What is a PAS?

The PAS is a consultative document. Its development process and format is based on the British Standard model. Any organisation, association or group who wish to document standardised best practice on a specific subject, both for the benefit of their industry and to help promote their expertise, can commission a PAS, subject to the BSI acceptance process.

The main difference is in the area of consensus; a British Standard must reach full consensus between all stakeholders on technical content, whilst a PAS invites comments from any interested party but does not necessarily incorporate them. This means that the timescale for the development of a PAS can be shorter, typically around eight months, and is why it is sometimes referred to as the “Rapid Standard Development Process”.

A PAS occupies the intellectual space between in-house and national standards; it allows you set the standard for an entire industry.