There are many companies offering ISO Certification services but only UKAS Accredited bodies carry the recognisable ‘Crown & Tick’ logo, and benefit from the additional assurance this brings.
We often hear from companies who have used the services of a certification body which is not accredited by UKAS, and for various reasons now need to obtain an accredited certificate.
Read about Why you should Choose a UKAS Certification Body.
Do I Need an Accredited ISO Certificate?
Accredited ISO certification bodies undergo a rigorous process with UKAS to ensure that they operate their certification programmes fairly and impartially, to standards such as ISO 17021 and ISO 17065. In addition, UKAS continues to monitor the performance of their accredited certification bodies.
While this doesn’t mean the certification bodies without accreditation do a bad job, often clients rely on the work of UKAS to give them confidence in the value of an ISO Certificate issued by one of their accredited bodies.
For example, in the public sector, UKAS is recoginsed by the UK Government to “assess against nationally and internationally agreed standards, organisations that provide conformity assessment services such as certification” and therefore becomes a requirement of many public sector contract tenders.
This is where organisations can often find themselves in need of an accredited certificate, despite already going through the external audits and certification process.
Is my Management System Ready?
You should ensure that your management system meets the requirements if the standard before engaging a UKAS Accredited Certification Body, even if you have been audited many times before.
The standards of auditing can differ between certification bodies, and even between accredited certification bodies! So it is important to ensure that you thoroughly meet the requirements and have evidence to prove it!
Internal audits by a reputable ISO Consultancy is one way to achieve this. Not only does it help you meet the internal audit requirements of management system standards, but a good ISO consultant will test your system to identify weaknesses and possible improvements, using their experience of UKAS accredited audits to spot potential issues.
If you feel confident that your management system will stand up to an audit, you should get a quote.
At CertBodies.co.uk, we can help you obtain and compare ISO Certification quotes, guiding you through the process and explaining the different options.
Just complete our quote form with some key details and we will do all the work for you!
Can I Convert my Existing ISO Certificate to a UKAS One?
No. Although you may meet the requirements of the standard, an accredited certification body will need to fulfill their own certification process which includes a stage 1 and stage 2 audit, and then surveillance audits over a three-year cycle.
So while this may mean paying again for an audit you have already had, there is no way around this.
What happens to my old ISO Certificate?
There is no link between your two certification bodies, so you will need to exit your current certification contract and sign a new one with a UKAS Accredited Body.
If you don’t cancel your old contract you may continue to be charged for ongoing audits that are not required.
When you cancel your contact, or the old certificate expires, you will be removed from the certification body’s register. This means you should remove any logos and certificates from marketing materials as soon as possible.
When Can I Promote my New ISO Certificate?
You can not promote your new ISO Certificate until it has been issued by the UAKS Accredited Body.
This can be some time after a successful stage 2 audit, because reports go through technical committees and reviews first.
Some organisations talk about “Working Towards ISO Certification” or being “Recommend for ISO Certification”. While these statements may be true, you should be very careful not to promote anything that could be misleading.
Get a UKAS Accredited ISO Certificate
Assent Risk Management can guide you through the process of moving to a UKAS Accredited ISO Certificate.
We are not a certification body ourselves, but as ISO Consultants with years of experience, we can help you compare quotations and prepare for an audit.
Contact us to get started!
