American Polygraph Association
The American Polygraph Association, founded in 1966 and headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is the world's largest professional membership association for approximately 2,800 polygraph examiners in law enforcement, private, and government sectors, setting ethical and technical standards, accrediting training schools, and publishing the field's authoritative journal.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1966
- HeadquartersChattanooga, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What American Polygraph Association does
The American Polygraph Association (APA) is a non-profit professional membership organization founded in 1966 and headquartered at 118 Lee Parkway Dr. in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the world's largest polygraph association, representing approximately 2,800 members who are professional polygraph examiners working in private business, law enforcement, and government agencies. The APA establishes and publishes professional standards for the field, including a Code of Ethics, Standards of Practice (current version effective August 23, 2024), model policies for screening, post-conviction sex offender testing, paired-testing, and evidentiary exams, and Research Standards for Publications. Membership is earned by completing an APA-accredited training program at one of its accredited schools, which involves hundreds of hours of coursework plus an internship, followed by ongoing annual continuing education.
The APA's product surface consists of professional services rather than commercial software: a semi-annual peer-reviewed scientific journal (Polygraph), a bi-monthly member magazine, an annual continuing-education seminar (the 60th edition scheduled for August 30 - September 4, 2026 at Palmer House in Chicago), accredited polygraph training programs, advanced/specialized training certificates, model policies and standards documents, an annual scholarship (William J. Yankee Memorial, up to $6,500 for 2026), and an awards program. Core instrumentation technology involves physiological measures including respiratory activity, electrodermal activity (with EDA consensus standards adopted by manufacturers Converus, Lafayette, and Stoelting as of August 2023), cardiovascular activity, finger plethysmograph, and motion sensors.
The organization is governed by a Board of 11 elected officers representing government, law enforcement, private practice, education, and public sectors, with day-to-day operations run by a small national office staff. Revenue is generated through annual membership dues (amounts not publicly disclosed), publication sales, annual seminar registration fees, training program accreditation fees, and job referral services. The APA reports that its examiners administer hundreds of thousands of polygraph exams annually worldwide and achieve accuracy rates exceeding 90%, while meta-analytic research cited by the association shows approximately 87% decision accuracy for validated PDD techniques. International reach is provided through divisional affiliates in Peru (APPEFC), South Africa (two organizations), and Poland (PTBP), though there are no subsidiaries, no parent company, and no disclosed institutional investors.
American Polygraph Association firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- American Polygraph Association
- Legal name
- American Polygraph Association
- Website
- https://polygraph.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1966
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The American Polygraph Association, founded in 1966 and headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is the world's largest professional membership association for approximately 2,800 polygraph examiners in law enforcement, private, and government sectors, setting ethical and technical standards, accrediting training schools, and publishing the field's authoritative journal.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
American Polygraph Association industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Professional Association Services
- NAICS
- Professional Organizations (813920), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations (EDADACAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF), Professional Certification & Training Content Publishing (Exam Prep, CE/CPD) (MPAJACAL), Professional & Occupational Licensing Examination Authorities (EDADAFAD)
Keywords
Where American Polygraph Association is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chattanooga
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
American Polygraph Association business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Dues: Annual membership fees for polygraph examiners, educators, and researchers. Members receive subscriptions to the semi-annual peer-reviewed journal Polygraph and bi-monthly APA Magazine, plus access to National Office, continuing education, reduced seminar rates, and other member services.
- Publications and Reference Materials: Sale of APA publications, reference materials, and reduced rates on numerous publications for members. Includes the peer-reviewed journal Polygraph and APA Magazine.
- Annual Seminar Fees: Revenue from annual seminars including registration fees, venue-based events like sunset dinner cruises, and associated activities. The 60th APA Annual Seminar scheduled for August 30 - September 4, 2026 at Palmer House in Chicago.
- Training Program Accreditation: APA provides accreditation for polygraph training schools. Each APA accredited school is inspected regularly to ensure curriculums meet highest standards through teaching current fundamental polygraph techniques.
- Job Referral and Placement Services: Recruitment incentives that can be used towards membership dues and/or seminar registration fees, plus job referral and placement service for members.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Professional Membership with full benefits including journal subscription, magazine, continuing education, seminar discounts, and member services |
| Other | Multi-year contract | William J. Yankee Memorial Scholarship covers basic polygraph training costs up to $6,500 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
American Polygraph Association product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The American Polygraph Association is a non-profit professional membership association that sets professional standards, ethics, and instrumentation specifications for polygraph examiners. It sells annual memberships, accredited training program enrollment, peer-reviewed publications (APA Magazine and the Polygraph Journal), annual seminar registrations, and a Certificate of Advanced and Specialized Training to professional examiners, law enforcement agencies, and government organizations.
Product overview
The American Polygraph Association (APA) is a professional membership organization, not a software product company. Its offerings consist of professional services including peer-reviewed publications (Polygraph Journal and APA Magazine), APA-accredited polygraph training programs, annual seminars for continuing education, advanced/specialized training certificates, the William J. Yankee Memorial Scholarship, and various model policies and standards documents. These services support professional polygraph examiners in private, law enforcement, and government sectors through training accreditation, ethical standards, research publications, and professional development opportunities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- APA Membership
- APA Magazine
- Polygraph Journal
- APA Accredited Polygraph Training Programs
- APA Annual Seminar
- Certificate of Advanced and Specialized Training
- APA Standards of Practice and Model Policies
Quantifiable outcome
- Accuracy rates exceeding 90% for APA examiners through strict training and education standards
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use American Polygraph Association
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
American Polygraph Association technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
American Polygraph Association partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ConveruscorePolygraph manufacturer that currently meets APA's Electrodermal Activity (EDA) standards for recording and displaying physiological data.
- Lafayette Instrument CompanycorePolygraph manufacturer meeting APA's EDA standards. Also provides Principles of Applied Psychophysiological Detection of Deception document as courtesy to APA members.
- StoeltingcorePolygraph manufacturer meeting APA's EDA standards. Sponsors APA events including sunset dinner cruise at annual seminars.
- Complete Equity MarketsminorSponsor of APA Annual Seminar events including the Tuesday Sunset Dinner Cruise at the 60th APA Annual Seminar.
- Peruvian Association of Polygraphists and Forensic Credibility Evaluators (APPEFC)coreDivisional affiliate of APA sharing commitment to professional polygraph standards. Expanding reach of APA's Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice internationally.
- South African Polygraph FederationcoreDivisional affiliate of APA representing South Africa's polygraph professionals with shared commitment to standards and ethical practices.
- South African Professional Polygraph AssociationcoreDivisional affiliate of APA representing professional polygraph examiners in South Africa committed to APA's standards of practice.
- Polskie Towarzystwo Badan Poligraficznych (Polish Society for Polygraph Examinations)coreDivisional affiliate of APA - Polish Society for Polygraph Examinations sharing commitment to professional polygraph standards and practices.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
American Polygraph Association competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Converus: A polygraph instrument manufacturer that meets APA's Electrodermal Activity standards and is identified as a strategic technology partner. Adjacent in the polygraph ecosystem, providing equipment rather than professional standards, but commercially intertwined with APA members.
- Lafayette Instrument Company: A polygraph instrument manufacturer meeting APA's EDA standards and a strategic partner providing the Principles of Applied Psychophysiological Detection of Deception document to APA members. Adjacent peer in the polygraph ecosystem with overlapping customer base.
Broad incumbents
- American Psychological Association: A flagship professional association in psychology with peer-reviewed journals, accreditation influence, continuing education, and a Code of Ethics—comparable as a large-scale standards-setting professional society, though covering psychology broadly rather than polygraphy.
- American Academy of Forensic Sciences: A larger, broader forensic-science professional association that encompasses multiple forensic disciplines including polygraphy. Comparable in serving as a standards-setting and credentialing body for forensic professionals, though covering a wider portfolio than APA.
- International Association of Chiefs of Police: A large, established law enforcement professional association. Comparable as a membership organization serving police practitioners with training standards, conferences, and policy advocacy, though broader in scope than APA.
Direct peers
- American Association of Police Polygraphists: Closest direct peer to APA: an alternative U.S.-based professional polygraph association serving law enforcement examiners, with overlapping membership, training accreditation, and conference activity in the same polygraphy profession.
- National Board for Certified Counselors: A certification and accreditation body for counselors with a comparable operating model: examination-based credentials, accredited training programs, CE requirements, and a code of ethics governing certified practitioners.
- American Board of Criminalistics: A certification body for criminalists that parallels APA's role: accredits forensic science professionals through examination, requires continuing education, and publishes professional standards for laboratory and field examiners.
- International Association for Identification: A long-established forensic identification professional association with comparable structure: membership-based, sets certification and training standards, publishes peer-reviewed content, and runs annual conferences for forensic examiners.
- American Board of Forensic Document Examiners: Standards-setting and certification body for forensic document examiners, with a similar model of accrediting practitioners through examinations, code of ethics, and continuing education requirements analogous to APA's accreditation framework.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
American Polygraph Association social profiles
Digital presenceAmerican Polygraph Association financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
American Polygraph Association leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles18 records
American Polygraph Association funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
American Polygraph Association M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about American Polygraph Association
What does American Polygraph Association do?
The American Polygraph Association is a non-profit professional membership association that sets professional standards, ethics, and instrumentation specifications for polygraph examiners. It sells annual memberships, accredited training program enrollment, peer-reviewed publications (APA Magazine and the Polygraph Journal), annual seminar registrations, and a Certificate of Advanced and Specialized Training to professional examiners, law enforcement agencies, and government organizations.
Is American Polygraph Association a public or private company?
American Polygraph Association is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was American Polygraph Association founded?
American Polygraph Association was founded in 1966. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is American Polygraph Association based?
American Polygraph Association is headquartered in Chattanooga, United States, in the North America region.
How does American Polygraph Association make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Membership Dues are the primary driver. The others are publications and Reference Materials, annual Seminar Fees, training Program Accreditation and job Referral and Placement Services.
Who are American Polygraph Association's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Converus and Lafayette Instrument Company. Broad incumbents are American Psychological Association, American Academy of Forensic Sciences and International Association of Chiefs of Police. Direct peers are American Association of Police Polygraphists, National Board for Certified Counselors, American Board of Criminalistics, International Association for Identification and American Board of Forensic Document Examiners.
Does American Polygraph Association have an API?
No public API is recorded for American Polygraph Association.
What industry is American Polygraph Association in?
American Polygraph Association's product category is Professional Association Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADACAJ, Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations, with a secondary code of EDADACAF, Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies. Its NAICS code is 813920 and its SIC code is 2721.