We should be very clear about the difference between “accreditation” and “certification”.
“Accreditation” is different and “certification” is different. The certification body is not an accreditation body. The certification body is a competent body to issue ISO 9001 certificate to a client meeting requirements of ISO 9001 standard. Whereas, the accreditation body is a body, which monitors, regulates and controls the certification activity.
Certification bodies should get registered in an IAF MLA recognized accreditation body.
To ensure recognition, the accreditation body must have an agreement with the IAF (International Accreditation Forum). This agreement is called the “MLA-Multilateral Agreement”. IAF is an association of accreditation bodies operated in many parts of the world. The secretariat of IAF is located in Australia.
Certificate issued by the certification body is valid worldwide if it is issued through the IAF-MLA chain. A certificate issued to a client (organization), by a certification body, which does not come under this accreditation chain is considered invalid. If a certificate issued by a certification body does not have an accreditation logo mark, then such a certificate is not a recognized one. There are many un-authorized accreditation bodies and certification bodies issuing an ISO 9001 certificate without the approval of IAF-MLA. Such certificates are called unaccredited certificates or “fake” certificates.
Accreditation logo mark in the certificate ensures validity/approval/recognition of an ISO 9001 certificate in the market. Certificate not containing accreditation logo mark is treated as the un-authorized certificate. Public or purchasers/customers of product/service should be well aware of this accreditation process.
As per IATF 16949:2016 automotive standard, IATF 16949:2016 certified organizations (or applying for new IATF 16949:2016 certificate) must use a supplier having valid ISO 9001:2015 certificate. Supplier must obtain the ISO 9001:2015 certificate from an IAF MLA recognized certification body. If a supplier is having ISO 9001:2015 certificate from an unaccredited (unauthorized) certification body, then it is a nonconformity to the IATF 16949:2016 standard. This nonconformity is issued the IATF 16949 organization.
Normally, the countries standardizing body is accredited with IAF.
To know more about accreditation process bodies coming under IAF MLA please go through the link : https://www.iaf.nu
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