Organisation

APA

Also known as American Polygraph Association

The world's largest professional association of polygraph examiners. Founded in 1966, the APA establishes industry standards for training, practice, ethics, and continuing education. APA accreditation is required by most federal agencies and private employers. Publishes the peer-reviewed journal Polygraph.

What Is the American Polygraph Association (APA)?

The American Polygraph Association (APA) is the world’s largest and most influential professional organisation for polygraph examiners. Founded in 1966, the APA establishes the industry standards for polygraph training, examination practice, ethics, scoring methods, and continuing education that govern the profession in the United States and internationally.

For anyone involved in polygraph testing — whether as an examiner, student, legal professional, or consumer — understanding the APA’s role is essential to evaluating the quality and credibility of any polygraph examination.

What the APA Does

The APA serves as the central governing body for the polygraph profession, with responsibilities spanning science, education, ethics, and professional development:

Technique Validation

The APA maintains the official list of validated polygraph techniques — testing formats that have been supported by published peer-reviewed research demonstrating acceptable accuracy rates. Only techniques on this validated list may be used by APA members for diagnostic or screening purposes. Techniques lacking sufficient validation evidence are placed on “stand-down” status until further research is conducted.

Training Accreditation

The APA accredits polygraph training schools that meet minimum educational standards. APA-accredited programmes must provide at least 400 hours of instruction covering physiology, psychology, instrumentation, question formulation, Test Data Analysis">test data analysis, ethics, and supervised practice examinations. Graduation from an APA-accredited school is required for APA membership and is a prerequisite for most federal and state examiner positions.

Standards of Practice

The APA publishes comprehensive Standards of Practice covering every aspect of polygraph examination procedure — from testing environment requirements and instrumentation standards to question construction rules, approved scoring methods, reporting formats, data retention policies, and quality control review requirements.

Code of Ethics

The APA’s ethical standards govern professional conduct including informed consent, examiner competence, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, reporting integrity, continuing education requirements, and prohibitions against discrimination. Violations may result in suspension or expulsion from membership.

Continuing Education

APA members must complete a minimum of 30 CEU hours every two years to maintain membership. This ensures examiners stay current with evolving research, new validated techniques, updated scoring methods, and changes in professional standards.

APA Membership and Credentials

APA membership is the most widely recognised professional credential for polygraph examiners in the United States and many international jurisdictions. Requirements for full membership include:

  • Graduation from an APA-accredited basic training programme (400+ hours)
  • Completion of supervised field experience under a qualified mentor
  • Adherence to APA Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics
  • Ongoing continuing education compliance (30 CEUs per 2-year cycle)

When choosing a polygraph examiner, APA membership is one of the most important credentials to verify. APA members are subject to peer review, ethical oversight, and professional accountability that non-member examiners may not have.

Research and Publications

The APA plays a central role in advancing polygraph science through research and publication:

  • Polygraph journal — The field’s only peer-reviewed scientific journal, publishing original research on techniques, scoring methods, physiology, and legal issues
  • APA Annual Seminar — The largest polygraph conference in the world, held annually with research presentations, workshops, and professional development sessions
  • Meta-Analytic Survey — The comprehensive APA Meta-Analytic Survey (2011, updated by Nelson 2015) identifies 14 validated techniques with published accuracy data, forming the scientific basis for the APA’s approved techniques list

APA and the Society

All examiners in the the Society network are APA members or hold equivalent credentials recognised by their jurisdiction. We require APA-level standards for all examinations conducted through our service, ensuring clients receive scientifically validated, ethically conducted polygraph testing at every one of our 140+ locations.

To learn more about our examiner standards, visit our examiner selection guide or explore the Polygraph Examiner Hub for professional resources.