Code Change Process

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a non-governmental organization that sets criteria for the development of consensus standards. There are 3 ways to develop a consensus standard according to ANSI. These methods of development include the accredited committee method, the canvass method, and the accredited organizational method. All 3 of these standards development methods have the following in common:

1. Anyone is permitted to recommend proposals or comments to update or modify the requirements of a standard;
2. Public review of all proposals or comments; and
3. Letter ballots to establish agreement of the standard. Letter ballots are from various interest groups (i.e., users, manufacturers, enforcement officials, testing agencies, insurance officials, etc.) approved by ANSI in advance. No one interest group can comprise more then one-third of the voting membership. The final action from this balanced group is what specifically creates a "consensus document."
   The ANSI approved interest group is called a committee or a canvass, depending on the process used for developing the standard. Herein, an interest group will be referred to as a committee for simplicity.

NFPA 1192 Standard for Recreational Vehicles, NFPA 1194 Standard for RV Parks and Campgrounds, NFPA National Electrical Code, and ANSI/RVIA 12V the Standard for Low Voltage Systems in Conversion and Recreational Vehicles are all ANSI consensus standards. These RV standards are currently on a three or five year cycle, meaning their requirements are reviewed for accuracy and completeness every three to five years, and revised as needed. The maximum cycle for review of an ANSI standard is five years.

Every code cycle, a schedule of dates is established for updating of these standards. Anyone wishing to recommend a change to the standards, including additions, deletions, or modifications of existing language, can submit a recommendation to the appropriate committee as a proposal to change the standard. There is always a proposal closing date to help control the workload of the committee and to define the extent of the work the committee needs to address during a cycle review. All proposals received prior to the proposal closing date will be reviewed and acted upon. This balanced committee, approved by ANSI, must accept, accept in part or principle, reject, or hold for further study, any proposals received prior to the proposal closing date. All committee actions, other then "accept," must have the committee’s written reason for the action taken, along with any committee recommended change to the proposal, and substantiation for the action taken.

The committee’s actions on the proposals are then made available for public review. If any individual, state, or organization disagrees with the c/ommittee’s action on a proposal, a comment can be submitted to the committee outlining the objection, reason for the objection, and a recommendation for the committee to consider. All comments must be received by the comment closing date.

The committee again meets (or processes comments via letter ballot) to review and act on all comments. Substantive changes must again be made available for public review. No new proposals are allowed during the comment time frame. Upon completion of the committee work, the revised standard is submitted to ANSI/NFPA for approval, and then finally published.

2011 Code Cycle Schedule

Following are the schedules for NFPA 1192, NFPA 1194, ANSI/RVIA 12V and NEC.

If you would like to submit a proposal or comment, please use the appropriate forms below. Also, be sure to check the appropriate schedule to assure that you have not missed the deadline date for submittal of proposals or comments.

NFPA 1192, NFPA 1194 & ANSI 12V Schedule for 2011

NEC Schedule for 2011

Click here to go to the RVIA Section for Proposal Forms or select the Code and Handbook Forms from the menu to left.