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National Search and Rescue Plan2016 edition (supersedes 2007)

The interagency policy that assigns U.S. SAR coordination: the Coast Guard for maritime SAR and the Air Force for inland SAR, implemented through the International Aeronautical and Maritime SAR (IAMSAR) Manual and the National Search and Rescue Supplement (NSS). It defines urban search and rescue and the federal role in Cospas-Sarsat distress beacon alerting.

Read the 2016 National SAR Plan (USCG)

Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC)Tyndall AFB, Florida

The single agency coordinating on-land federal SAR in the 48 contiguous states (the Langley Search and Rescue Region). It investigates beacon alerts and coordinates DoD and other federal SAR resources in support of state and local authorities, but states plainly that it has no command or control tasking authority. Implementing policy: DoD Instruction 3003.01 and AF Policy Directive 10-45.

AFRCC 2024 annual report

Civil Air Patrol10 U.S.C. §§ 9491–9498

CAP is a federally chartered nonprofit and, when a federal agency uses its services, the volunteer civilian auxiliary of the Air Force (§ 9492); on Air Force-assigned missions it is treated as an instrumentality of the United States. As a nonprofit it may also assist state and local governments on request (§ 9493). Requests come from agencies, not the public.

10 U.S.C. § 9492 (Cornell LII)

Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)Pub. L. 104-321 (1996)

The congressionally ratified interstate mutual aid compact. It addresses reimbursement, liability, workers’ compensation and the honoring of licenses and certifications across state lines. Adopted by all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the CNMI.

Pub. L. 104-321 (GovInfo) EMAC summary

U.S. Coast GuardMaritime SAR coordinator

Coordinates maritime SAR under the National SAR Plan, including searches around Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Sector San Juan), Guam and the CNMI (Joint Rescue Sub-Center Guam), and American Samoa. Verified numbers are on each territory page.

Puerto Rico page Guam page

Cospas-Sarsat distress beacons406 MHz · EPIRB, ELT, PLB

The international satellite system that takes the search out of search and rescue. Beacons transmit on 406 MHz to satellites, which relay through local user terminals to the U.S. Mission Control Center in Suitland, Maryland, and on to a rescue coordination center: the Coast Guard for maritime alerts, the Air Force for inland alerts. Each beacon carries a unique 15-digit ID, and registration with NOAA is required by law; registration data tells the RCC who they are looking for. The first satellite launched in June 1982 and the first rescue followed that year. False alerts: call AFRCC at 1-800-851-3051 for an ELT or PLB, or the Coast Guard for an EPIRB.

NOAA SARSAT program NOAA beacon brochure (PDF) Coast Guard beacon brochure (PDF)

NIMS resource typing for SARFEMA 508-8 (2007)

FEMA’s typed resource definitions for search and rescue list canine SAR team types for avalanche, disaster, cadaver, water, wilderness air scent and wilderness tracking/trailing, and note that a disaster canine team must work with a credentialed structural collapse technician. This 2007 document has since been followed by FEMA’s online Resource Typing Library; check there for current definitions.

FEMA 508-8 Search and Rescue Resources (PDF)

Coast Guard rescue authority14 U.S.C. § 521 (formerly § 88)

The Coast Guard may perform any and all acts necessary to rescue and aid people and protect property on the high seas and U.S. waters, and to aid people imperiled by flood, at any time and place where its facilities and personnel are available. It also cares for the bodies of those who die in such events. Renumbered from § 88 in 2018. Knowingly sending a false distress message is a federal felony carrying a civil penalty of up to $10,000 plus the cost of the Coast Guard response.

14 U.S.C. § 521 (Cornell LII)

Disaster relief and the US&R systemStafford Act, 42 U.S.C. § 5121 et seq.

The framework for federal disaster assistance, under which FEMA coordinates response when a state's resources are overwhelmed. Congress separately authorized the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System in the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System Act of 2016, adding section 327 to the Stafford Act.

42 U.S.C. § 5121 (Cornell LII) Pub. L. 114-326 (GovInfo)

Access to federal land for recovery searchesGood Samaritan Search and Recovery Act, 43 U.S.C. § 1742a

Interior and Agriculture must run a process to expedite access to federal land for eligible nonprofit organizations and individuals conducting searches for people believed to be deceased. Read the fine print before deploying: the statute says such searchers act for private purposes, are not federal volunteers, and are covered by neither the Federal Tort Claims Act nor federal workers' compensation.

43 U.S.C. § 1742a (Cornell LII)

Missing children: no waiting period, entry within 2 hours34 U.S.C. § 41308

States must ensure no agency requires a waiting period before accepting a missing child report; that reports go into the state system, NCIC and NamUs within 2 hours; that records are verified and updated within 30 days; and that agencies institute or assist with appropriate search and investigative procedures. Originally enacted in 1990; NamUs was added in 2022.

34 U.S.C. § 41308 (Cornell LII)

Missing young adultsSuzanne’s Law (2003)

Enacted with the 2003 federal AMBER Alert legislation, it extends federal NCIC reporting to missing persons under 21. Named for Suzanne Lyall, a University at Albany student missing since 1998.

Alerts for missing adults at riskState Silver Alert and equivalent programs

There is no single federal Silver Alert statute; states run their own programs for missing people with dementia or other cognitive impairment, and the rules differ. Examples on this site: Mississippi's Silver Alert Act requires agencies to waive any waiting period for a qualifying case, Maryland's program is run by the State Police for people whose disappearance poses a credible threat, and Tennessee runs a missing senior citizen alert program for people 60 and older with an impaired mental condition.

Find your state page

Volunteer liabilityVolunteer Protection Act of 1997, 42 U.S.C. § 14503

A volunteer of a nonprofit or government entity isn’t liable for harm caused within the scope of their duties if, where appropriate or required, they were properly licensed, certified or authorized; the harm wasn’t caused by willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence or recklessness; and it didn’t involve operating a vehicle, vessel or aircraft that requires a license or insurance. It doesn’t protect the organization itself, and states may opt out for in-state cases. Certification is part of what protects a handler.

42 U.S.C. § 14503 (Cornell LII) Pub. L. 105-19 (GovInfo)

Civil Air Patrol status10 U.S.C. §§ 9492–9493

Defines when CAP acts as the Air Force auxiliary and when it assists state and local authorities as a nonprofit. The distinction affects liability and who pays.

10 U.S.C. § 9492 (Cornell LII)

Interstate mutual aidPub. L. 104-321

Congressional consent to EMAC; the legal basis for sending teams and equipment across state lines through state emergency management.

Pub. L. 104-321 (GovInfo)

ASTM Committee F32 on Search and RescueFormed 1988 · 62 approved standards

The main U.S. consensus standards body for land SAR. Its standards cover terminology, ICS use in SAR (F1422), dispatcher training (F2662), SAR map symbols and grids, sUAS classification for land SAR (F3262), and canine resources.

Committee F32 Full F32 standards list

ASTM canine search standardsF1848 · F1847 · F1879 · F3070 · F3144

F1848 classifies canine search resources by category, kind and type; F1847 sets minimum training for search dog crews; F1879 covers obedience and agility; F3070 evaluates area search dog crews; F3144 evaluates trailing crews, tested on a trail aged 6 to 12 hours or as the AHJ determines.

F1848 F1847 F1879 F3070 F3144

NFPA technical rescue standardsNFPA 2500 · NFPA 1006

NFPA 2500 combines the former NFPA 1670 (technical search and rescue operations and training), NFPA 1858 and NFPA 1983 (life safety rope and equipment). NFPA 1006, professional qualifications for individual technical rescuers, remains a separate standard.

NFPA 2500 (NFPA)

NIMS and ICSIncident Command System

State SAR laws such as Washington’s RCW 38.52.400 and Oregon’s ORS 404.120 require ICS for multi-agency searches. FEMA’s typed resource definitions (above) give canine teams a common vocabulary when ordered through mutual aid.

State SAR statutes

Certifying organizationsNational and state programs

Teams on this site certify through bodies including NASAR (SARTECH), NAPWDA, IPWDA, ARDA, the National Search Dog Alliance and FEMA US&R, and some states certify directly: Kentucky requires certified dogs by statute, Rhode Island’s State Police certify volunteer dogs, and Arkansas publishes minimum standards for its state canine call-out list.

NASAR Arkansas K9 call-out standards (PDF)

Drones (sUAS)14 CFR Part 107

Volunteer and most civil drone flights fall under Part 107, which requires an FAA remote pilot certificate; government agencies may instead fly as public aircraft under an FAA certificate of authorization. ASTM F3262 classifies sUAS for land SAR.

14 CFR Part 107 (eCFR)

Radio47 CFR Part 97

Many teams require an FCC amateur radio license for field communications; Louisiana’s LaSAR and Colorado’s Mesa County handlers are examples.

47 CFR Part 97 (eCFR)

State registration and protectionVaries by state

Washington registers volunteers as emergency workers with liability, medical and property coverage; Montana treats recognized SAR unit members as auxiliary officers for workers’ compensation; Maine gives lodging protections to dogs certified by Warden Service-recognized organizations; Massachusetts registers dog teams in a State Police volunteer database after certification and background checks; Vermont keeps a statewide SAR capability database.

State-by-state detail

State mission reimbursementVaries by state

Idaho reimburses sheriff-run missions up to $8,000 each; Montana up to $12,000; Utah and Wyoming fund sheriffs’ SAR teams through state programs. North Carolina contracts with state SAR teams by statute.

State-by-state detail

NamUsNational Missing and Unidentified Persons System

A free, secure national clearinghouse for missing, unidentified and unclaimed person cases, funded by the National Institute of Justice, with forensic, analytical and investigative support for agencies. Federal law now requires missing-child entries within 2 hours.

NamUs fact sheet (NIJ)

NCMECNational Center for Missing & Exploited Children

The national clearinghouse and resource center for missing children. Several state laws require agencies to notify it when a child is missing.

missingkids.org

State missing-person lawsSee each state page

Many states go beyond federal law: two-hour NCIC entry for all reports in Kansas, immediate investigation regardless of jurisdiction in Texas, mandatory reporting of every search to the state within four hours in Kentucky, and no refusal of adult reports in Minnesota and New Jersey.

State-by-state detail