Frequently Asked Questions

IAAC’s main objectives are:

• To develop Multi-lateral Recognition Arrangements (MLA) in the Americas.
• To provide confidence in the results of the work of conformity assessment bodies that are accredited by its members.
• To provide, transfer and share technical information and expertise in the region.
• To strengthen cooperation of the accreditation bodies through Multi-lateral Recognition Arrangements (MLA).

• Ensures that clients accredited by its members are competent to do work in the areas for which they are accredited.
• IAAC maintains and manages the Multi-lateral Recognition Arrangements among its accreditation body members which reduces risk to business and its customers by ensuring that an accredited certificate may be relied upon anywhere in the world.
• IAAC promotes the harmonization of accreditation programs of its members with the aim to eliminate the need for separate accreditations in each country.
• IAAC promotes the concept of accredited once – accepted everywhere.
• IAAC promotes collaboration and cooperation among accreditation bodies and between its members and other relevant bodies and groups not only in the region but worldwide.
• IAAC provides a wide array of training activities.
• IAAC ensures the representation of the Americas in international accreditation fora.
• IAAC encourages and supports the development of accreditation bodies in the region of the Americas.

IAAC has a Chair and a Vice Chair, a Treasurer and an Executive Secretary.

Each committee and subcommittee has a Chair and a Vice Chair.

Click below to read the list of IAAC Officers.

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The IAAC General Assembly is made up of all IAAC members.

Daily functioning of the organization is the responsibility of the IAAC Secretariat.

The IAAC Executive Committee is charged with advancing the objectives, goals and tasks of the Cooperation and to implement its policy and administration.

The Committees and Subcommittees address the various areas where IAAC is working.

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The main participants in IAAC are accreditation bodies that operate programs under which they accredit bodies for certification of quality and environmental management systems, persons, products, for inspection and for laboratories.

Other bodies and groups related to or interested in conformity assessment are also involved in IAAC activities.

IAAC has 3 categories of membership: Full, Associate and Stakeholder Members.

IAAC Full Members are accreditation bodies that operate according to international requirements.

IAAC MLA Signatories are accreditation bodies which are peer evaluated by IAAC at a set interval to ensure their operation continues to comply with the set international criteria.

IAAC Associate Members are accreditation bodies that do not yet operate according to international requirements. Nations that do not yet have an established accreditation body and other organizations may also be Associate Members.

IAAC Stakeholder Members are certification bodies, inspection bodies, and/or testing and calibration laboratories that are accredited or in the process of being accredited by IAAC’s full members; business entities; or other users of conformity assessment services in the region.

The steps involved in applying for IAAC membership are:

1. The applicant submits a completed IAAC Membership Application Form and supporting documentation to the IAAC Secretariat. The application form is available from the IAAC web site or it may be requested from the IAAC Secretariat.
2. When the application is complete, the Secretariat submits it to the IAAC Executive Committee for review.
3. When the Executive Committee has accepted the application, the Secretariat submits the application to the IAAC General Assembly.
4. The IAAC General Assembly votes and approves the membership application.
5. The applicant is then notified by the IAAC Secretariat of the General Assembly decision. The applicant becomes a member when it signs the IAAC Memorandum of Understanding and submits payment of its annual membership fee.

A procedure by which an authoritative body gives formal recognition to a competent body or person to carry out specific tasks.

The ISO / IEC 17000 (and ISO / IEC 17011) defines accreditation as “third party testimony (5.2) related to a conformity assessment body (2.5) that leads to the formal verification of its competence to carry carry out the specific tasks of conformity assessment.”

The numbers in parentheses in the ISO / IEC 17000 definition cited above refer to other clauses in that standard.

Conformity assessment is a demonstration that specified requirements relating to a product, process, system, person or body are fulfilled. The subject field of conformity assessment includes activities such as testing, inspection and certification, as well as the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies. Each of these activities is also formally defined in ISO/IEC 17000.

Conformity assessment provides benefits for every level involved, from manufacturers to consumers as well as for trade in general.

Examination of a product design, product, process or installation and determination of its conformity with specific requirements, or on the basis of professional judgment, with general requirements.

Note: Inspection process can include inspection of persons, facilities, technology and methodology.

It is an organization whose technical competence has been recognized to carry out conformity assessment activities as an inspection body. The recognition is obtained through accreditation by an accreditation body.

The standard used to assess inspection bodies is ISO/IEC 17020.

The application information for ISO/IEC 17020:2012 is included in ILAC P15 Application of ISO/IEC 17020:2012 for the Accreditation of Inspection Bodies

Inter-laboratory comparisons are processes that help determine the performance of individual laboratories for specific tests or measurements and monitoring laboratories’ continuing performance.

The standard ISO/IEC 17043 defines interlaboratory comparisons as “organization, performance and evaluation of tests on the same or similar items by two or more laboratories in accordance with predetermined conditions.”

Proficiency Testing is defined in the ISO/IEC 17043 standard as the “evaluation of participant performance against pre-established criteria by means of interlaboratory comparisons”.

Proficiency Testing helps determine laboratory testing and measurement performance. Participation in proficiency testing may be required for a laboratory to be accredited. Participation and the performance in proficiency testing is considered during the assessment and decision making process for accreditation. Proficiency testing may be carried out in several ways, including laboratory comparisons. Examples of different ways laboratory proficiency testing may be carried out are provided in the ISO/IEC 17043 standard.

There is not a particular website to check, however there are some websites that can help to find what you are looking for.

If you are looking for accredited Proficiency Testing providers, the first place to look is on the ILAC website’s Online Directory www.ilac.org. Many of ILAC’s members have an on-line database of their accredited testing and calibration facilities and these can be found in the second column of the ILAC directory (the column headed Accredited Laboratory Directory). Simply click on the link in this column and you will be taken to the member’s own directory. However, please note that the contents and accuracy of the listings in these directories are the responsibility of the member concerned and ILAC takes no part in their updating or checking.

Try also the EPTIS database www.eptis.bam.de. It has a list of Proficiency Testing schemes (PT schemes) operated in Europe, the Americas and in Australia, accredited and non-accredited. EPTIS does not provide any dates of next rounds. The information contained in the EPTIS database is based on self-declarations from the Proficiency Testing providers.

Some accrediting bodies list Proficiency Testing programs on their own web sites and may require the use of a specific program for accreditation by that body.

The Witnessing of a Certification Body’s Audit by an Accreditation Body

It is the observation by an Accreditation Body’s assessor of one or more audits carried out by the Auditor Teams assigned by a Certification Body.

The witnessing of a Certification Body’s audit of one of its clients by the Accreditation Body is valuable for:

– Verifying, on site, the effectiveness of the Certification Body’s programmes and procedures,

– Assessing the technical competence of the Certification Body’s audit team, as they perform an accredited certification audit, and

– Assessing the ability of a Certification Body to assign competent teams to perform audits.

The Accreditation Body selects an audit to be witnessed according to its own procedures and the signed agreements with the Certification Body.

Furthermore, the Certification Body has an enforceable arrangement with its clients that establishes that the Accreditation Body may evaluate the files that the CB has of its audit and certification activities, and that Accreditation Body may witness an audit the CB is conducting for any client with an accredited certification.

The arrangements between the Accreditation Body and the Certification Body maintain confidentiality. Any information collected during the witnessing of an audit is confidential and is treated by the Accreditation Body assessors and staff accordingly.

It shall be made clear that the Accreditation Body assessors, when witnessing the Certification Bodies’ audits, are not auditing the Certification Bodies clients’ management system or product, as this is the sole duty and responsibility of the Certification Body.

During their witnessing of Certification Body audits, Accreditation Body assessors shall limit their participation in the audits to that of an observer; they shall not interfere in a Certification Body’s audit of a client and not influence the outcome of a Certification Body audit.

Source: ISO-IAF AAPG Document: The Witnessing of CRB Audits by an Accreditation Body.

The IAF MLA Structure and IAF MLA Mark

Since 2013 there have been some significant changes in the IAF MLA. In response to a question relating to “what is covered by the IAF MLA” the IAF has moved away from three MLAs covering QMS, EMS and Product to one MLA with scope and changed the way the IAF MLA Mark is used in connection with Product certification.

The amendment and publication of IAF PR 4:2010 Structure of IAF MLA and Endorsed Normative Documents introduced the new IAF MLA structure, moving away from three MLAs; QMS, EMS and Product to one MLA with scope. The IAF MLA is structured in five levels:

Level 1 – ISO/IEC 17011, specifies the criteria for the Accreditation Body (AB).

Level 2 – Accreditation Activities, in which the AB has demonstrated competence to perform accreditation as specified by the IAF endorsed generic accreditation normative documents listed in Level 3.

IAF MLA accreditation activities are:

• Management Systems Certification

• Product Certification

• Certification of Persons

Level 3 – IAF endorsed generic accreditation normative document used by the AB to assess the Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) competence for each accreditation activity. For example: ISO/IEC 17021, ISO/IEC 17065, ISO/IEC 17024

Level 4 – IAF endorsed sector specific normative documents which specify internationally recognized applications of the generic normative document listed in Level 3. The documents are used by the AB, in combination with the generic normative document listed in Level 3 to assess the CAB competence in the relevant sector. For example: ISO/TS 22003, ISO/IEC 27006.

Level 5 – IAF endorsed conformity assessment normative document used by CABs

For example: ISO 9001, ISO 14001;

Note: The combination of a Level 2 activity and the Level 3 relevant normative document is called a main scope of the MLA. The attestations made by CABs where the MLA is at the main scope level are considered to be equally reliable. Level 4 and Level 5 do not exist for all main scopes. Level 4 and Level 5 are called sub-scopes of the MLA. The attestations made by CABs where the MLA is at the sub-scope level are considered to be equivalent. There may not be a level 4 document (e.g. ISO 9001) however there must always be a Level 5 document for equivalence to be claimed.

Since the introduction of the Product MLA in 2004, the product MLA has been known as a “framework” MLA based on ISO/IEC 17065, as there were no common product certification schemes or product standards recognized by the IAF. Even though the Product MLA was a framework MLA, the IAF MLA Mark was allowed to be used on certificates of conformity, implying equivalence. However it has been recognized that this is misleading in the context of product certification. IAF ML 2 General Principles on Use of the IAF MLA Mark precludes the use of the IAF MLA Mark on product certificates unless issued under the terms of an IAF endorsed scheme. Having an IAF endorsed scheme, provides normative documents at Levels 4 and 5. The process for the endorsement of schemes is detailed in IAF PL 3 Policy and Procedure for Expansion of the Scope of the MLA.

Recognizing the significance of the changes in the use of the IAF MLA Mark in the activity of product certification, the IAF has introduced a relatively long transition period associated with the changes in the use of the IAF MLA Mark. The following transition arrangements apply:

A) As there are no IAF endorsed product certification schemes, ABs should require the CABs with whom they have a sub-license covering product certification to immediately cease including the combined IAF MLA Mark/AB symbol on product certificates.

B) A one year transition period will apply to allow ABs to establish new sublicenses with CABs providing product certification,

C) A four-year transition period will apply to allow CABs to withdraw product certificates that include the combined IAF MLA Mark /AB symbol.

ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, and IEC, the International Electrotechnical Organization, are two international standardization organizations that develop standards in a wide array of topics and subjects.

ISO/IEC conformity assessment standards and guides are consensus documents that define criteria, procedures and principles for conformity assessment and accreditation, prepared by working groups of the Conformity Assessment Committee (CASCO) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). IEC participates in the work of CASCO and the documents are jointly approved and published.

ISO/IEC 17000 Conformity assessment- Vocabulary and general principles.

ISO/IEC 17011 Conformity assessment- General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies.

ISO/IEC 17020 General criteria for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection.

ISO/IEC 17021-1 Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems.

ISO/IEC 17024 Conformity assessment – General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons.

ISO/IEC 17065 – Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services

ISO/IEC 17025 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.

ISO 15189 Medical laboratories – Particular requirements for quality and competence.

ISO/IEC 17043 Conformity Assessment – General requirements for Proficiency Testing.

ISO 17034 – General requirements for the competence of reference material producers