A standard is a voluntary guide for producers and consumers, enabling individuals and organizations that use different terminologies to communicate, cooperate, and calculate quantities. American National Standards are developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) through a process that involves organizations and individuals directly affected by the existence of a standard. ANSI is responsible for identifying a single, consistent set of voluntary standards that are subject to review and revision.

The standard for calculating and reporting above-grade square footage and below-grade square footage single-family houses must be applied as a whole and is not meant to replace any legal or existing measurement method. Keep in mind that the standard is not applicable to apartment/multifamily buildings and it does not cover room dimensions

Before the adoption of the standard, there was no standard in the United States for measuring square footage in single-family houses. There has been a standard for commercial buildings for 80 years, however.