How to apply

Seven stages

Timescales depend far more on how ready your body is than on us. A body with a working management system and real competence records moves through this quickly; one that is building its system during the assessment does not.

1. Enquiry

   Tell us what your body does and the scope you are seeking. We confirm which programme applies and whether we are competent to assess that scope. If we are not, we say so at this point rather than later.

2. Application

   You complete the application form and return it with your management system documentation, impartiality analysis, competence criteria and evidence of your legal status. Applications are not processed on partial submissions.

3. Review and quotation

   We review the application for completeness, determine the assessment effort the scope requires, and issue a quotation and an indicative timetable. Nothing is chargeable before you accept it.

4. Document review

   Your documented system is assessed against the applicable standard. Findings at this stage must be addressed before an on-site assessment is scheduled — a body is not sent an assessment team to be told what its own documents already show.

5. Office assessment

   The assessment team attends your premises, samples client files and decision records, and interviews personnel including those who make certification or inspection decisions.

6. Witness assessment

   We observe your people performing real work at a real client, in each scope area sought. This is scheduled against your live programme, so the timing depends on your workload as much as ours.

7. Decision

   The assessment report, the findings and your responses go to a decision panel that took no part in the assessment. The panel grants, defers or refuses. A refusal is explained, and can be appealed.

After the decision

Accreditation is granted for a defined term and maintained by surveillance. You are required to notify us of significant changes — ownership, key personnel, the location of decision-making, changes to scope — within the period set out in the accreditation agreement. Before the term closes, a full reassessment is carried out.

Accreditation can be suspended or withdrawn where obligations are not met, and the public register is updated to reflect that. Suspension is not confidential; a body that has been suspended may not continue to present itself as accredited.