The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is a standardized approach to incident management developed by the Department of Homeland Security. The program was established in March of 2004, and is intended to facilitate coordination between all responders (including all levels of government with public, private, and nongovernmental organizations). The system has been revised once, in December 2008. The core training currently includes two courses: (1) IS-700 NIMS, which provides a basic introduction to NIMS, and (2) ICS-100, which includes history, details, and features, along with an introduction to the Incident Command System. Approximately 24 additional courses are available on selected topics.

NIMS standard incident command structures are based on three key organizational systems:

• The Incident Command System (ICS)
• The Multiagency Coordination System
• Public Information Systems