Accreditation
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Accreditation is the formal recognition by an independent, third party that confirms that a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) is competent, impartial, and reliable to perform its assigned conformity assessment activities in accordance with relevant standards and requirements. Accreditation is a foundation of trust. It gives confidence that the organization or people performing conformity assessment are competent, impartial, and reliable. A CAB is not necessarily a certification body. CAB is a broader term that includes Testing and Calibration Laboratories, Medical Laboratories, Certification Bodies, Inspection Bodies, Validation and Verification Bodies, and other conformity assessment bodies.
Simply put, certification is an assessment of an organization's management system, product, process, service, or other specified requirements, whereas accreditation is an assessment of the competence and impartiality of the conformity assessment body performing that assessment. Therefore, accreditation may be simply understood as the “assessment of those who perform conformity assessment” or, in simple terms, the “check on the checkers.”
To whom is accreditation granted?
Accreditation is generally granted to Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs). These may include Testing and Calibration Laboratories, Medical Laboratories, Certification Bodies, Inspection Bodies, Validation and Verification Bodies, and other specified conformity assessment bodies.
In India, NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) provides accreditation to Testing Laboratories, Calibration Laboratories, Medical Laboratories, Proficiency Testing Providers, Reference Material Producers, and Biobanks. NABL's accreditation system is established in accordance with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17011.
Similarly, NABCB (National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies) provides accreditation to Certification Bodies, Inspection Bodies, Validation and Verification Bodies, and other specified conformity assessment activities. For example, NABCB accredits Inspection Bodies according to ISO/IEC 17020 and Management System Certification Bodies according to ISO/IEC 17021-1.
An important point to understand here is that ISO/IEC 17011 specifies requirements for an Accreditation Body, whereas the CAB being accredited applies the relevant standard according to the nature of its conformity assessment activity.
For example:
* Testing and Calibration Laboratories → ISO/IEC 17025
* Medical Laboratories → ISO 15189
* Management System Certification Bodies → ISO/IEC 17021-1
* Inspection Bodies → ISO/IEC 17020
* Product, Process and Service Certification Bodies → ISO/IEC 17065
* Validation and Verification Bodies → ISO/IEC 17029
Difference between Certification and Accreditation
Suppose an organization implements a Quality Management System (QMS) according to ISO 9001. The organization undergoes an audit by a Certification Body and, after successfully meeting the applicable certification requirements, receives an ISO 9001 certificate. This is Certification. Now suppose the Certification Body itself is accredited by an Accreditation Body, such as NABCB, for the relevant certification activity. The Accreditation Body assesses whether the Certification Body has the required competence, impartiality, and processes to perform certification activities within its defined scope. This is Accreditation. Therefore, certification and accreditation are two different but interconnected levels of conformity assessment.
A simple way to remember the difference is:
Certification → assesses conformity of the organization / product / process / service.
Accreditation → assesses the competence and impartiality of the conformity assessment body.
International Recognition of Certification
Accreditation plays an important role in the international acceptance of conformity assessment results and certificates. The general framework can be understood by an example: An organization takes certification from an accredited certification body, who has taken accreditation from National Accreditation Body (say NABCB in India), which is a signatory to Global ACI MRA. This provides the International recognition of accredited conformity assessment results.
Effective 1 January 2026, Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI) commenced full operations and launched its Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MRA), bringing together the work previously carried out through the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). The objective is to provide a unified international accreditation framework that supports confidence and acceptance of accredited conformity assessment results and certificates across borders. It should, however, be remembered that international recognition depends on the applicable MRA, accreditation scope, scheme, and relevant regulatory or purchaser requirements. Accreditation by itself does not mean that every certificate is automatically accepted for every purpose in every country.
Why is Accreditation Important? Accreditation provides several important benefits:
* Regulators, customers, and buyers gain confidence in the CAB's technical competence and impartiality.
* The credibility of test reports, inspection reports, and certificates is enhanced.
* The risk of inaccurate, weak, or inadequate conformity assessment is reduced.
* It helps reduce technical barriers to international trade.
* It promotes the acceptance of accredited testing, inspection, and certification results across countries.
* It provides governments and regulatory bodies with a reliable conformity assessment infrastructure.
Thus, accreditation supports confidence, consistency, competence, impartiality, and international acceptance. Accreditation is not a permanent or unconditional recognition. The Accreditation Body conducts periodic surveillance, reassessment, and other scheduled evaluations to ensure that an accredited CAB continues to meet the applicable requirements.
Accreditation is also always granted for a defined Scope of Accreditation. An organization receives accreditation only for those standards, activities, sectors, tests, inspections, certification schemes, or other conformity assessment activities that have been assessed and included within its stated scope. Therefore, it is important not only to ask: “Is the organization accredited?” but also: “Is it accredited for the relevant activity and within the required scope?”
In short, Certification indicates that conformity to specified requirements has been assessed. Accreditation provides confidence that the body performing that conformity assessment is competent, impartial, and reliable according to applicable requirements. Therefore, accreditation is a crucial layer of the quality infrastructure. It strengthens confidence in test reports, inspection reports, validation and verification results, and certificates and supports their acceptance across national borders.
In the context of the international acceptance of a management system certificate, it is important to consider:
* Whether the Certification Body issuing the certificate is accredited;
* Whether its accreditation scope covers the relevant certification activity;
* Whether the applicable certification scheme and requirements are covered; and
* Whether the relevant Accreditation Body participates in the applicable Global ACI MRA arrangement.
In simple words: Certification checks conformity. Accreditation checks the competence and impartiality of those who perform conformity assessment. That is why accreditation can aptly be described as the “check on the checkers.”
Regards,
Keshav Ram Singhal
