NFPA makes important safety codes and standards available for free online
NFPA President Jim Pauley talks about free access to NFPA codes and standards.
As part of its commitment to enhancing public safety and to serving the public's increasing interest in technical information, NFPA makes its codes and standards available online for free.
To review codes and standards online:
- View the list of NFPA's codes and standards.
- Select the document you want to review.
- Select the edition of the document you want to review.
- Click the "Free access" link (under the document title)
- You will be asked to "sign-in" or create a profile to access the document in read-only format.
NFPA is proud to have been the first organization to provide free public access to privately developed codes and standards, and are pleased to see other organizations following our lead. There are some who argue that we should do more and immediately make all of our documents available online without any restrictions. It is essential that NFPA maintain copyright and the ability to charge for the codes and standards. Most of the money NFPA needs to fund our process and other vital mission activities comes from the sale of codes. We also derive funding from the sale of related products and services. More: questions and answers about free online access.
It has been suggested that NFPA ask the industries that use our documents to pay for their development. This would create significant problems, since one of the strengths of the codes and standards development system as it has always existed is that it provides NFPA with an independent source of revenue. Nobody can influence the process by threatening to withhold funds, because they system is funded not by a few big interests, but by the thousands of users who pay for their copies of the code. Related: NFPA joins lawsuit to stop copyright infringement (August 6, 2013).
Learn more about the value of Standards Development Organizations (SDOs).