Rules and Guidelines for 2025 OCSEF

The following are the current rules and guidelines for the Orange County Science and Engineering Fair (OCSEF), including ethics statement, eligibility, safety, and project submission. The Board of Directors will enforce these rules to ensure all students have the opportunity to compete fairly.

– The following regulations keep projects uniform for judging and ensure that they abide by the laws of the State of California, the State of California Education Code, and the rules of the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).  

– OCSEF uses an online platform Survey Monkey for Project Registration and Project Submission, along with our own forms and templates. See the first page of each type of Certification form, or scroll down to rule #10, to determine if your project requires one or more Certification forms. Further information for all documents can be found below.

REMINDER: Students need Scientific Review Committee (SRC) approval for the use of vertebrate animals, human subjects, and any hazards (chemicals, materials, organisms, equipment, tools, etc.) BEFORE starting their project. These students are encouraged to complete their project registration as soon as possible.

  • Using the above links, review the first page of each type of Certification form for specific rules and details.

High School Students: to be eligible to be considered for ISEF, you need to also follow all ISEF rules and complete any additional ISEF forms BEFORE starting your project. (ISEF 2025 Rules)

General Rules & Guidelines

1. Student researchers, as well as adults, who have a role in projects are expected to maintain the highest ethical standards. Scientific fraud and misconduct are not condoned at any level of research or competition. This includes plagiarism (use or presentation of other’s research work as your own), fabrication, or falsification of research data. Projects found to be fraudulent will not qualify for the OCSEF. Both OCSEF and ISEF reserve the right to revoke recognition of projects subsequently found to be fraudulent.

  • The project should only include work done by the student(s) and be in their own words. Proper citation is expected and must indicate if artificial intelligence is used.
  • The project may only represent one year of work.
  • All projects must be approved by the Scientific Review Committee (SRC), and when necessary, must also be approved by:
    • Institutional Review Board (IRB) – human subjects/participation
    • Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) – vertebrate animal research at research facility
    • Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) – use of recombinant or synthetic DNA/RNA and other biohazards
  • Approval BEFORE experimentation is required for all projects involving vertebrate animals and human subjects

2. Projects must present either: 

  • Science: an experiment exemplifying Scientific Methodology, using the Next Generation Science Standards Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs)”, which supports the Scientific Method format and asks a “Question“, which will be answered by the student’s experiment. 
  • Engineering: a project utilizing the Engineering Design Process, as stated in the Next Generation Science Standards, which states a “Problem” to be solved by the student’s engineering design.
  • Math/Computer Science: a project that either proves a theorem (Math) or creates an algorithm/program (Computer Science). 

3. 6th-12th grade students attending an Orange County, CA school (public, private, or home school) may enter the OCSEF. Students in an enrichment or after school program must enter their project through the OC school at which they are registered.

  • Students in grades 6-8 are in the Junior Division.
  • Students in grades 9-12 are in the Senior Division.
  • All projects must be checked and approved by a sponsoring teacher or administrator from the OC school they attend, or by application to the OCSEF Board (NOT an enrichment program, after school program, or college laboratory).
  • If a school has a local science fair and/or a district fair, projects must be selected through that fair in order to be eligible to enter the OCSEF.
  • If a school does not have a science fair or participate in a district science fair, up to 20 students per school may participate in the OCSEF with the approval of a teacher at their OC school or by the OCSEF Board.
  • Home-school students may be sponsored by a teacher, administrator, or by application to the OCSEF Board (email request to info@ocsef.org), but NOT by a parent/guardian.

4. The maximum number of entries from a given school is 20 projects. District science fairs may enter up to 165 projects.

  • A school may exceed 20 projects if they are selected to enter OCSEF through its district fair.
  • A school may submit a written request for more than 20 projects for consideration by the OCSEF Board (email request to info@ocsef.org).
  • A district may submit a written request for more than 165 projects for consideration by the OCSEF Board (email request to info@ocsef.org).

5. Only one project is allowed per student. Students may enter an individual project, or they may enter as part of a team of up to 3 students per project.

  • Team projects will be placed in the same categories as individual projects. Judges will have higher expectations for the originality, scientific value, and completeness of team projects done by 2 or 3 students working together, in comparison with the work done by one student.
  • All work on team projects must be acknowledged, and all team members must be present at the virtual judging interview to be considered for category awards.
  • Projects entered by an individual must only include work done by that individual. If it’s discovered that part of the project has been done by additional students, then the project will be disqualified.
  • Team projects can only include students attending the same Orange County, CA school.
  • Team projects must be conducted under current COVID 19 safety guidelines.

6. OCSEF Multi-Step Process:

  • Step 1 Project Registration – Required for ALL projects! No exceptions to the deadline. Online OCSEF Application Portal
    • Closes Monday, February 3, 2025 (11:59pm PST)
  • Step 2 SRC Review – Approval by Scientific Review Committee (SRC) required before projects allowed to move to Step 3.
  • Step 3 Project Submission – This includes a slide deck, video, and lab notebook. No exceptions to the deadline.
    • Closes Monday, February 24, 2025 (11:59pm PST)
  • Step 4 Project Review – Final approval by OCSEF required before projects are allowed to participate in Step 5.
  • Step 5 Judging – Projects are judged for Board Awards by a judging panel and occur on Zoom. Students will be assigned an interview time.
  • Step 6 Awards Ceremony – All participants with judged projects are invited to our in-person awards ceremony at Chapman University. **Date/Location are subject to change**

7. Project Category: Students are responsible for selecting an appropriate category in which to enter the project. The chosen category should be the FOCUS of the project. This will determine how the project is judged.

  • See the complete list of Project Categories with descriptions and project examples HERE
  • The OCSEF Board will review all applications and may change category assignments, if necessary, to ensure that projects with similar topics are placed in the same category for judging.
  • Be sure to provide a complete and accurate description of your project to ensure your project is placed in the proper category.

8. Continuation projects will be judged only on experiments/data collection performed from April 2024 to March 2025.

  • Any project based on the student’s prior research must document that the additional research is a substantive expansion from prior work (e.g. testing a new variable or new line of investigation). Testing only an increased sample size is not acceptable.
  • Multi-year longitudinal studies are permitted if they are testing variables in which time is a critical variable over consecutive years.
  • All continuation projects are required to have a completed Continuation Projects form (see link above) as part of the Project Registration step.
  • See the ISEF Rules regarding Continuation Projects here: Continuation Project Rules

9. Teacher Approval: Students must ask their teacher at the OC school they attend to review their project application online and complete the Teacher Approval process, before they can complete their Project Registration. This will be part of the online application. Students choose how their teacher provides their approval.

  • A hard copy Teacher Approval Form that the student uploads to the application (see link to form at the top of this page).
  • An online Teacher Approval task within the online application system.

10. Certification Forms: Students will be required to complete and submit the corresponding Certification Forms as part of the Step 1 Project Registration process IF their project involves any of the following. Students MUST receive approval from the Scientific Review Committee (SRC), BEFORE the start of any experiments. The SRC will review the project and send the student a “project approval email” before their project can move forward. Links to all forms can be found at the top of this page.

  • Specific ISEF Rules that apply to all OCSEF projects involving vertebrate animals, human subjects, or hazardous materials, equipment, chemicals, organisms, devices, activities, etc. can be found HERE.
  • Please contact the Scientific Review Committee at src@ocsef.org for any additional questions but be sure to review all forms and rules first.

Vertebrate Animals

All projects involving non-human vertebrate animals (mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians, and birds), including any invasive work with vertebrates, as well as observations in natural settings, must conform to all ISEF Rules (found HERE) and the guidance listed on the OCSEF Vertebrate Animal Certification Form.

  • The project must be planned and carried out under the direct supervision of a veterinarian, designated supervisor, or qualified scientist as required by the OCSEF Scientific Review Committee.
  • Vertebrate animal studies without this certification will not be allowed in the OCSEF for judging. 
  • Because significant weight loss is one sign of stress, the maximum permissible weight loss or growth retardation – compared to controls – of any animal is 15%. Student researchers are expected to monitor regularly the health of their animals and record their weights.

Human Subjects

All projects involving human subjects, testing of a device built for your project, observing humans or using a survey/questionnaire, or data from human subjects with identifiable private information (e.g. names, addresses, birth date, phone number), must conform to the regulations listed here, all ISEF Rules (found HERE), and the guidance on the OCSEF Human Subjects Certification Form.

  • Certification is required even if the human subject is the student themselves.
  • Please refer to the Human Studies Risk Assessment Guide (found HERE) when designing your research project to ensure the rights and welfare of your human participants are protected.
  • Please refer to the Online Survey Consent Procedures (found HERE) if using an online survey/questionnaire as part of your project.
  • Students are prohibited from independently diagnosing disease, administering medication, and/or performing medical procedures. 
  • A student may observe and collect data for analysis of medical procedures, medication/treatment efficacy, and diagnosis of illness, only under the direct supervision of a licensed health care provider/professional. This Healthcare provider/professional must be named in the research plan/ protocol approved by the SRC.

Hazards

All projects that involve potentially hazardous or dangerous materials, equipment, chemicals, organisms, etc. must conform to the regulations listed here, all ISEF Rules (found HERE), and the guidance listed on the Hazards Certification Form. There are many different potential hazards, so please read carefully through the following examples and guidelines.

  • Materials, Equipment, or Tools: anything that involves a level of risk above and beyond that encountered in the student’s everyday life or whose operation requires a moderate to high level of expertise to ensure safety. This can include but is not limited to the following examples commonly seen in projects.
    • soldering, stove/oven, generator, 3D printer, electricity, testing pH, UV light, charcoal, and building a device from components
  • Chemicals, Organisms, Animal Tissue, or DNA: any substances that require safety precautions as outlined in the Materials Safety Data Sheet or require a properly equipped laboratory with qualified supervision. This can include but is not limited to the following examples commonly seen in projects.
    • solvents, ferrofluid, gases, biofuel, acids, bases
    • microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, molds)
    • controlled substances
    • meat or non-commercial eggs
    • animal cells or tissues (including blood/blood products)
    • hair, teeth, and saliva (even if from the student)
    • DNA, RNA, or Recombinant DNA
  • Students must carefully plan and follow safe procedures. Explicit details about how and where experiments or engineering designs will be done must be listed on the Certification form, including materials, tools, and/or equipment used.
  • Specific materials and experimental conditions may be exempt. But if you are unsure, either contact SRC (src@ocsef.org) or go ahead and complete the Hazards Certification Form so approval of your project is not delayed.
  • Culturing & incubating microorganisms (bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and molds) in the home environment is prohibited. Contact your teacher with further questions. Projects involving the incubation of microorganisms at home will be disqualified.
  • Appropriate safety precautions, including personal protective equipment (eye goggles, aprons, gloves, etc.) must be followed when hazards exist. Students should also have appropriate adult supervision.
  • Projects involving multidrug resistant organisms and Recombinant DNA (rDNA) technologies must be conducted in a Regulated Research Institution and approved by their Biosafety Committee.
  • Projects involving Recombinant DNA (rDNA) technologies: Genome editing studies, that include alteration of germline cells, must be completed in a BSL-2 (Biosafety level 2) laboratory, and approved by the Institutional Biosafety Committee.
  • Students may not perform bioengineering for the following purposes:
    • the insertion of antibiotic-resistant traits
    • for designing or selecting multiple drug-resistant organisms.
  • Students may not be involved in the direct acquisition of recombinant DNA, tissue, organs, or other body parts (including blood and meat) from humans or vertebrate animals; they must be acquired by qualified adults or from a commercial or medical source.

Regulated Research

Students who perform projects in whole or part at an industrial, university, hospital, or other institution and not their school or home environment must conform to the regulations listed here, all ISEF Rules (found HERE), and the guidance on the Regulated Research Certification Form.

  • Approval letters from the appropriate institutional oversight committees on official letterhead (e.g. IRB, Environmental Health and Safety and/or IACUC) must be attached to the Certification of Regulated Research form. Letters from the Principal Investigator of the Laboratory attesting to appropriate approvals will NOT be accepted.
  • Studies that culture clinically significant multi drug-resistant organisms (e.g. MRSA, VISA/VRSA, VRE, CRE, ESBLs, or fungi with known resistance to antifungal agents) require Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) approval, BSL-2 (Biosafety Level 2) containment and must have a written justification for usage and be conducted in a Regulated Research setting.  
  • Projects involving Recombinant DNA (rDNA) technologies and Genome editing studies that include alteration of germline cells must be completed in a BSL-2 laboratory and approved by the Institutional Biosafety Committee.

11. Project Submission: Once the project is approved by the SRC and completed, the following project components must be uploaded to the application to complete Step 3 Project Submission prior to the deadline. Be sure to follow additional guidelines for each component below.

Slide Deck

All students must create and submit a Slide Deck about their project using one of the digital templates below. The use of a standard presentation format assures equity in judging.

  • Follow and comply with all criteria and formatting clearly outlined on the first slide of the template. Be sure to delete the first slide with the instructions before submitting.
  • Maximum of 12 slides and maximum size of 10 MB
  • Save your file as a pdf before uploading to your Project Submission
  • Use the template that matches your project type. Links to all templates can be found at the top of this page.
    • Science Slide Deck
    • Engineering Slide Deck
    • Math/Computer Science Slide Deck (coming soon)

Video

All students must create and submit a Video about their project for the judges to view.

  • Maximum of 3 minutes
  • Videos must be uploaded to YouTube and marked as “Unlisted”
  • You will provide a link to your YouTube video as part of your Project Submission
  • For team projects, each student must participate in the video and be given equal time
  • If you need help editing your video, YouTube has great resources

Uploading a video to YouTube is simple. If you have a gmail account, then you already have a YouTube account. Follow these steps to upload your video to YouTube and obtain a link for your OCSEF project.

  • Go to YouTube.com and choose the gmail/google account you want to use.
  • Click on the menu (top left corner), then choose “Your Channel”
  • Click on the “Create” button, and upload your video file
  • You can add a title to your video, then click “No, not for kids”
  • Click “Next” until you get to the Visibility page, then choose “Unlisted”, and click “Save”
  • In the new window that appears, you can click on the “Copy Link” icon (next to the video link shown) and paste the link into a separate document and/or the “Upload Video” task of your project submission

Lab Notebook

All students must use a Lab Notebook while conducting their science experiment, engineering design, or math/coding project. The Lab Notebook should document what you did, how you did it, and why.

  • Five images required, with each a maximum of 10 MB
  • File types accepted: jpg, jpeg, png
  • Can be handwritten or digital
  • Should be a daily record and needs to include measurements, calculations, observations, and redesigns.
  • The student should take pictures of 5 pages of their Lab Notebook that show what they did and how they did it.
    • Do NOT include graphs, tables, charts, references, pictures of yourself, or conclusions.

12. Projects may not display procedures detrimental to the health and well-being of vertebrate animals or humans. The OCSEF Board of Directors reserves the right to deny display of photographs/visual images/charts/tables and/or graphs of such, as determined by the OCSEF Scientific Review Committee.

13. Students must be present virtually to speak with the OCSEF judges (Zoom breakout room format).

  • Appointments for judging interviews virtually through Zoom will be assigned after the Project Submission deadline.
  • All students for a team project must be present virtually and participate in the interview with the judges.
  • Only students being interviewed will be allowed in the judging area (Zoom breakout room).
  • Students are not allowed to screen share during the interview. The judges will screen share your slide deck if requested so you can refer to it during your interview. 
  • Students may show their equipment or short demonstrations relevant to their projects during their interview with the judges.