Certification can be a useful tool to add credibility, by demonstrating that your product or service meets the expectations of your customers. For some industries, certification is a legal or contractual requirement.
ISO does not perform certification
At ISO, we develop International Standards, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, but we are not involved in their certification, and do not issue certificates. This is performed by external certification bodies, thus a company or organization cannot be certified by ISO.
However ISO's Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) has produced a number of standards related to the certification process, which are used by certification bodies. Read more about CASCO standards.
Certification – the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements.
Accreditation – the formal recognition by an independent body, generally known as an accreditation body, that a certification body operates according to international standards.
Choosing a certification body
- When choosing a certification body, you should:
- Evaluate several certification bodies.
- Check if the certification body uses the relevant CASCO standard
- Check if it is accredited. Accreditation provides independent confirmation of competence. However, accreditation is not compulsory, and non-accreditation does not necessarily mean the certification body is not reputable. To find an accredited certification body, contact the national accreditation body in your country or visit International Accreditation Forum CertSearch.
Complaints about certification
ISO is interested to hear from you if you feel that any ISO standard, including ISO 9001 or ISO 14001, is being misused. Read more about making a complaint to ISO.
International organizations in cooperation with ISO for accreditation
The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) is the world association of Conformity Assessment Accreditation Bodies and other bodies interested in conformity assessment in the fields of management systems, products, services, personnel etc.
ILAC is the international organization for accreditation bodies operating in accordance with ISO/IEC 17011 and involved in the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies including calibration laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025), testing laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025), medical testing laboratories (using ISO 15189), inspection bodies (using ISO/IEC 17020) and proficiency testing providers (using ISO/IEC 17043).
ISO Survey
Find out how many valid certificates there are in each country for the main ISO management system standards.
Можно ли использовать логотип ИСО?
Логотип ИСО является зарегистрированным товарным знаком и не может быть использован кем-либо за пределами ИСО без соответствующего разрешения.
Если вы хотите использовать логотип в целях подтверждения прохождения сертификации, свяжитесь с органом по сертификации, выдавшим соответствующие сертификаты.
Более подробная информация об использовании логотипа ИСО.
Узнайте более подробную информацию о логотипе ИСО.
