ISO Accreditation Explained: Certification Body, Accreditation & Scope
Understand ISO standards, certification bodies and accreditation, and what organizations should verify before selecting a certification route.
Practical ISO guidance
Standards, scope, documentation, implementation, audits and certification guidance.
Certification vs accreditation
An ISO standard sets management-system requirements. A certification body performs conformity assessment. Accreditation is a separate recognition mechanism concerning the competence and impartiality of conformity-assessment bodies within defined scopes.
Why the distinction matters
Customer, tender, export or regulatory requirements may specify a certification body or accreditation arrangement. Confirm the exact requirement before applying.
What to verify
Check the certificate scope, legal entity, sites, standard and revision, certification body, certificate status and relevant accreditation scope where applicable.
Does ISO itself issue certificates?
ISO develops standards but does not itself certify organizations. Independent certification bodies perform certification assessments.
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