ACCREDITATION CRITERIA FOR INSPECTION AGENCIES
AC98
December 2021
Effective February 1, 2022
PREFACEThe attached accreditation criteria have been issued to provide all interested parties withguidelines on implementing performance features of the applicable standards referenced herein.
The criteria were developed and adopted following public hearings conducted by theInternational Accreditation Service, Inc. (IAS), Accreditation Committee and are effective on thedate shown above. All accreditations issued or reissued on or after the effective date mustcomply with these criteria. If the criteria are an updated version from a previous edition, solid
vertical lines (|) in the outer margin within the criteria indicate a technical change or addition
from the previous edition. Deletion indicators (→) are provided in the outer margins where aparagraph or item has been deleted if the deletion resulted from a technical change. Thesecriteria may be further revised as the need dictates.

Copyright © 2021

Page 1 of 3

IAS/AA/008
AC98
December 14, 2021

ACCREDITATION CRITERIA FOR INSPECTION AGENCIES
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1.

Scope: These criteria set forth the requirements for obtaining and maintaining InternationalAccreditation Service, Inc. (IAS), Inspection Agency accreditation. These criteria supplement
the IAS Rules of Procedure for Inspection Agency Accreditation.

1.2.

Normative and Reference Documents: Publications listed below refer to current editions(unless otherwise stated).
1.2.1.

ISO/IEC Standard 17020, Conformity assessment – Requirements for the operation ofvarious types of bodies performing inspection.

1.2.2.

ILAC P15, Application of ISO/IEC 17020:2012 for the Accreditation of Inspection
Bodies.

1.2.3.

ISO/IEC Standard 17000, Conformity assessment – Vocabulary and general principles.

2. DEFINITIONSApplicable definitions of ISO/IEC Standard 17000 series apply.
3. ELIGIBILITY
Accreditation services are available to bodies that provide inspection services.
4. REQUIRED BASIC INFORMATION
Inspection Agencies must demonstrate compliance with the following requirements:
4.1.

ISO/IEC Standard 17020, Conformity assessment – Requirements for the operation of various
types of bodies performing inspection.

4.2.

IAS Rules of Procedure for Inspection Agency Accreditation.

4.3.

ILAC P15, Application of ISO/IEC 17020:2012 for the Accreditation of Inspection Bodies.

5. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (AS APPLICABLE)
5.1.

Inspection Records, Reports and/or Certificates: Inspection records, reports and/orcertificates issued by the inspection agency shall comply with clauses 7.3.2, 7.4.1, 7.4.2, 7.4.3,7.4.4 and 7.4.5 of ISO/IEC Standard 17020 and clauses 7.3.1n1 and 7.4.2n1 of ILAC P15.

5.2.

Regulatory requirements: Regulatory entities may place specific compliance requirements on
inspection agencies. If an inspection agency is required to comply with the regulatory
requirements as may be applicable, they must agree to comply with additional requirements.

Page 2 of 3

IAS/AA/008AC98
December 14, 2021

Inspection agencies must comply with regulatory requirements of Authority Having Jurisdiction(AHJ) or other regulatory entities, including specific compliance requirements for qualification,licensing, etc., of personnel and operation of inspection agency.
6. LINKS TO ADDITIONAL REFERENCES
6.1.

Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation – www.apac-accreditation.org

6.2.

International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation – www.ilac.org

6.3.

International Organization for Standardization – www.iso.org

6.4.

International Electrotechnical Commission – www.iec.ch

6.5.

International Accreditation Service – www.iasonline.org

These criteria were previously issued September 2002, March 2004, May 2005, August 2006, October 2009, June 2013, February
2015, February 2016, April 2017 and editorially revised January 2019.

Page 3 of 3

IAS/AA/008
AC98
December 14, 2021