In 1989, the National Committee on Accreditation for Public Park and Recreation Agencies was formed by the AAPRA and the NRPA, with support from Michigan State University and the National Recreation Foundation, to develop a pilot program. It developed the standards and procedures, conducted the pilot program including training the visitors, and recommended the final version of the standards and procedures.

A forerunner of the standards was a document, Standards and Evaluative Criteria, published in 1965 and revised in 1972 after field-testing. The Commission replaced the Committee, formally adopted the accreditation program, its standards and procedures, and is now fully responsible for the administration of the program.