The requirement for accreditation of product certification is normally assessment against ISO/IEC 17065 plus any additional sector requirements that may have been described by the scheme owner or the certification body itself. Some scheme owners have, however, opted to develop their own requirements or based them on the International Requirements for Organic Certification Bodies where this seems more relevant. IOAS may not accept an application if, in its view, there is a lack of sector specific requirements that result in a lack of credibility of the certification.
The application from the certification body must designate and supply the standard against which the products will be accredited and the specific scope categories that are being applied for.
These details will define the scope of the accreditation which will be made clear in the accreditation certificate we issue and in any public statement.
Depending on the scheme/standard owner, there might be additional application requirements, such as prior application to the scheme owner. Once IOAS has agreed that the proposed standard is in the scope of IOAS' work, the first step to accreditation is to complete the general IOAS application form.
The IOAS ISO/IEC 17065 Operating Manual provides full guidance on implementation of this scheme.
IOAS Accredited Certification Bodies may use the IAF-MLA Mark in combination with the IOAS accreditation symbol on certificates for MLA-subscopes for the ISO/IEC 17065 GLOBALG.A.P. IFA. Those ISO/IEC 17065 accredited without the MLA subscope may use the combined Mark but not on certificates.
The IOAS is an IAF MLA signatory and accreditations granted by IAF MLA signatories are recognized worldwide based on their equivalent accreditation programs. Mutual recognition of accredited certification in many markets reduces costs and adds value to business.
Businesses will be able to see at a glance that the certificate is accredited by an accreditation body that is a signatory to the IAF MLA.