International • 4 mins read
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) has successfully maintained its status as a signatory to the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) Multilateral Agreement (MLA), following a rigorous peer evaluation in November 2024. This reaffirmation underscores UKAS’s continued commitment to excellence and alignment with international standards in accreditation.
As the UK’s National Accreditation Body, UKAS plays a pivotal role in ensuring the competence and reliability of conformity assessment bodies across a wide range of sectors, including testing, calibration, certification, inspection, and verification. Its MLA signatory status means that certificates and reports issued by UKAS-accredited organisations are recognised and accepted globally, facilitating international trade and regulatory compliance.
The EA MLA is a cornerstone of international accreditation, enabling mutual recognition among national accreditation bodies. To retain this status, UKAS underwent a comprehensive peer evaluation conducted by a team of 11 European experts from other accreditation bodies. The assessment reviewed UKAS’s management systems, operational procedures, and technical competence across its full scope of activities.
The evaluation team praised UKAS for its transparency, professionalism, and the high calibre of its staff. While a few minor areas for improvement were noted, the overall findings were overwhelmingly positive, confirming UKAS’s alignment with the stringent requirements of ISO/IEC 17011:2017—the international standard for accreditation bodies.
In a forward-looking move, UKAS is now seeking to extend its MLA scope to include biobanking, following the EA General Assembly’s decision in May 2025 to bring the biobanking MLA into immediate effect. This decision was based on the harmonisation of EN ISO 20387:2018, the international standard for biobanking, which sets out general requirements for the competence and consistent operation of biobanks. UKAS has already established a pilot programme in this area and granted its first biobanking accreditation in October 2024. The extension of the MLA scope will further enhance the international recognition of UKAS-accredited biobanks and support the growing importance of biobanking in biomedical research and public health.
This milestone comes at a particularly meaningful time for UKAS, as it celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2025. Since its establishment in 1995, UKAS has grown into a globally respected accreditation body, supporting innovation, safety, and quality across the UK economy. The successful peer evaluation and the strategic expansion into biobanking reflect UKAS’s enduring mission to evolve with emerging scientific and industrial needs while upholding the highest standards of integrity and competence.
Maintaining this recognition is particularly significant in the post-Brexit landscape, where the UK’s ability to demonstrate equivalence with European and global standards is vital for trade continuity and regulatory trust. UKAS’s continued participation in the EA MLA, alongside its roles in the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), ensures that UK businesses remain competitive and credible on the world stage.
As the EA peer evaluation and MLA process is fully recognised by both ILAC and IAF, the renewal of UKAS’s EA MLA status also reaffirms its position as a signatory to the multilateral arrangements (MRA/MLA) operated by these two international bodies. This renewal ensures continued global recognition of UKAS’s accreditation services, as well as the conformity assessment services provided by its accredited clients beyond Europe.
“Securing continued recognition under the EA MLA is an important achievement for UKAS and reflects the hard work and professionalism of our teams, whilst reinforcing the international recognition that underpins the work of our accredited customers across all sectors. In a global marketplace, this recognition helps ensure that UKAS-accredited certificates and reports continue to be trusted and accepted worldwide, supporting trade, regulatory confidence and customer assurance.”
— Rob Bettinson, International Director, UKAS
This achievement not only reinforces confidence in UKAS’s operations but also strengthens the UK’s position in the global conformity assessment community, confirming that the UK’s quality infrastructure remains resilient, respected and internationally recognised.