It means that accreditation by one of the EA MLA Members is considered to give as much confidence as accreditation delivered by any signatory to the IAF or ILAC mutual agreement.
Accredited once, accepted everywhere!
- international markets have confidence in the EA MLA and the conformity assessment results provided by organizations accredited by EA MLA signatories;
- there is no need for products and services to be re-tested, re-calibrated, re-inspected or re-certified in each country into which they are imported and sold;
- it helps free movement of goods and services at European and global levels.
Presentation of IAF/ILAC
The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) is the world association of National Accreditation Bodies (NAB) interested in conformity assessment in the fields of manag ement systems, products, services, personnel, validation and verification, and other similar programs of conformity assessment.
- Ensure that its Accreditation Body Members only accredit bodies that are competent to do the work they undertake and are not subject to conflicts of interest.
- Establish mutual recognition arrangements, known as Multilateral Recognition Arrangements (MLAs), between its Accreditation Body Members which reduce risk to businesses and their customers by ensuring that an accredited certificate may be relied upon anywhere in the world.
- Management Systems Certification using ISO/IEC 17021-1;
- Product Certification using ISO/IEC 17065;
- Certification of Persons using ISO/IEC 17024;
- Validation and Verification using ISO 14065.
6 Recognized Regional Accreditation Groups:
97 National Accreditation Body Members
For further details, visit the IAF website or read IAF newsletters
ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation) is the international organization on laboratory, inspection body, reference material producer and proficiency testing provider accreditation in accordance with ISO/IEC 17011. Its membership consists of Accreditation Bodies and stakeholder organizations throughout the world.
ILAC’s essential purpose is to provide confidence in the competence of bodies performing and supporting these activities by establishing an international arrangement between Accreditation Bodies Members based on peer evaluation and mutual acceptance.
- Calibration laboratories using ISO/IEC 17025;
- Testing laboratories using ISO/IEC 17025;
- Medical testing laboratories using ISO 15189;
- Inspection bodies using ISO/IEC 17020;
- Proficiency Testing Provision (PTP) using ISO/IEC 17043;
- Reference Material Production (RMP) using ISO 17034.
- Biobanking ISO 20387.
6 Recognized Regional Cooperation Bodies:
114 signatories to the ILAC MRA
Marks for international recognition of accreditation
IAF and ILAC have developed marks which can be used by the MLA signatories under specific conditions (set out in ILAC R7:05/2015 Rules for the Use of the ILAC MRA Mark and IAF ML 2:2016 General Principles on the Use of the IAF MLA Mark).
The IAF and ILAC marks demonstrate:
- signatory status to the IAF/ILAC arrangement;
- that the report or certificate has been issued by an accredited Conformity Assessment Body by a member of the IAF/ILAC arrangement.
Peer evaluation of EA
EA is a Regional Cooperation Body Member of ILAC and IAF for Europe.
IAF MLA
- Management system certification – ISO/IEC 17021
- Product certification – ISO/IEC 17065
- Certifications of persons – ISO/IEC 17024
- Validation and verification – ISO 14065
ILAC MRA
- Calibration: ISO/IEC 17025
- Testing: ISO/IEC 17025
- Medical Testing: ISO 15189
- Inspection: ISO/IEC 17020
- Proficiency Testing Provision: ISO/IEC 17043
- Reference Material Production: ISO 17034
Part of the global network
EA is a Recognized Regional Accreditation Group for the following scopes:
In addition to the discussions at international level, EA maintains close relationships with the other regions of the world. Having all regions speaking with “One voice” would strengthen IAF and ILAC.
The objective is also to promote the values and benefits of the European accreditation model.
For Africa
SADCA
(Southern African Development
Community in Accreditation)
Calibration, Testing, Proficiency Testing Providers, and Reference Materials Producers (ILAC) and Management System Certification Bodies (IAF)
AFRAC
(African Accreditation Cooperation)
For Asia-Pacific
APAC
(Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation)
For America
IAAC
(Inter American Accreditation Cooperation)
For ARAB Region Countries
ARAC
(Arab Accreditation Cooperation)
For Africa
AFRAC
(African Accreditation Cooperation)
For Asia-Pacific
APAC
(Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation)
For America
IAAC
(Inter American Accreditation Cooperation)
For ARAB Region Countries
ARAC
(Arab Accreditation Cooperation)