How to get UKAS Accreditation

UKAS accredits organisations offering services including certification, validation and verification, testing, inspection, calibration, proficiency testing provision, reference material production and imaging and  physiological services against national and internationally recognised standards – see below for a list of standards.

Are you outside the UK?

Accreditation is not normally offered to organisations based outside the UK. Please visit the EA, ILAC and IAF websites for details of your national accreditation body.

• ISO/IEC 17025: Testing & calibration laboratories
• ISO/IEC 17021-1: Certification of management systems
• ISO/IEC 17024: Certification of persons
• ISO/IEC 17065: Certification of products, processes & services
• ISO/IEC 17020: Inspection bodies
• ISO 15189: Medical laboratories
• ISO 22870 (in conjunction with ISO 15189): Point-of-care testing (POCT)
• ISO 15195 (in conjunction with ISO 15189): Medical reference measurement laboratories
• IQIPS: Improving Quality in Physiological Services
• QSI: Quality Standard for Imaging
• BS 70000: Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering services (MPACE)
• ISO/IEC 17043: Proficiency testing (PT) providers
• ISO 17034: Reference material producers
• ISO/IEC 17029: Validation and verification bodies
• ISO 14065 & ISO 14064-3: Validation and verification of environmental information including greenhouse gas (GHG)
• Accreditation of Approved Bodies (GB) and UK Notified Bodies for the NI market
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• Familiarise yourself with the clauses in the relevant accreditation standard(s) which can be purchased from the British Standards Institute (BSI)
• Perform a gap analysis to see what you have in place and what needs addressing
• Identify the relevant supporting UKAS Publications which will be required to gain accreditation
• International publications relevant to their area of accreditation are also available on the EA, IAF and ILAC websites
• Complete the application form – this will include details of what to submit, including key policy and procedure documents and proof of legal status, to ensure swift processing
• Once complete, you will be issued an invoice for your Application Fee (please refer to the UKAS Standard Terms of Business). Your application will be progressed upon payment is received

NOTE: Organisations based outside the UK should contact info@ukas.com in the first instance before submitting any documentation or fee.

• Your application will be assigned to an Assessment Manager (AM) who will review the documentation and guide you through the process.

A pre-assessment is an informal visit prior to initial assessment, it is used to determine how ready you are for accreditation. A pre-assessment visit is optional, but it can be a valuable step in the process to reduce delays in gaining accreditation.

For more information on pre-assessment visits click here.

Once you have addressed any issues raised during the pre-assessment visit, the initial assessment is the first formal assessment.

This will be conducted by a Lead Assessor (normally your Assessment Manager) supported, as necessary, by Technical Assessors with the expertise to cover your scope of application.  The length of the visit will depend upon the scope of application requested. The Assessment Manager will provide you with a quotation for the work involved.

The practicalities of the assessment

In advance of the visit, you will receive a visit confirmation followed by a visit plan, which provides a proposed timetable for the work to be assessed.

• An opening meeting will take place to agree the arrangements.
• The assessment will involve a detailed review of company records.
• Interviews will take place with staff and managers, as well as witnessing of key activities.
• A full vertical and horizontal audit will take place.
• A de-brief of the visit and any findings will be discussed at a closing meeting.
• UKAS will provide a full report during or immediately following the assessment visit.  This will detail any findings or improvement actions identified against accreditation requirements.  You will be asked to advise UKAS on how you will address them.

The assessment team will make a recommendation at the closing meeting.

Should you have any findings, you will have approximately 12 weeks (this may vary but will be agreed with your Assessment Manager) to provide suitable evidence to your Assessment Manager that they have been addressed.

Once any mandatory findings have been satisfactorily cleared, the Assessment Manager will submit their recommendation to an independent Decision-maker within UKAS. See UKAS decision-making process.

Following ratification of the decision to grant accreditation you will be notified in writing. You will also receive a certificate of accreditation, and a schedule defining the scope will be made publicly available on the UKAS website.

Your accreditation will be confirmed on an annual basis through surveillance activities, with a full re-assessment every fourth year. The first surveillance visit takes place 6 months after the Grant of Accreditation.

At the initial assessment stage, you will be provided with an estimate of the work involved for the four-year cycle. At any time during the life of your accreditation, if the estimated effort changes (for example, if you have an extension to scope granted which affects the effort required in subsequent assessments), then you will be provided with an amended estimate. A quotation for each year’s assessment will be provided.

Accredited organisations are advised to adopt the following measures to maintain their accreditation:

• Inform your Assessment Manager of any changes that may affect the scope of your accreditation as early as possible. Your Assessment Manager can be contacted at any point in the cycle.
• Ensure that your key technical staff maintain their technical competence by attending recognised training courses and relevant sector events. UKAS provides training courses that may support the development of your technical team.
• Ensure that you keep up-to-date with Regulatory changes in your sector.
• Ensure that you are subscribed to Update, UKAS Publications and Technical Bulletins to ensure that you receive the latest accreditation requirements.
• Inform UKAS in advance of any relocation of premises from which accredited work is performed.
• Conduct an appropriate Internal audit regime.
• Ensure on-going effective document control.
• Retain all quality records and technical records throughout the period between assessments.
• Ensure that you are subscribed to UKAS Publications and Technical Bulletins to ensure that you receive the latest accreditation requirements.

Accredited organisations are able to benefit by visually identifying their status through the use of the UKAS symbol. Read the conditions for using the accreditation logo and symbols which sets out the conditions that must be followed for organisations that wish to use the symbol.

Supporting information

• How to use the UKAS symbol for guidance and suggested uses.
• Resources
  • News
  • Webinars & events
  • Publications
  • Bulletins
  • Case studies, videos and articles
  • Subscribe to Update newsletter
• Social Media
  • Linkedin
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
• You can contact communications@ukas.com for further support

As a signatory to the international accreditation Arrangements, you are entitled to use the ILAC and IAF Marks to demonstrate that the services that you provide are recognised globally.

• How to use the IAF MLA Mark
• How to use the ILAC MRA Mark

Once accredited,  you can apply to extend the scope of your accreditation at any point through your customer portal online. If you don’t have access to the customer portal, please email applications@ukas.com to request an application form.

This applies to both extending your existing scope, and gaining accreditation under another accreditation standard.

You are encouraged to discuss any proposed extension to scope with your Assessment Manager prior to application.

Extensions to scope can be completed as stand alone visits, as part of your next routine visit (surveillance or re-assessment), or as desktop reviews depending on the scope applied for, and desired assessment time-frame.

More information: https://www.ukas.com/customer-area/extending-amending-accreditation