Management system certification bodies
For bodies that audit and certify management systems — quality, environment, occupational health and safety, food safety, information security, medical devices and energy.
The programmeIndependent accreditation body · Berlin, Germany
Competence, independently attested.
A certificate is only worth what stands behind it. TQC Accreditation assesses certification and inspection bodies against the international standards written for them, and accredits those that meet the criteria — so the market can tell the difference between a claim and a demonstrated capability.
- Management systemsISO/IEC 17021-1
- Inspection bodiesISO/IEC 17020
- Personnel certificationISO/IEC 17024
The role we play
We do not certify companies. We assess the bodies that do.
Certification is an attestation about a product, process, system or person. Accreditation is an attestation about the body making that attestation — its competence, its independence and the integrity of its decisions.
That distinction is the whole of our work. When a certification body carries TQC accreditation, it has been assessed on site, its auditors have been observed doing real audits, and its certification decisions have been examined by people who had nothing to gain from the outcome.
Accreditation programmes ISO/IEC 17021-1 ISO/IEC 17020 ISO/IEC 17024
Three programmes, three standards
Each conformity assessment activity has its own international standard setting out what a competent body looks like. We assess against the standard that applies to the work you actually do.
Inspection bodies
For type A, B and C bodies carrying out inspection of products, installations, plant, processes and services — including the independence requirements that separate the three types.
The programmePersonnel certification bodies
For bodies certifying the competence of individuals against a defined certification scheme — examination design, impartiality and the separation of training from certification.
The programme346+Certificates in the register
3Accreditation programmes
7Management system standards
BerlinWhere the office is
The assessment cycle
What an accreditation actually involves
Nothing here is a formality. Each stage can end with findings that must be closed before the next one begins.
Application and scope definition
You tell us which standard you work to and which sectors you intend to certify or inspect. We tell you plainly whether that scope is one we are competent to assess.
Document review
Your management system, impartiality arrangements, competence criteria and decision-making procedures are reviewed against the applicable standard before anybody travels.
Office assessment
An assessment team visits your premises, examines records and files, and interviews the people who make certification decisions.
Witness assessment
We observe your auditors or inspectors performing real work at a client site. This is the stage that cannot be prepared for, and it is the one that matters most.
Decision and surveillance
A decision panel that took no part in the assessment grants, defers or refuses accreditation. Accreditation is then maintained by surveillance and periodic reassessment.
Scope of accreditation
Management system standards we cover
A certification body is not accredited in general. It is accredited for named standards and named sectors, and its accreditation certificate says so. These are the standards within the TQC management system programme.
| Standard | Subject |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001:2015 | Quality management systems |
| ISO 14001:2015 | Environmental management systems |
| ISO 45001:2018 | Occupational health & safety |
| ISO 22000:2018 | Food safety management systems |
| ISO/IEC 27001:2022 | Information security management |
| ISO 13485:2016 | Medical devices — quality management |
| ISO 50001:2018 | Energy management systems |
Two corrections worth noting if you are working from older material: OHSAS 18001 was withdrawn in March 2021 and replaced by ISO 45001:2018, and the current information security standard is ISO/IEC 27001:2022. Accreditation is not offered against withdrawn editions.
Why bodies seek accreditation01 02 03
What it changes
Your competence is demonstrated, not asserted
Anyone can print a certificate. Accreditation is a third party going through your files and watching your people work, on a schedule you do not control.
Your independence is examined
Impartiality is the first thing a serious purchaser questions. Accreditation puts your arrangements — ownership, consultancy, fee pressure — on the record.
Your clients gain something to point at
Tender committees and buyers rarely evaluate a certification body themselves. They look for an accreditation mark and a register they can check.
Register
Checking on somebody else’s certificate?
Buyers, auditors and tender committees can look up any TQC certificate number directly. You do not need an account and we do not ask who you are.