FAQs and Inquiries

Visit our API Publications Store to order API Standards and Publications. 

A PDF of the full printed catalog, or section by industry segment, can be download and searched from our Publications Catalog page.

Please view the contact list and click on the item of interest to contact API.

Requests for general information include but are not limited to publication dates, editions, price or availability. Click here for more information on requests for interpretations and general questions about API Standards or Publications.

Do you have an inquiry related to API standards, specifications, recommended practices, technical reports and codes (i.e. documents). We use the terms “General and Technical Questions,” and “Requests for Interpretation” to describe the typical categories of questions we receive.

Click here for detailed information on Technical Questions and Requests for Interpretation.

API standards are developed by Subcommittees and task groups made up of industry experts. These groups identify the need, then develop, approve, and maintain standards and other technical publications. New projects must be justified by valid business and safety needs. The standards-writing subcommittees and task groups are open to representatives of groups that are materially affected by the standards. These include oil and natural gas companies, manufacturers and suppliers, contractors and consultants, and representatives of government agencies and academia.

API standards-writing groups do their work at meetings (typically two per year) and by mail, fax, phone, e-mail, and electronic collaborative authoring. API corporate membership is not a requirement for participation in the process. Representatives of organizations most impacted by the standards being developed (“materially affected parties”) may attend standards-writing meetings, and they may review drafts of standards and have their comments considered.

View more information about the benefits of committee participation and who to contact.

Each year, API hosts standards meetings that bring together the best minds in the business. For a list of scheduled meetings, please visit the meetings website.

Standards enhance the safety of industry operations, assure quality, help keep costs down, reduce waste, and minimize confusion. They help speed acceptance and bring products to market quicker. And they avoid having to reinvent the wheel every time a product is manufactured.

Since 1924, the American Petroleum Institute has been a cornerstone in establishing and maintaining standards for the worldwide oil and natural gas industry. Our work helps the industry invent and manufacture superior products consistently, provide critical services, ensure fairness in the marketplace for businesses and consumers alike, and promotes the acceptance of products and practices globally.

View more information on the value of standards

Each year, API updates current standards, creates new standards, and adopts back existing standards. View our 2011 Standards Plan for a listing of the projected updated standards by industry segment.

API, as approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), has developed a document that details the process of API standards development. This document provides guidance on the development, revisions and interpretations API standards, as well as the development of committees and designation of each document into standards, recommended practices, specification or codes.

Please use this link to view the API Procedures for Standards Development in full.