National Member Organizations (NMOs) are the backbone of IFAC's activities.

For each country, one scientific or professional engineering organization, having a strong interest in automatic control and a sound professional background, or one council formed by two or more such organizations, is eligible for membership of IFAC. These NMOs form the link between IFAC and the control engineers in their country. There are currently 51 NMOs in as many countries.

The NMOs form the General Assembly of IFAC, which meets every three years in the framework of the IFAC World Congress and there decide about the future direction of the Federation, by electing the IFAC Officers for the next triennium, by deciding about the finances and by voting on the admission of new National Member Organizations.

NMOs further participate in IFAC activities in the following ways:

• Nomination of Council members
• Proposal of NMO members to be active in IFAC in Technical Committees or other positions
• Organization of technical meetings sponsored by IFAC's Technical Committees