ESD Standards

In 1999, the ESD Association has approved and published a standard covering the development of an ESD control program. Approved as an ANSI standard, ANSI/ESD S20.20: Development of an Electrostatic Discharge Control Program. The standard covers the requirements necessary to design, establish, implement, and maintain an ESD control program to protect electrical or electronic parts, assemblies and equipment susceptible to ESD damage from Human Body Model (HBM) discharges greater than or equal to 100 volts.

ANSI/ESD 20.20 has both administrative and technical provisions that can be tailored to specific applications or requirements. The administrative sections cover development of an ESD Control Program Plan, Training Plan, and Compliance Verification Plan (routine audits.) The technical elements have some "hard" requirements, but include many options for compliance that will allow users to develop and implement a plan for their application that is technically adequate and cost effective. The technical requirements cover areas such as grounding, personal grounding, protected areas, packaging, labeling, equipment, and handling. The technical requirements and technical range recommendations are listed in Table 1. The ANSI/ESD S20.20 is the parent document for all ESD Association standards and will be the main reference for Auditing an ESD Control Program. ANSI/ESD S20.20 standard is intended to replace MIL-STD 1686 and ANSI/EIA-625 ESD Control Standards. The United States Department of Defense has adopted ANSI/ESD S20.20.
The ESD Association is dedicated to advancing the theory and practice of ESD avoidance.

Visit the ESD Association web site for general information, pull down the Standards window, and click the documents section for the standards that they publish. Scroll down on the documents page to view the complimentary standards that they offer. You will need to register and then login to download files. Desco recommends downloading:

  • ANSI/ESD S20.20 The ESD Program Standard
  • ANSI/ESD S541 Packaging Materials for ESD Sensitive Items
  • ESD ADV1.0 Glossary of Terms
  • ESD TR53 Compliance Verification

  • Click the ESD Association Web Link logo to visit the ESD Association web site.

    The ESD Association sells most of its standards. For a list of these and how to order, click "Standards" on the left column of the ESDA.org home page.
    The ESD Association has approved the following registrars as qualified to audit and certify a facility's ESD control program being in compliance to ANSI/ESD S20.20:

    ESD Association S20.20 Certified Registrars

    BSI, Inc.Bill.Hoellrich@bsiamericas.comwww.bsigroup.com
    BSI EuropePeter.Boereboom@bsi-global.com  www.bsigroup.com
    BSI Asiajohn.broome@bsi-asia.comwww.bsigroup.com
    DNV Certificationearl.hudspeth@dnv.comwww.dnvcert.com
    DNV SingaporeGek.Eng.Tan@dnv.comwww.dnvcert.com
    DNV Hong KongWilson.Tsui@dnv.comwww.dnvcert.com
    QMI, A Division of CSA Groupmphipps@qmi.comwww.qmi.com
    QMI Canadarsinyard@qmi.comwww.qmi.com
    QMI Eastern USsberckman@qmi.comwww.qmi.com
    QMI Central USjpreston@qmi.comwww.qmi.com
    QMI Western USjabedini@qmi.comwww.qmi.com
    National Quality Assurance, USA  twoodcome@nqa-usa.comwww.nqa.com