Standardization in France

Identifying needs

Each COS brings together the main decision-makers in the relevant economic sector, defines work priorities, and prepares France's positions at international level, with AFNOR representing France at CEN-Cenelec and ISO-IEC. The whole process is coordinated by the Standardization Coordination and Steering Committee (CCPN), which is responsible for preparing France's standardization strategy, defining the general objectives and priorities of standardization programs, and ensuring their consistency with national, European, and international policies. Coordinating the development of

standards Standards are developed by

standardization committees and, on behalf of AFNOR, by sectoral standardization offices (BNS) or by AFNOR itself in areas common to a large number of sectors and in sectors for which there is no approved BNS (electrical engineering, agri-food, services, etc.). Approving and publishing

standards AFNOR organizes a

public consultation in French on each draft French, European, or international standard. Once the comments have been reviewed and the draft finalized, AFNOR approves the final version and adds it to the national catalog. Their approval as French standards is certified, depending on the level at which they were developed, by prefixes such as "NF ISO or NF IEC" (international standard for the general sector or the electrotechnology sector adopted in France), "NF EN ISO" or "NF EN IEC" (French standard of international origin for the general sector or the electrotechnology sector adopted in Europe and France), "NF EN" (French standard of European origin regardless of the sector) or "NF" (purely French standard). AFNOR publishes standards and continuously ensures that published standards remain relevant. Promoting French

interests at European and international level As 90% of

voluntary standards are of European or international origin, AFNOR represents French positions at European and international level. As such, AFNOR is the French member of CEN and ISO, as well as CENELEC and IEC through the French Electrotechnical Committee (CEF), which it hosts. Every year, AFNOR publishes the international barometer, which provides an analysis of the distribution of responsibilities (based on the number of secretariats obtained by each country).

The life cycle of a standard

The creation of a standard takes anywhere from a few months to three years. Before being approved, the standard is submitted for public approval, regardless of whether or not the public contributed to its drafting. This is the public inquiry stage. Once published, any stakeholder may or may not refer to it. As

a living and evolving tool, each standard is reviewed and revised, if necessary, every five years, in a constant effort to improve it and reflect best practices in the field.