Short answer: Certification is when a conformity-assessment body attests that an organisation, product or person meets requirements. Accreditation is when an accreditation body formally recognises that the conformity-assessment body itself is competent and impartial for a defined scope. Companies are certified; certification bodies are accredited.
Two layers of confidence
Accreditation bodies operate to ISO/IEC 17011 and assess certification, inspection and testing bodies against the standards for their activity, such as ISO/IEC 17021-1, ISO/IEC 17020 or ISO/IEC 17065. In Pakistan, the national accreditation body is the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC). Internationally, accreditation bodies can sign mutual recognition arrangements through the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), so that accredited results are accepted across borders for the scopes covered.
Accreditation is always for a scope
A body can be accredited for ISO 9001 certification and not for food-safety or product schemes. The accreditation certificate lists the standards, schemes and sometimes the sectors covered. A certificate issued outside that scope is not an accredited certificate, even if the body holds other accreditations.
How to check
- Verify the certificate with the issuing body.
- Look up the body in the accreditation body's directory and read its scope.
- Check whether the certificate carries the accreditation mark and whether that is appropriate for the scope.
- For management-system certificates, IAF also operates a global database (IAF CertSearch) that many accredited bodies contribute to.
Key takeaways
- Certification is about the client; accreditation is about the certifier.
- Accreditation is scope-specific.
- Check both layers before relying on a certificate.
Next step
Organisations are certified; certification bodies are accredited. How the two layers work, and how to check both before you rely on a certificate.
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