AFNOR, the French national standards body, is the key facilitator within the French standards system. AFNOR evaluates which standards are needed, directs the activities of the sector-related Standardisation Bureaux, ensures that all interested parties are listened to, and finally approves the standards for use. Electrotechnical standards are maintained by Union technique de l'électrcité (UTE).

Accreditation is the responsibility of Cofrac, which has its origins in a 1901 law, and has been a non-profit making association since 1994. Cofrac aims to ensure that the accredited organisations are qualified and impartial, and to ensure that their services and competences are accepted at an international level.

Legal metrology falls directly within the Ministère de l'économie, de l'industrie et de l'emploi (MEIE), in the sub-directorate for industrial safety and metrology.

Metrology is very decentralised, with 11 laboratories having responsibility for different but often overlapping technical areas. The principal laboratory is Laboratoire national de métrologie et d'essais. Formed from pre-existing bodies in 2005, LNE is responsible for steering and coordinating metrological activities in France, and for representing French metrology at an international level. LNE works with three other national metrology laboratories and six associate laboratories (see table below).