JCTR) – historical issues
3. Manuals, Monographs and Data Series Library – basically an eBook collection
ASTM - How to Read Standards
A brief series of videos to navigate the ASTM Compass website.
ASTM 04.15 - Committee on Material Test Methods
ASTM Subcommittee F04.15 on Material Test Methods -Matching Standards Under the Jurisdiction of F04.15 by Status. Also available in the ASTM links of the Subscribed Content on ANSI Platform listed below.
Biomedical Engineering & Medical Device Organizations: Innovate with IEEE Information
IEEE Standards*
Access to the full-text of IEEE standards is available through IEEE Xplore by clicking on Standards. With an active portfolio of nearly 1,300 standards and projects under development, IEEE is a leading developer of industry standards in a broad range of technologies.
International Building Codes (Print & CD-ROM)
SCI Reference TH 223 I52 Supersedes Uniform Building Code as of 1997.
ISO Standards
Available via the ASTM Compass website at http://uclibs.org/PID/241441 - enter your search & then reset the sources on the left sidebar by selecting "See More" (under AASHTO to ISO and enter the number that you need. Be selective as we only have a limited # of ISO standards that can be used each year.
National Fire Protection Association Codes & Standards
Available to be searched and read online only.
OSHA Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR)
SAE Aerospace Materials Specifications
SAE Aerospace Standards
In addition to current standards, a trial through 2020 allows for historical standards, too.
SAE Ground Vehicle Standards
Contained in the SAE's Digital Library, Mobilus. UCI has the Ground Vehicle Standards. Click on the right column for those standards and conduct a search for what is needed.
SAE Handbook (Society of Automotive Engineers)
Science Library (SL) TL 151 S62
SAE Standards
Reflects the Ground Vehicle Standards, Aerospace and Aerospace Materials Specifications which can also be searched individually. Consult the Dictionary of terms for SAE Standards and also click on the Historical References filter (left sidebar) for content available as a trial through Dec 2020.
What is a historical standard?
A historical standard is a document that is no longer the most current version of a given SAE Standard. Historical standards are available for many current Aerospace Standards, Aerospace Material Specifications, and Ground Vehicle (J-Reports) SAE Standards. The status of standards could reflect the following:

Revised: An active technical report has been updated and republished. Subject to 5-year review.
Issued: the first time a technical report is published. Subject to 5-year review.
Stabilized: AA technical report that has been “frozen” at the last active revision level. 5-year review is not required.
Reaffirmed: A technical report which has been reviewed by the technical committee and determined to be current with no need for immediate revision. Subject to 5-year review.
Cancelled: A technical report that is deemed “not fit for use” due to technical reasons or when its technical requirements are totally superseded by another document. 5-year review is not required.
SAE USCAR Standards
Begun in 2020 these are standards for vehicles produced in the US.
Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Standards
Selective standards from SME are available in the Knovel Digital Library.
Subscribed Content on ANSI Platform
To move between subscribed content (some limited ISO & IEC standards requested by UCI users) & free DRM COVID content follow these instructions: 1) browse this link for UCI subscribed content via IP authentication; 2) To switch to the COVID-19 portal access, click LOG OUT in the top right hand corner of SC page; 3) Log in with COVID-19 portal credentials (which is just a separate Standards Connect account) and you will have access to the DRM protected COVID-19 content; 4) to return to the subscribed content click LOG OUT in the top right hand corner of Standards Connect page again and enter https://asc.ansi.org to get back to IP-authenticated subscription content.
UBC (Uniform Building Code)
SRLF Storage KF 5701 I525

General Indexes/Sources for U.S. Government & Military Standards

* restricted to UCI community

American National Standard Institute (ANSI)
ASSIST: Department of Defense Specifications and Standards (ASSIST-Quick Search)
ASSIST is the official source of the Department of Defense (DoD) specifications and standards. It provides direct access to Defense and Federal specifications and standards available in the official DoD repository, ASSIST is a robust, comprehensive web site used by standardization management activities to develop, coordinate, distribute, and manage defense and federal specifications and standards, military handbooks, commercial item descriptions, data item descriptions, and related technical documents prepared in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Defense Standardization Program (DSP). Besides DoD-prepared documents, ASSIST also has selected international standardization agreements, such as NATO standards ratified by the United States and International Test Operating Procedures. Since it always has the most current information, ASSIST is the official source for specifications and standards used by the Department of Defense. See ASSIST Overview for more details.
Computer and Communications Standards and Cross References
This CrossRef coordinates and approves US national standards across Computer and Communication Organizations; coverage is greatest for electronics standards.
Defense Technial Information Center (DTIC) Scientific & Technical Information Network
Department of Energy Technical Standards Program
EPA Online Library System
Everyspec.com
EverySpec provides free access to over 55,000 Military, DoD, Federal, NASA, DOE, and Government specifications, standards, handbooks, and publications. This data warehouse includes standardization documents with the designations of MIL, MIL-STD, MIL-PRF, MIL-DTL, FED, CID, JANS, MS, AND, USAF, DID, CID, UCF, and FIPS, including their Amendments, Notices, and Supplements.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Library of Congress' Science, Technology and Business Division
Military Specifications & Standards
Index of Defense Supply Center Columbus Mil Specs & Drawings covering US military and federal handbooks, specifications & standards (full-text). From the Defense Logistics Agency. Useful for engineering information.
NISO Standards
Search the National Information Standards Organization catalog for standards in information services and publishing. Full text downloadable for FREE.
NIST Standards Services
NIST's weights and measures services, a job assigned to the federal government in the Constitution, provide the basis for the fairness and efficiency of sales. These services underpin the efficiency of about half the U.S. economy, or about $7 trillion of the U.S. gross domestic product.
Pipe Fabrication Standards
U.S. Department of Defense Standards (DoD)
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) creates and adopts standards for materials, facilities, and engineering practices for the purpose of improving military operational readiness and reducing ownership costs and acquisition cycle time. DOD standards use non-Government standards and commercial technologies, products, and practices that meet DoD performance requirements.
US EPA Clearinghouse for Inventories and Emission Factors (CHIEF)

U.S. Government Standards Programs (Non-Regulatory)

Biometrics Standards Information
From the Biometrics Institute, a global snapshot is provided for sourcing standards about biometrics & related content.
Federal Information Processing Standards Publications
Military Specifications (milspecs)
Source for military specifications.
Military Standards and Specifications
National Homeland Security Standards
U.S. General Services Administration
The publications index provides alphabetic, numeric, and Federal Supply Classification listings for the following in general use throughout the federal government:
Federal Specifications;
Federal Standards;
Federal Qualified Products Lists;
Commercial Item Descriptions; and
USDA Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications.
This index also provides a numeric listing of federal Specifications and Commercial Item Descriptions containing specific percentages of recovered materials
Voluntary Product Standards Program
Part of NIST. Voluntary Product Standards (VPS) published by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) are developed under procedures published by the Department in Part 10, Title 15, of the Code of Federal Regulations. The purpose of these standards is to establish nationally recognized requirements for products and to provide all concerned interests with a basis for common understanding of the characteristics of a product. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) administers the VPS Program on a fee-for-service basis.

International Standards

Australian Standards
Best way to find Australian Standards is via SAI Global.
British Standards Institution (BSI)
Deutsches Instiutut fur Normung (DIN)
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Select ITU Publications. You can browse all publications by sector or use the search option to search by title or text.
Current standards may be found in the List of ITU-T Recommendations and List of ITU-R Recommendations.
International Telecommunication Union Publications [ITU]
ISO Standards [International Organization for Standardization]
Search/browse the ISO Standards catalog. Some selective ISO Standards are available for UCI users under ANSI Connect in top box.
Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS)
National Information Standards Organization (NISO)
Selective coverage may be available online or in print form in UCI collection.
Regulations for Seismic Design; A World List- 2008

Commercial Sources

ANSI Standards Store (American National Standards Institute)
Document Center
Document Engineering Company
IHS Standards Store (Formerly Global Engineering/Information Handling Supply)
Provides access to more than 800,000 new and historical standards, specifications and codes.
SAI Global
TechStreet
Provides commercial access to standards and codes from over 350 standards organizations. Covers a wide range of industries, including electronics and information technology. Some of the organizations represented are the Electronics Industry Alliance, the IEEE, the International Organization for Standardization, and the International Committee for Information Technology Standards. Powered by Thomson Reuters.