FAQ

Certifications and accreditations are indispensable components of the quality infrastructure. They play a central role in assessing and ensuring the conformity of products, services, systems or persons with relevant requirements.

Certification is carried out by a specialised certification body. This body examines in detail whether the elements mentioned fulfil the required standards. All relevant aspects such as quality, safety and environmental compatibility are taken into account. The assessment is based on clearly defined criteria and standards. The main purpose of certification is to ensure that products or services meet the required quality standards. This gives consumers the certainty that they can purchase a product or use a service that fulfils certain minimum requirements.

In contrast, accreditation is reserved for the state and serves as official confirmation of the technical competence of a conformity assessment body such as a certification service provider. Accreditation gives such a body the right or privilege to carry out certain activities. The awarding of accreditation ensures that the conformity assessment body in question has sound expertise as well as the necessary infrastructure and competence to carry out its tasks properly. This strengthens confidence in the quality of the conformity assessment.

Overall, certifications and accreditations help to ensure that products, services or systems meet the required quality standards. They create transparency for consumers and companies and thus promote trust in the market. By clearly defining their tasks, they ensure a well-founded assessment of conformity and technical expertise within the quality infrastructure.

A conformity assessment body is an organisation or institution that specialises in carrying out conformity assessments. These assessments serve to ensure that certain requirements relating to a product, a process, a system, a person or a body are fulfilled. The requirements may be prescribed by law or specified in standards, manufacturer documentation or otherwise.

To ensure their credibility and competence, all conformity assessment bodies must fulfil certain specified requirements. These requirements are set out in the ISO/IEC 17000 series standards and other relevant standards for accreditation. This accreditation confirms that the body in question has the necessary expertise and resources and is therefore qualified to carry out objective and reliable conformity assessments.

It is very important to ensure that products and services comply with the applicable standards. A well-founded conformity assessment not only offers companies legal certainty, but also a competitive advantage over rivals on the market. Consumers, in turn, benefit by being able to rely on products meeting their expectations and not posing a risk to their health or safety. The existence and functioning of conformity assessment bodies is therefore of great importance for the smooth functioning of the market and for the protection of the interests of all stakeholders.

Under current legislation in Northern Ireland, organisations can apply for accreditation provided they meet the required criteria. This usually includes:

1. Conformity assessment bodies of companies registered in the Ireland Trade Register and based in Northern Ireland.
2. State conformity assessment bodies in Northern Ireland.

Taking into account the overall and external economic interests of Northern Ireland, accreditation may also be open to the following organisations:

1. Conformity assessment bodies of companies that are registered abroad and have an operating site in Northern Ireland.
2. Conformity assessment bodies abroad, provided they fulfil the necessary criteria and comply with the legal requirements of Northern Ireland.

It is important to note that according to the applicable EU regulations, in particular Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, national accreditation bodies should not compete with each other, but should work together to ensure the integrity and efficiency of the accreditation system.

The NIILA has described the accreditation procedures in detail by level in its guidelines and reference documents. These and other documents, such as the “Ordinance on our Accreditation System and the Designation of Testing, Conformity Assessment, Registration and Licensing Bodies” – known as the Accreditation and Designation Ordinance (AkkBV) for short – registration documents and detailed provisions for accredited bodies are available in the Basic Principles and Documents section of this website.

You can use our search engine under the navigation point “Search accredited bodies NIILA” to call up the accredited bodies using various search criteria. Enter a keyword, a standard, a procedure, etc. in the “Search term” field and/or select the corresponding type in the “Accreditation type” field.

An accreditation can be recognised if it has been issued by an accreditation body that has signed a Multilateral Agreement (MLA) with the international organisation International Accreditation Forum (IAF) in the area of certification or the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) in the other areas or has an analogous MLA with a regional accreditation organisation that is a member of the corresponding international organisations mentioned above.

The latest editions of the accreditation standards for certification bodies for management systems, persons and products offer bodies a variety of options for implementing an effective management system. They can choose between a rigorous ISO 9001 system or a simpler approach that only fulfils the minimum requirements set out in the standards.

In the first case, it is imperative that the management system fulfils all the requirements of ISO 9001. This is confirmed by the accreditation and shows other companies and customers that all relevant quality standards are met. Compliance with this internationally recognised standard enables certification bodies to strengthen their credibility and build trust with their customers.

In the second case, it is possible to introduce a simplified management system that does not fulfil all aspects of ISO 9001, but does cover certain areas. This option can be particularly attractive for smaller companies, as they may have fewer resources available or specific industry-specific requirements.

Regardless of which option is chosen – both the strict and the simplified approach – accreditation plays a crucial role. It ensures that the implemented management system has undergone an independent review and therefore delivers reliable results.

Through these certification bodies and their accreditation standards, companies are encouraged to continuously work on improving their management systems. This promotes a culture of quality awareness and enables companies to gain a competitive advantage.

In summary, the latest editions of the accreditation standards for certification bodies for management systems, persons and products provide clear guidance on how to implement effective systems. They allow bodies to either follow strict internationally recognised standards or implement simplified approaches. In either case, accreditation plays a crucial role in confirming compliance with these standards and strengthens confidence in organisations’ quality assurance systems.

Each certificate must contain a variety of information that makes it possible to clearly identify both the certificate itself and the issuing certification authority. This information is crucial to ensure that the certificate is valid and trustworthy.

• Firstly, each certificate should have an identification number. This number serves to clearly identify the respective certificate and can be helpful in the event of questions or checks.
• The name and address of the responsible certification body must also be stated. This ensures that it is clearly recognisable who is responsible for issuing the certificate in question. This creates transparency and possible doubts about the authenticity of the document can be avoided.
• It is equally important to state the name and address of the organisation or company to which the certificate was issued. In this way, it can be traced who exactly is in possession of this particular certificate or which company benefits from it.

If the certificate was issued under an accreditation – i.e. by an officially accredited body – the corresponding accreditation mark and an accreditation number should also be listed in addition to the above. This makes it clear that not only the individual certificate has been checked, but also that the entire certification body has official accreditation.

With all this information, it is possible to check the validity of the certificate with the relevant certification authority at any time. This allows you to make sure that the document is genuine and up to date. The validity of the accreditation for the specific scope of the certification can also be checked with the relevant accreditation body.

Providing this detailed information on each individual certificate ensures transparency and trust in the entire certification process. It enables companies and organisations to demonstrate their quality standards and offer their customers a high level of security.

Firstly, training courses may be offered as long as they are not imposed as a prerequisite for subsequent certification or would influence the certification services in any unauthorised way. This means that customers can decide voluntarily whether or not they wish to complete additional training measures.

There are certain accreditation standards in the area of certification (ISO/IEC 17021, 17024, 17065), which are authoritative and must be adhered to. These standards ensure that all aspects of the certification process are fair and transparent.

Now we come to the second side of the coin: consulting services may not be offered if the same organisation or parts of it also offer certification services. This applies to commercial consultancy services of any kind that go beyond supporting certification clients as part of the certification process. The focus here is on avoiding potential conflicts of interest and ensuring the neutrality of the entire process.

Overall, it is therefore generally permitted to offer training as part of the range of services. However, the prerequisite for this is strict adherence to the applicable accreditation standards and not offering any consultancy services in connection with the certifications offered.

The issuing of a certificate by a certification body is an important step in confirming that a certified customer meets the requirements of a defined certification programme. However, it does not guarantee that the certification body itself fulfils the standards required for the award of the certificate. To ensure stakeholder confidence in the statements made by the certification body, a verification and confirmation of its competence is normally carried out by a government surveillance body such as NIILA.

This external accreditation gives the certification body the right to affix its own accreditation mark to the certificates issued. This is often used to indicate that these certificates are accredited. The accreditation of such a body demonstrates, among other things, its reliability, independence, impartiality and expertise throughout the certification process and in relation to the standard awarded and the client’s business area.

Accredited certification is therefore an instrument in which all parties involved (certificate providers, certified bodies, legislators and other interested parties) co-operate to ensure quality and reliability. This co-operation between all parties involved is crucial to ensure that certification is effective and trustworthy. Only through such a cooperative approach can it be ensured that the requirements of the respective certification programme are met and that the trust of the stakeholders in the certified customer is strengthened.

The costs of accreditation vary depending on the type of accreditation applied for, the desired scope, the size of the organisation to be accredited and the number of its offices. Another decisive factor for the level of costs is the preparation by the conformity assessment body.

In order to obtain an accurate cost estimate, the conformity assessment body takes all of these framework conditions into account and provides an individual cost estimate in good time before the start of the assessment procedure. This enables the companies or organisations to prepare for possible expenses and set corresponding budgets. There are also factsheets with non-binding information on the expected costs of accreditation. This information serves as a guide for interested parties and provides a rough overview of the financial commitment involved in such a process.

Through this detailed presentation, we want to ensure that our potential customers have all the relevant information at their disposal and are well informed when making their accreditation decisions. We are committed to creating transparency and building trust with our customers.