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Certification or Accreditation? Why? By EIAC Marketing

By Ebtesam Yousuf Abdulrahim Alkhaja | May 28, 2020

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Accreditation and certification are used interchangeably but they are not the same. Though they are complementary and have the same methodology they are different. While certification is a certificate provided by a recognized third-party on the quality of goods or products or the adhering to the standards or requirements of an organization like ISO. On the other hand, accreditation is related to obtaining certification of credibility and competency. So in a conformity assessment chain, certification and accreditation work at different levels.

Accreditation and Certification are Distinct

Companies that are interested in doing inspection services get accreditation to show that they have the technical skills to do the needful. So accreditation is given to perform calibration or perform tests for inspection and certification bodies, material manufacturers, proficiency testing companies, etc. Whereas certification is done to conform to standards like ISO 9001 etc which gives quality assurance to the company’s products or services. So any company can get certification but only inspection services need accreditation.

Accreditation Authority

A government or non-government organization body grant attestation to the conformity assessment bodies to assure their competency and compliance with relevant Conformity Assessment Requirements. accreditation to those who are ISO 17021 compliant and is called accreditation authority. The authority has a set of standards relating to financial conditions, operations and performance. Generally, most of the countries has a governmental accreditation bodies to attest the conformity assessment activities and tasks for facilitating the internal and international trades in addition to support regulatory bodies for health, safety and environmental sectors. Most of the countries will have at least one or more national accreditation authority. The certification bodies get their accreditation from them.

How to Choose a Certification Body?

As you may be aware, the ISO only develops standards and does not issue certifications. But they have formed a committee to set standards regarding the certification process. This is called the CASCO standards and the certification bodies use this CASCO standard in their assessment.
So when choosing a certificate body to get your ISO certification you should evaluate from the several options available and choose the right one. You should check if the certification body is accredited and it uses the right CASCO standards. Note that the non-accreditation does not mean it is not reputed as it is not mandatory. Accreditation is also a symbol that follows the right processes to certify businesses and is a fair and neutral manner. It just shows its competence as it is accredited to a national accreditation body.

How to Check the Accreditation of Certification Body?

Though accreditation is not mandatory it is good to get an ISO certificate from an accredited body. All certification bodies interested in conformity assessment will be part of the world association of The IAF, International Accreditation Forum. If you want to check if the certification body you have hired is accredited, it will be listed in this forum. There are many assurance services that conduct checks to ensure that the certification bodies’ processes are proper and that they give merit-based certifications. The other option is to check with your country’s national accreditation body. Note that all accreditation services should conform to the ISO IEC 17011 and the conformity assessment requirements.

Certification

Many businesses opt for certifications as it shows that they are capable of providing the best quality product or service. Take, for example, a company opts to get ISO-9001 certified to show its customers that they are interested in continuous improvement and are serious about the quality of their product or goods. Typically, certification is voluntary but certain services may need compulsory certification from regulatory bodies.
Certification can be got only after a comprehensive evaluation against an industry-standard by an accredited certification body. Certification programs are conducted to test the skills of those providing the services. It is an approval from a recognized body that instills confidence in clients that the company is capable of keeping the promises made.

Certification and accreditation are distinct but they overlap, Both have different meanings and purposes and hence cannot be used interchangeably.