Definitions — Specialty Global Certification Areas
CERTIFICATION SPECIALTIES
The world's first international canine biodetection program to adopt characterized and quantified reference-quality odor signatures as the foundational basis for its education, training, and certification activities.
Abstract
Reference-quality, characterized odor as a certification basis
The SCENTSOURCE™ Biodetection Canine Global Certification Program is designed to serve as the most comprehensive biodetection canine and canine-team certification program within the detector-K9 industry, and the first to use characterized and quantified odor as a certification basis.
Certifications are achieved using reference-quality odors of known properties and composition that can be plausibly discussed by scientific affiliates of the product manufacturers, and that have also been independently validated by operational practitioners worldwide.
Definitions — Specialty Global Certification Areas
Initial Certification Specialties
Tap any specialty to expand for full scope and reference details.
Explosives Detection20 reference chemical explosives, all classes — including TATP and HMTD.
Covers all major explosive classes — military, commercial, improvised, and peroxide-based — using characterized reference odors such as RDX (tagged and untagged), TNT/Tetryl, Semtex (A + H), Nitroglycerin, Nitrocellulose, Dynamite, ICAO-mandated taggants, TATP/DADP, all-base smokeless powders, HMTD, potassium and sodium chlorates, black powder, ETN/PETN, ammonium nitrate / urea nitrate / ANFO, ethylene glycol dinitrate, nitromethane, and potassium nitrate.
Drug / Narcotics Detection9 reference drugs and narcotics — including Fentanyl and Xylazine.
Reference-quality odor signatures spanning the principal controlled substances encountered in modern interdiction work — cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, MDMA, cannabis, fentanyl, xylazine, and related analogues — supporting consistent recognition across jurisdictions.
Building Health Detection(i) Bed Bugs, (ii) Mould, and (iii) Termites — collectively or individually.
Inspection-grade certification for the three principal building-health threats. Teams may certify in a single specialty or across all three, supporting residential, commercial, and institutional inspection programs.
Firearms & Ammunition DetectionAll firearms, per dictionary definition.
Detection of firearms and associated ammunition odor signatures across handgun, long-gun, and component categories — applicable to school safety, public-venue screening, and law-enforcement operations.
Mobile Phone & Digital Electronic Media DetectionMobile phones and digital storage media.
Targets the volatile signatures characteristic of mobile phones, SD cards, thumb drives, hard drives, and related digital storage media — supporting corrections, counter-intelligence, and digital-evidence recovery missions.
Cargo InspectionOdor and scent detection across cargo and freight streams.
Broad-spectrum cargo screening for prohibited and regulated commodities across maritime, air, and surface freight — designed to integrate with customs, port-of-entry, and supply-chain security workflows.
Oil & Gas Pipeline Leak DetectionHydrocarbon leak detection along pipeline and infrastructure corridors.
Field-deployable certification for canine teams supporting upstream, midstream, and distribution operators in identifying hydrocarbon leak signatures along pipeline rights-of-way and within facility footprints.
Human Remains (HR) & Search and Rescue (SR) DetectionLive-find and deceased-find disciplines under a unified standard.
Encompasses cadaver/HR detection, water search, disaster response, wilderness SAR, and live-find SR work — with reference odor sources and scenarios aligned to operational realities.
Arson DetectionIgnitable liquid residue and accelerant detection for fire investigation.
Certification for accelerant-detection canines supporting fire investigators — covering petroleum distillates, oxygenates, and the common ignitable liquid residues encountered at fire scenes.
TrackingPerson-specific tracking and trailing under a standardized framework.
Operational tracking and trailing certification — applicable to law enforcement, search and rescue, and security teams requiring documented, defensible performance standards.
Certify your team in your specialty
Connect with a SCENTSOURCE™ representative to match your discipline, location, and timeline with the right certifier.