The household sanitation technology assessment protocol has been developed through an iterative process that commenced with the development of a draft protocol. The development of the Household Sanitation Technology Assessment and Evaluation Protocol has been a valuable step towards improved regulation of the sanitation sector.The impact of urbanisation and increased water scarcity has resulted in the emergence of an innovative (but largely un-regulated) sanitation sector.If these technologies are to assist with clearing the backlog of household sanitation, they must be based on sound process design principles and must be proven to be robust and reliable through extended field trials within a particular context. The Sanitation Technology Assessment and Evaluation Protocol is designed to enable the transparent assessment of different household sanitation technologies. This generally excludes septic tanks and stand-alone effluent treatment technologies that are not packaged with a toilet.These technologies should be evaluated in accordance with the Water Research Commission (WRC) guidelines for domestic wastewater package plants. The implementation of the Sanitation Technology Evaluation Protocol will produce a scientific assessment of household sanitation technologies to inform the appropriate selection and siting of on-site sanitation technologies and achieve the desired long-term benefits of effective sanitation systems.