The scope of OBIS-USA data include all available marine data from USA sources (programs, institutions, and people), all available data about marine species in USA waters, which include portions of the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico, and data of special interest to USA researchers, for example from polar expeditions and other remote areas. The NBII OBIS-USA portal brings data together for USA waters and research programs, ensuring consistency, quality, and usability in the region.

Data are accepted into OBIS-USA from the original developer or curator of the data. Contributors of data are associated with the original collection and agree to serve data from their collections. Data made available through OBIS-USA are in the "Public Domain". This means they are owned and distributed by the USA public and in the public interest. Others may use these data, and may incorporate them into products for sale or cost recovery.

Authority and responsibility for original data reside with the source and data contributor, or curator. The preparation of data requires conforming to the OBIS data schema, which is a modification of the Darwin Core 2 data/metadata standard. Additional metadata and documentation of the context of data are important as well. Work establishing a data source involves data and metadata preparation, data transfer, quality control, review, and incremental updates as new records are added by the contributor. Potential data contributors should contact OBIS-USA.