National accreditation bodies

Authority · UKAS, ANAB and equivalents

The national authorities that accredit the certifiers, the top of the chain that makes a certificate something you can rely on.

01 What It Is

National accreditation bodies, such as UKAS in the United Kingdom and ANAB in the United States, are the authorities that accredit certification bodies and hold them to standards like ISO/IEC 17065. They do not certify dogs, hotels or breeders themselves. They vouch for the organizations that do, which places them at the very top of the chain of trust.

02 What It Covers

Their role is to assess and accredit conformity-assessment bodies, certifiers, inspection bodies and testing laboratories, against the relevant international standards, and to keep them under periodic review. Usually one such body operates per country, and they are themselves held to ISO/IEC 17011, the standard for accreditation bodies.

03 How It Is Checked

Accreditation bodies are kept honest by international peer evaluation. Through the International Accreditation Forum and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, they undergo mutual peer review and sign recognition arrangements, so that an accreditation issued in one country is recognized in another. That peer scrutiny is what stops the top of the chain from simply vouching for itself.

04 Why It Matters

A certificate is only as good as the body that issued it, and that body is only as good as whoever stands behind it. National accreditation bodies are the final link that turns a certificate into something an owner, a regulator or a court can actually rely on. Where this link is present a mark carries real weight; where it is absent the mark may be no more than a self-awarded badge.

Common Questions

What do they do?

They accredit certification bodies and hold them to standards like ISO/IEC 17065. They do not certify dogs, hotels or breeders themselves; they vouch for the organizations that do.

Who are they?

Bodies such as UKAS in the United Kingdom and ANAB in the United States, usually one per country.

What exactly do they accredit?

Conformity-assessment bodies: certifiers, inspection bodies and testing laboratories, against the relevant international standards, keeping them under periodic review.

Who holds them accountable?

International peer evaluation. Through the International Accreditation Forum and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation they undergo mutual peer review and sign recognition arrangements, so an accreditation in one country is recognized in another. They are themselves held to ISO/IEC 17011.

Where do they sit in the chain?

At the very top: the final link that turns a certificate into something an owner, a regulator or a court can rely on.

Why does it matter?

A certificate is only as good as the body that issued it, and that body only as good as whoever stands behind it. Where this link is present a mark carries real weight; where it is absent it may be no more than a self-awarded badge.

Primary sources

Certification body accreditation, UKASukas.com
ISO/IEC 17011:2017iso.org