The International Accreditation Forum, Inc. (IAF) is the world association of

Conformity Assessment Conformance testing — an element of conformity assessment, and also known as compliance testing, or type testing — is testing or other activities that determine whether a process, product, or service complies with the requirements of a specific ...

Accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

bodies and other bodies interested in conformity assessment in the fields of

management system A management system is a set of policies, processes and procedures used by an organization to ensure that it can fulfill the tasks required to achieve its objectives. These objectives cover many aspects of the organization's operations (including ...

products Product may refer to: Business * Product (business), an item that serves as a solution to a specific consumer problem. * Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution Mathematics * Produ ...

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

personnel Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

and other similar programs of conformity assessment. Its primary function is to develop a single worldwide program of conformity assessment which reduces risk for business and its

customer In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good, service, product or an idea - obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or exchange for ...

s by assuring them that accredited certificates may be relied upon. IAF members accredit certification or registration bodies that issue certificates attesting that an organization's management, products or personnel comply with a specified

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

. Accreditation is an essential ingredient for competitiveness, access to new markets, productivity improvement, innovation of new products and environmental protection, as well as the health and safety of populations. An efficient and effective quality and standards infrastructure, underpinned by accreditation, is key to a country’s growth, as well as being essential in creating a safer, cleaner, and more equitable and well-integrated world. Accreditation provides confidence in the quality, safety, and environmental credentials of goods, services, and processes. It is required for the effective operation of domestic markets, and its international recognition is important to enable access to foreign markets. Accreditation is a critical element in promoting and sustaining economic development as well as environmental and social well-being, as it provides confidence in metrology, standardization, and conformity assessment (which comprises testing, calibration, inspection, and certification). IAF has prepared an informativ
brochure
which provides general information about IAF, its activities, membership and programs.

Role of the IAF

The primary purpose of IAF is two-fold. Firstly, to ensure that its accreditation body members only accredit bodies that are competent to do the work they undertake and are not subject to

conflicts of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

. The second purpose of the IAF is to establish mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs), known as

Multilateral Recognition Arrangement Mutual recognition occurs when two or more countries or other institutions recognize one another's decisions or policies, for example in the field of conformity assessment, professional qualifications or in relation to criminal matters. A mutual ...

s (MLAs), between its accreditation body members which reduces risk to business and its customers by ensuring that an accredited certificate may be relied upon anywhere in the world. The MLA contributes to the freedom of world trade by eliminating technical barriers to trade. IAF works to find the most effective way of achieving a single system that will allow companies with an accredited conformity assessment certificate in one part of the world, to have that certificate recognized else where in the world. The objective of the MLA is that it will cover all accreditation bodies in all

countries A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...

in the world, thus eliminating the need for

suppliers In commerce, a supply chain is a network of facilities that procure raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products to customers through a distribution system. It refers to the network of organizations, people, activ ...

of products or services to be certified in each country where they sell their products or services. According t
the World Bank
accreditation and the wider quality infrastructure, serve the needs of governments, businesses, and consumers. For governments, it provides a mechanism to support relevant trade and industrial policies and ensures enforcement of mandatory technical regulations. Further information can be found o
Public Sector Assurance
For businesses, it helps limit the cost of production, by increasing productivity and enabling firms to be more competitive in domestic and foreign markets. More information can be found o
Business Benefits
For consumers, it ensures public health and safety as well as environmental and consumer protection. Accreditation is closely linked to the United Nations goals of promotion of sustainable development, to protection of human rights, and advancing economic prosperity. The work of ILAC and IAF is strongly aligned to key projects o
UNIDO
an

which promote the adoption of accreditation to facilitate trade, provide employment opportunities, and to facilitate exports and foreign direct investment. Maintaining strategic partnerships and technical cooperation, together with the use of standards and compliance related activities, forms an important part of UNIDO’s approach. The relationship between UNIDO, the IAF and ILAC aims to enhance the impact of industrial development on economic growth and achieving the SDGs.

IAF CertSearch

IAF launche
IAF CertSearch
so accredited certifications from around the world can be validated. IAF CertSearch is a global database where users can search and validate the status of accredited certification issued by a Certification Body which has been accredited by an IAF signatory member Accreditation Body. IAF CertSearch also provides organisations with information about the accredited network, which includes a list of all Accreditation Bodies and Certification Bodies across the globe. • Organisations seeking to become certified can browse a list of accredited Certification Bodie
here
• Organisations seeking accreditation can browse a list of Accreditation Bodie
here
• Organisations seeking to trade with a certified company can browse companies on the voluntary trade marketplac
here

Structure of the IAF

The highest level of authority in IAF is the Members in a General Meeting. General Meetings make decisions and lay down

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...

in the name of the members. The Board is responsible for legal actions to be carried out on behalf of the members, for developing broad policy directions for IAF and for ensuring that the day-to-day work of the IAF is carried out in accordance with policies approved by members. The terms of reference, tasks and duties as defined by the Bylaws and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) remain unchanged for the members at a General Meeting, the Board of Directors and the Secretary. The Executive Committee is responsible to the Board of Directors for the day-to-day work of IAF on the basis of decisions made by the Members and directions by the Board of Directors. The operations of all IAF Committees and Subordinate Groups, including the Executive Committee, are subject to the IAF General Procedures.

Membership

The International Accreditation Forum is a global association of Accreditation Bodies, Conformity Assessment Body associations, Regional Accreditation Groups, and Industry associations, including scheme owners. * Accreditation Body Membership: Open to Bodies developing, or conducting and administering, accreditation of entities that perform conformity assessment such as management system certification, product certification, certification of persons, verification/validation, or similar conformity assessment. * Association Membership: Open to groups of entities that engage in , are subject to, make use of, accept or rely on, conformity assessment results from bodies accredited by Accreditation Body Members of IAF. * Regional Accreditation Group Membership: Open to regional groups of Accreditation Bodies whose aims include the maintenance of Regional Multilateral Recognition Arrangements recognising the equal reliability and/or equivalence of their members’ accreditations. A
official list
is available online.

World Accreditation Day

The IAF and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), the global associations for accreditation with members from 103 economies, established World Accreditation Day to take place each year on June 9 to act as a springboard for awareness-raising actions and to promote accreditation to governments, the public and private sectors, and, more generally, citizens. It also provides national organisations the opportunity to organize activities related to the theme of the day.
World accreditation days since 2009

External links

Accreditation Auditing Practices Group

International Accreditation Forum

IAF Newsletter

References

{{Refend International professional associations International standards organizations