Accreditation

Accreditation is a third party attestation related to a conformity assessment body conveying formal demonstration of its competence to carry out the tasks of conformity assessment. Accreditation is made available to different conformity assessment bodies namely Testing & Calibration Laboratories, Certification Bodies, Inspection Bodies, Training Institutions and Persons who perform conformity assessments.

Accreditation is a process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented. This ensures one certificate acceptable all over the world.

Organizations that issue credentials or certify third parties against official standards are themselves formally accredited by accreditation bodies (such as UKAS, NATA, NABL); hence they are sometimes known as “accredited certification bodies”. The accreditation process ensures that their certification practices are acceptable, typically meaning that they are competent to test and certify third parties, behave ethically, and employ suitable quality assurance.

One example of accreditation is the accreditation of testing laboratories and certification specialists that are permitted to issue official certificates of compliance with established standards, such as physical, chemical, forensic, quality, and security standards.