Short answer: Product certification is third-party attestation that a product, process or service meets specified requirements under a defined certification scheme. The body that certifies follows ISO/IEC 17065. The scheme — who owns it, what it requires, how products are sampled and how often production is checked — determines how much confidence a product certificate actually gives.
The certification body and the scheme
ISO/IEC 17065 sets requirements for how a certification body operates: impartiality, competence, evaluation, review, decision and surveillance. It does not say which tests to perform. That comes from the certification scheme, which names the requirements (often a product standard), the evaluation methods and the surveillance needed. A scheme can be owned by a standards body, a regulator, an industry association or the certification body itself.
Scheme types under ISO/IEC 17067
| Type | What it involves | Confidence over time |
|---|---|---|
| 1a | Testing of one or more samples (type testing); no surveillance | The design, not production |
| 1b | Evaluation of a whole batch or a sample from it | That batch only |
| 2 | Initial evaluation plus periodic sampling from the market | Ongoing, market-based |
| 3 | Initial evaluation plus periodic sampling from the point of production | Ongoing, factory-based |
| 4 | Sampling from both the market and the factory | Ongoing, broader |
| 5 | Testing plus assessment of the production process or management system, with surveillance | Strongest for continuous production |
| 6 | Certification of services and processes | Ongoing, by assessment of the service |
Questions to ask about any product certificate
- Which scheme and which requirements does it cover?
- Does it cover one batch, a type, or ongoing production?
- Which factory or site is covered?
- Is the certification body accredited for this scheme and product category?
- Can the certificate be verified online today?
Key takeaways
- A product certificate is only as meaningful as the scheme behind it.
- Surveillance is what turns a one-off test into continuing assurance.
- Accreditation for product certification is granted per scheme and scope.
Next step
How product certification works, why the scheme matters more than the certificate, and what the ISO/IEC 17067 scheme types tell a buyer.
Product certification at BVS
