NASAR Certifications & Membership
The National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) has supported education and certification for SAR responders since 1973, and advocates for volunteer protections. This page gathers its certifications, courses and membership options in one place, with links straight to NASAR.
SARTECH certification levels
NASAR recognizes four levels of SAR certification: Awareness, Operational, Technician and Supervision. Most new volunteers start at SARTECH IV or III and work up.
| Certification | Level and role | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| SARTECH IV | Awareness. Non-field responder helping in the command post or search base: radios, logistics, paperwork. | Non-Field Responder |
| SARTECH III | Operational. Non-wilderness responder for community searches in urban, suburban, rural and park settings. | Non-Wilderness Responder |
| SARTECH II | Operational. Wilderness responder for searches in wilderness areas. Course: Fundamentals of SAR (FUNSAR). | Wilderness Responder |
| SARTECH I | Technician. Wilderness-backcountry responder for multi-day missions in austere terrain. | Wilderness Backcountry Responder |
| SARTECH Field Team Leader | Supervision. Leads small field teams on search assignments. Requires SARTECH II. | SARTECH FTL |
| SARTECH SARMGR | Supervision. SAR manager, the person in charge of a search under the Incident Command System. | SARTECH SARMGR |
Specialty certifications
SAR dog teams
Five disciplines: Area, Trailing, HRD Land, HRD Water and Avalanche. Handlers must hold a current SARTECH II before testing.
Man-tracking
NASAR treats tracking as a specialty resource for finding missing people from the sign they leave.
Drones in SAR
NASAR treats small UAS as a specialty resource for search operations.
Rescue and rope
NASAR has announced RescueTECH II and ROPETECH III certifications based on ASTM standards. Check NASAR for current status.
Courses
Fundamentals of SAR (FUNSAR)
The education course for SARTECH II, the wilderness responder level.
SARPRO series
One- or two-day courses on advanced topics, including Urban Search Management, Initial Actions, Crime Scene Protocols, HAZMAT for SAR and GPS endorsements.
Initial Actions
An 8-hour course on the first steps of a missing or injured person search: safety, size-up, documentation and initial tactics.
Urban Search Management
Managing missing person searches in urban and suburban settings.
Wilderness medicine
Wilderness First Aid, Wilderness First Responder and Wilderness Medical Responder.
Find dates on the NASAR events calendar, take online courses through the SAR Academy, or browse the BluePrintSAR training calendar.
NASAR membership
NASAR members get access to training materials, research papers and case studies on SAR training, response, certification and operations.
Individual
Youth and veteran
Organizational
For SAR teams and agencies. Organizational memberships
State
International
Lifetime
Requirements and renewal
Prerequisites, exams, how long each certification lasts and what renewal takes are laid out in the NASAR certification table on our Training Pathways page. Most SAR teams also train new members in-house, so join a local team first and ask which certifications it requires.
BluePrintSAR is an independent directory. Certification details come from nasar.org; check NASAR for current requirements, fees and dates. Updated November 10, 2026.