ISO/IEC 17011 Accreditations

ISO/IEC 17011:2017 specifies requirements for the competence, consistent operation and impartiality of accreditation bodies assessing and accrediting conformity assessment bodies.

This document specifies the requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies. In the context of this document, activities covered by accreditation include but are not limited to testing, calibration, inspection, certification of management systems, persons, products, processes and services, provision of proficiency testing, production of reference materials, validation and verification.

It is important for interested parties to know that conformity assessment bodies are competent to perform their tasks. For that reason, there is an increasing demand for impartial attestation of their competence. Such attestation is done by accreditation bodies that are impartial and independent in relation to the conformity assessment bodies and the conformity assessment bodies’ clients. Accreditation bodies normally operate in a non-profit distributing manner and conduct regular assessments of conformity assessment bodies to ensure that conformity assessment bodies conform to relevant international standards and other normative documents.

A system to accredit conformity assessment bodies is intended to provide for a consistent application of conformity assessment to international consensus based standards and conformity assessment schemes, in order to benefit public health, safety, environment and welfare and support regulators and end users. It can facilitate national and cross-border trade, as pursued by trade authorities and organizations.

This document can be used to support peer evaluation mechanisms which have been created at regional and international levels and through which confidence is provided that accreditation bodies are operating in accordance with this document.