The definition of these terms is given in EN ISO/IEC 17000:2004:
Third-party attestation related to a conformity assessment body conveying formal demonstration of its competence to carry out specific conformity assessment tasks.
Third-party attestation related to products, processes, systems or persons.
UKAS accredited Certification Bodies (CBs) can be recognised by the use of the royal crown in their accreditation mark; see also the list of UKAS accredited certification bodies on our website: Certification Bodies
UKAS is the national signatory, along with other nationally recognised accreditation bodies world-wide, to multilateral agreements for the purposes of mutual recognition through the European Co-operation for Accreditation (EA), the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation (ILAC). Those bodies that are signatory to these agreements are deemed to be equivalent having undergone stringent peer evaluations.
EA, IAF and ILAC have websites that give information about their organisations and details of the bodies that are signatory to their agreements: http://www.european-accreditation.org/ ; http://www.iaf.nu/ ; http://www.ilac.org/
If you have a certificate from a body which is not UKAS accredited but is accredited by another Accreditation Body, then you may wish to check to see if it is a signatory to one of the above multi-lateral agreements. If it is, then the certificate you have is deemed equivalent to one issued by an UKAS-accredited body.
Check the QA Register website that is maintained by the Stationery Office; however you will need to be a subscriber in order to access that part of the site. Follow this link to the QA Register website.
The responsibility for the compilation and publication of the QA Register was devolved to the Stationery Office by DTI in 1996. Only those companies that have certification from UKAS accredited CBs are eligible to be included in the Register. UKAS is unable to become involved in the commercial decisions taken by the Stationery Office with regard to the publication of the QA Register. The Stationery Office is based at St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich - tel: 0870 600 5522
UKAS is aware of the existence of non-UKAS accredited certification bodies offering ISO 9000 certification. However it is not mandatory for certification bodies to seek UKAS accreditation.
UKAS is unable to comment on the way in which the non-UKAS accredited bodies carry out their certification activities since UKAS has not assessed or accredited those bodies. UKAS accredited CBs are required to meet internationally agreed criteria such as ISO Guide 62 and are, therefore, not allowed to offer consultancy, assessment and certification as a "one-stop shop" package. They are also required to carry out a contract review with their potential clients to ensure that they are able to supply the certification that is required by them.
Only UKAS accredited CBs and their certificated organisations are allowed to make use of the relevant UKAS accreditation marks incorporating the tick and royal crown.
Some UKAS accredited certification bodies (not just BSI) do operate accredited product certification schemes for a variety of products. In response to any complaints that UKAS receives concerning the activities of a UKAS accredited CB's ISO 9000 certificated company, advice is given to make use of the formal complaints procedure that the certificated company is required to have in place.
Bogus claims such as "working towards ISO 9000" certification should be reported to the local trading standards office for investigation and action where necessary
If the certificate is issued under the laboratory's scope of accreditation then the certificate should be recognised in those countries whose national accreditation bodies are signatory to the EA & ILAC multilateral agreement.
The current application fee and daily rates can be found on this link to the Terms and Conditions.
All assessment fees are effort related ie dependent on the complexity of scope of accreditation being sought. These fees include not just the time the assessment team spend at your site but also office time. Travel and subsistence is charged at cost.
There is normally a lead-in time of approximately three months to arrange the first visit to new applicant customers, with the exception of applications for accreditation for Medical Laboratories (for ISO 15189), which currently have a lead-in time of approximately six months following receipt of application. The exact time frames between the initial visit and grant of accreditation are very much dependent on the client's compliance with requirements, complexity of scope of accreditation, clearance of improvement actions etc by the organisation being assessed. UKAS does, however, have target time frames that are set for the various stages of the UKAS parts of the process. With these in mind, and, depending on the organisation being assessed we would say that approximately 6 to 12 months from application to accreditation is a realistic timescale. For Medical Laboratories this may take a little longer given the current lead-in time for the first visit after application.
For further details with respect to the Route to Accreditation please click here.
Notification is granted by the relevant government department for that particular directive, eg BERR, DCLG, MHRA, HSE. Current lists of Notified Bodies may be obtained direct from the relevant government body, often via their website that will also give information on the individual directives. See "Contacts and Links" page.
Currently there are no UKAS accredited Certification Bodies for personnel certification schemes relating to asbestos surveys. Individuals that are sole traders are not precluded from seeking accreditation as an organisation in accordance with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17020 (BS EN 45004). Route to accreditation gives an outline of the process in general terms.
An outline of the accreditation process is available in general terms.
However there is specific guidance contained in the UKAS Inspection Body guidance publication, RG 8, which is freely available.
The route to accreditation is given in general terms plus specific guidance for such activities is contained within the UKAS Laboratory guidance publication, LAB 30, which is freely available.
UKAS does not offer such training. Organisations such as The British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) do offer such training courses. They can be contacted on tel: 01332 298087
Your organisation does not require accreditation but needs to be certificated by a Certification Body that is UKAS accredited for the BRC food standard. You can search the Certification Bodies schedules for BRC Global Food Standard .
However you should check their schedules of accreditation to ensure that their accreditation covers the specific food types that your company produces.
Your company does not need to be UKAS accredited itself but needs to contact a Certification Body that is accredited for this activity.
UKAS has accredited a number of Certification Bodies for PAS 43 in conjunction with ISO 9000 and an engineering Inspection Body for accredited inspections in respect of PAS 43.
You will need to contact them direct to discuss how your company can be certificated or inspected for PAS 43. To find the details of these bodies, please use the Advanced Search facility on the site and ensure that the search is against all UKAS documents (Word, PDF, Excel).
There are a number of UKAS accredited Engineering Inspection Bodies that are accredited for in-service inspection of pressure systems.
The route to accreditation gives the process in general terms. However the UKAS Inspection Body guidance document, RG 4, will help you with respect to particular clauses of ISO/IEC 17020 for this activity.
Please note that UKAS does not offer training for lifting equipment or any other activities carried out by the UKAS accredited Inspection Bodies, laboratories or certification bodies.
It is possible that details of organisations that can provide training for lifting equipment can be obtained by the HSE or the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association.
The route to accreditation gives you the general outline of the process. You will need to complete the testing laboratory insert (AC4) in the Application Form even though your organisation is making measurements out in the field.
Details of organisations accredited for these tests can be found on the UKAS Testing Laboratory website by searching on the term "building acoustics".