Which organization approves consensus standards development processes?

• A. American National Standards Institute
• B. International Organization for Standardization
• C. British Standards Institution
• D. Deutsches Institut für Normung

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that in the United States, the American National Standards Institute is the body that approves the processes used to develop consensus standards. ANSI doesn’t write the standards itself; it accredits standards developing organizations and reviews their procedures to ensure they are open, balanced, and conducted under due process. When a standards developer follows ANSI’s requirements and gains ANSI approval, the resulting document can be published as an American National Standard.

This is distinct from the other organizations listed. ISO oversees international standards development, not the U.S.-specific consensus process. BSI and DIN are national standards bodies for the United Kingdom and Germany, respectively, with their own standards programs rather than the authority to approve the U.S. consensus-development process.