A standard format and protocols for issuing and creating identification cards for affiliated volunteers should be implemented at the National and State level.

The establishment of a standard identification card and protocols for affiliated volunteers will offer the following benefits:

• A standardized format will help to facilitate volunteer mutual aid which in turn will stimulate volunteer engagement and utilization
• Reliable identification cards for volunteers will help first responders distinguish affiliated volunteers from spontaneous convergent volunteers at an incident
• The implementation and maintenance of a database for identification cards issued to affiliated volunteers could be a valuable metric to measure community preparedness as well as possible disaster volunteer resources.
• The establishment of an overall standard or guidance will reduce confusion among jurisdictions and costly duplication of development efforts at the local level

This idea is important because the need and request for volunteer identification can be a significant hurdle to volunteer utilization at the local level and for volunteer mutual aid between jurisdictions.