Certification and accreditation address different levels of assessment. Management-system certification concerns an organization’s system against a standard. Accreditation concerns the competence of a conformity assessment body for specified activities. Understanding the distinction helps you ask more useful questions about a certificate.
ISO’s certification overview explains these roles. An accreditation reference should not be treated as an unlimited endorsement of every service, sector or location a certification body mentions.
Follow the chain of responsibility
Begin with the organization named on the certificate. Identify its certified scope, the standard and edition, and the issuing certification body. Then, if accreditation is claimed, examine the accreditation body’s relevant records and the scope of accreditation.
Those checks answer different questions. A valid accreditation document does not by itself tell you that a particular customer certificate remains active. An active customer certificate does not prove every possible recognition claim made in an advertisement.
Why scope matters at both levels
The scope of a customer certificate describes the activities covered by that certification. The scope of accreditation describes the activities for which the certification body has been accredited. A buyer may need information about both.
For example, suppose a tender asks for a certificate for a specific service and imposes particular accreditation conditions. The supplier should compare the requirement with the actual documents. A familiar standard number on a certificate is only part of that comparison.
A practical document-checking sequence
- Read the buyer’s requirement without paraphrasing away its conditions.
- Confirm the organization and activities identified by the proposed certificate.
- Establish the current certificate status with the issuing body.
- Check any claimed accreditation against the relevant official scope and status record.
- Clarify recognition or acceptance questions with the party that will rely on the certificate.
- Retain a dated record of what was checked and what remains uncertain.
This is a decision aid, not a declaration that every tender uses the same criteria.
What does “internationally recognized” mean?
Ask the person making the claim to identify the recognition arrangement and the relevant scope. A broad phrase does not explain which parties accept the certificate or whether an arrangement applies to the particular standard and activity. Do not infer government endorsement from an organization’s name or logo.
Does accreditation eliminate the need to verify a certificate?
No. Names, scopes, editions and status can change. A copied document may be historical, superseded or unrelated to the activity for which it is being presented. Verification should concern the particular record as well as any accreditation claim.
Applying the distinction to an EQRM enquiry
Ask EQRM for current accreditation and scope information relevant to your proposed standard and activities. The accreditation reference supplied for the website is SCAS no. 900MS2016; the supporting current scope documentation must be checked before relying on a specific accredited-service or recognition claim.
For an existing document, follow the certificate-enquiry instructions. For broader evaluation questions, read how to evaluate a certification body.
Compare the two records
Use separate lines in a supplier review for the customer certificate and the issuing body’s accreditation. Record the organization, standard, scope and current status for the certificate. Record the accreditation body and relevant activities for the accreditation check. Keeping the two records separate makes it easier to spot a mismatch and ask a precise follow-up question.
Quick answers
Can an accredited body certify every standard?
Accreditation has a defined scope. Check the actual standard, sector and activities covered rather than treating an accreditation logo as unlimited authorization.
Is accreditation the same as buyer acceptance?
No. A buyer may specify particular requirements. Compare those requirements with the certificate and accreditation scope, and ask the buyer to resolve uncertainty.