What you need before you start
You need someone to own the program, a rough budget, a floor plan of every site, and a list of the people who could be trained. Decisions about how many AEDs and where come from those.
- A program coordinator: one person who will see the program through launch and keep it running afterward.
- Leadership’s support, because an AED program needs money every year, not just once.
- Floor plans of each site, with where people work and gather.
- Possible responders: staff or volunteers who are on site during the hours you’re open.
- Your state’s AED law, which you’ll check in step 1.
OSHA doesn’t require AEDs in workplaces, but it encourages them, and it notes that the chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest falls by 7 to 10 percent for every minute without CPR or defibrillation. The American Heart Association’s guide puts the average EMS response time in the United States at 7 minutes. An on-site program covers that gap.
The 10 steps to start an AED program
These ten steps take you from deciding to have AEDs to running a program that stays ready. Most follow the American Heart Association’s guide to on-site AED programs.
1. Check your state’s AED law
Every state has its own rules. The AED law data in AED Log lists 23 states that require specified people to be trained, 27 that require notifying agencies such as EMS, 34 that require AEDs to be properly inspected and maintained and 9 that require physician medical direction. Some also require AEDs in places such as schools or health clubs. See AED laws by state.
2. Decide how many AEDs you need and where
The AHA says to buy enough AEDs that one is always no more than a 3- to 5-minute round-trip walk away. Walk and time the routes in the real building, and put AEDs in visible, unlocked spots where people already go. Our AED placement guide explains how.
3. Choose an AED
Check that the model is on FDA’s list of approved AEDs, and buy its pads and batteries from authorized sellers. Then compare the things you’ll live with for years: how long the pads and battery last and what they cost, whether there’s a child mode or child pads, and how the AED reports its status. See AED pads and AED batteries by model.
4. Arrange medical direction if your state requires it
Some states require a physician to oversee an AED program. The AHA supports public AEDs within a program that has physician or medical oversight, even where it isn’t required. AED Log offers Medical Direction as an add-on at $65 per AED per year.
5. Train responders
Train enough people that someone is always available to respond, in a CPR and AED course with a hands-on skills session. CPR and AED cards from the major organizations last two years, so plan renewals from the start. See CPR and AED certification.
6. Register with EMS where required
Tell your state or local EMS where your AEDs are, if your state requires it, so dispatchers can point callers to the nearest one. Register each AED with its manufacturer too, so you hear about updates and recalls.
7. Write the emergency response plan
Write down who responds, who calls 911, who brings the AED and who meets EMS at the door, and share the plan with everyone. The American Heart Association’s cardiac emergency response plan checklist also calls for drills and a review every year. Start from our cardiac emergency response plan template.
8. Install, label and sign the AEDs
Mount each AED where you planned it, in a cabinet if it needs one, and mark it with a sign people can see from a distance. Record each AED’s exact location and serial number, and its pads’ and battery’s expiration dates. Our printable AED sign is free.
9. Inspect monthly and replace pads and batteries
Assign people to check every AED each month and record it, and replace pads and batteries before they expire. Use our monthly AED inspection checklist, or schedule the checks in AED Log.
10. Review after every use
After an AED is used, replace its pads, check it and its kit, report the use if your state requires it, and talk through what went well and what didn’t. Update the plan with what you learn.
Budgeting for AEDs, training and upkeep
Budget for three things: the AEDs and their mounting, responder training, and the yearly upkeep of pads, batteries and records. The first purchase is the largest cost, but the yearly costs are the ones programs forget.
- AEDs: each AED, plus a cabinet where it needs one, signs, a rescue kit and a spare set of pads. The AHA’s guide suggests keeping two sets of unexpired adult pads per AED.
- Training: a CPR and AED course for each responder, renewed every two years, plus time for drills. OSHA’s AED guide reminds employers that training and annual retraining add to the cost.
- Upkeep: pads every 2 to 5 years and batteries about every 4 to 5 years, depending on the model, plus new pads after every use. For a Philips HeartStart OnSite, that works out to about $112 a year at Philips’s store prices.
- Oversight and records: medical direction where required, and a way to track it all.
Funding can help with the first purchase. Our AED grants guide lists funders, our AED cost guide prices AEDs, pads, batteries and training, and the AED model pages list each model’s parts and shelf lives.
Keeping the program running after launch
A program stays ready when its routine survives staff changes: monthly inspections that someone owns, parts ordered before they expire, certifications renewed on time, and a plan reviewed every year.
Most programs don’t fail at launch. They fade, in the ways described in the most common AED compliance mistakes: the coordinator changes jobs, the spreadsheet stops being updated, and a year later the pads on the wall have expired. Build the routine so it doesn’t depend on one person’s memory.
- Put every date on a calendar: inspections, pad and battery expirations, and certification renewals.
- Name a backup for the coordinator and for each site’s inspector.
- Run a drill at least once a year, and review the plan afterward.
- Keep the records together, so a new coordinator can pick them up.
That’s the job AED Log was built for. It schedules every inspection, warns before pads, batteries and certifications expire, and keeps the records for every location in one place, from $114 a year. See AED Log’s features and AED program management.
How to start an AED program FAQ
How long does it take to start an AED program?
Usually a few weeks to a few months, mostly spent buying the AEDs, arranging medical direction where it’s required and scheduling responder training. The plan and the inspection schedule take far less time.
What does it cost to start an AED program?
The AEDs, cabinets and signs, responder training, and pads and batteries every year, plus medical direction where your state requires it. Get quotes for each before you buy, and budget for replacement parts every year.
Does an AED program need a medical director?
In some states. The AED law data in AED Log lists 9 states that require physician medical direction. Elsewhere it’s optional, though the American Heart Association supports physician or medical oversight.
Do I have to register my AED with EMS?
In many states. The AED law data in AED Log lists 27 states that require notifying agencies such as local EMS about AEDs. The American Heart Association suggests registering where it’s required, so dispatchers know where AEDs are.
How many AEDs should a building have?
Enough that someone can bring an AED to anyone in the building within 3 to 5 minutes, the target in OSHA's AED guidance. Our AED placement guide shows how to work it out.