Understand when accredited certification is required, when another route may be appropriate, and what to check before you commit.
UKAS accreditation requirements depend on who asks for certification and the terms they specify. They are not a blanket rule attached to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 or any other individual standard.
Check customer contracts, tenders, frameworks, supplier approval rules and any relevant regulator or sector scheme. If accredited certification is specified, select a certification body accredited for the required activity and scope.
If it is not specified, confirm that an independent, non-UKAS certificate would meet the intended requirement before choosing that route.
Large organisations may specify UKAS-accredited ISO certification as part of their supplier approval process, contractual requirements or procurement criteria. If your customer states that suppliers must hold UKAS-accredited ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 27001 or another recognised certification, a non-accredited certificate may not satisfy that requirement.
Public-sector bodies, principal contractors and major organisations may require evidence of independently accredited certification during pre-qualification or tendering. UK Government procurement guidance recognises accredited conformity assessment as a means of demonstrating supplier performance in areas such as quality, health and safety and environmental management. If certification is being obtained to support a tender, always check the procurement specification before selecting your certification route.
Accredited certification can provide an additional level of confidence where failures could have significant consequences. In these environments, customers and supply-chain partners may require greater assurance that the organisation's management system has been independently assessed by a certification body operating within a recognised accreditation framework.
If you supply major contractors, government organisations, multinational companies or regulated industries, your certification may form part of their supplier assurance and risk-management process. UKAS-accredited certification provides an independently recognised route for demonstrating that your management system has been audited by an accredited certification body. This can be particularly important when entering new supply chains or demonstrating compliance during supplier pre-qualification.
If your contract states that certification must be provided by a UKAS-accredited certification body, you need to select a certification body accredited by UKAS for the relevant certification activity and scope. Always check the wording carefully. A requirement for “ISO 9001 certification” is not necessarily the same as a requirement for “UKAS-accredited ISO 9001 certification”.
UKAS is the UK's National Accreditation Body. UKAS assesses certification bodies against internationally recognised requirements covering areas including competence, impartiality and consistency. Using a UKAS-accredited certification body therefore provides an additional level of independent assurance over the certification process. For organisations where certification forms an important part of corporate governance, supply-chain assurance or commercial credibility, UKAS-accredited certification may be the preferred pathway.
Accredited certification can be particularly relevant in these environments.
There is an important distinction between certification and accreditation. Your organisation is normally certified to an ISO management-system standard, such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO/IEC 27001 or ISO 22301.
UKAS does not normally certify your organisation directly to these standards. Instead, UKAS accredits certification bodies that carry out certification audits. Think of UKAS as providing independent oversight of the organisations conducting certification.
Not necessarily. For many management-system standards, there is no general legal requirement for an organisation to hold UKAS-accredited certification.
However, accredited certification can become effectively necessary where it is required by a customer, written into a contract, specified within a tender or procurement framework, required by a particular scheme or regulatory arrangement, expected within a safety-critical supply chain, required for supplier approval or necessary to demonstrate an appropriate level of independent assurance.
This is why organisations should establish the purpose of certification before selecting their certification pathway.
The question is not simply which certificate is cheaper. The more important question is what your organisation needs the certificate to achieve.
If certification is required to satisfy a major customer, access a framework, qualify for tenders, enter a safety-critical supply chain or meet a specific contractual requirement, UKAS-accredited certification may be the correct pathway.
For other organisations, particularly those beginning their ISO journey or primarily looking to improve their management systems and demonstrate conformity, another certification pathway may be appropriate.
The objective is simple: choose the right certification pathway for your organisation.
If your customer, contract, tender or industry requires UKAS-accredited certification, speak to our certification team. We will review your requirements and help you identify the appropriate certification pathway for your organisation.