Suspending, withdrawing or reducing accreditation

On occasion it may be necessary for UKAS to suspend, withdraw or reduce the accreditation of an accredited Conformity Assessment Body (CAB). This will occur if the CAB has failed to meet the requirements of accreditation, abide by the rules of accreditation or has voluntarily requested to suspend, withdraw or reduce its accreditation. These are collectively called “sanctions” and a summary of those that can be applied are detailed below:

Imposed Suspension

UKAS suspends the accreditation of the CAB where it is not conforming to the requirements of their accreditation or if a specific issue has arisen which may call into question the competence of the accredited CAB. This suspension can either be full (covering the entire scope of accreditation) or partial (specific to a specific location or technical activity/scope).

Financial Suspension

UKAS suspends the accreditation of the CAB as a result of non-payment of fees.

Voluntary Suspension

The accredited CAB chooses to suspend either the full or partial scope of accreditation, normally because they have identified an issue and cannot fully demonstrate compliance with the requirements of accreditation e.g. departure of a key personnel or a move of facilities.

Note: any suspension of accreditation is usually a temporary measure and most CABs are expected to regain accreditation within a short period (usually within 3 months although in exceptional circumstances this may be extended up to 9 months).

Withdrawal of accreditation

This will occur when UKAS can no longer accredit the organisation because it can no longer demonstrate it meets the requirements of accreditation. This will normally occur if a suspended CAB has failed to address issues resulting in the original suspension. However, it can also apply if there are failings in the integrity of the accredited CAB’s senior management.

For a list of those UKAS accredited CABs whose accreditation is currently suspended or has been withdrawn please click here.

Confidentiality

UKAS has confidentiality agreements in place with all its customers, which ensure that the assessment can be performed in an open environment. This means that UKAS is not permitted disclose why a sanction has been imposed and any questions should be directed to the CAB.