The St. Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards (SKNBS) was officially established on the 8th day of March 1999 under the National Bureau of Standards Act No. 7 of 1999 now the National Bureau of Standards Act, Cap. 23.15.

The SKNBS has the major responsibility of protecting the environment, health and safety of consumers.  Its activities also focus on preparing, promoting and generally adopting standards on a national, regional or international basis relating to structures, commodities, materials, articles and other things offered to the public commercially, hence promoting standardization, quality assurance and simplification in industry and commerce.

As part of the transformation process undertaken by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis in 2005, after the closure of the nation's sugar industry, the role of the SKNBS has expanded and forms a critical component in the advancement of the economy of St. Kitts and Nevis, specifically vis-à-vis the facilitation of international trade.

With the establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), the SKNBS activities also include increased participation at the regional level where it participates in the harmonization of standards, measurements and conformity assessment regimes for regional integration.

The SKNBS became a correspondent member of ISO in 2016.