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Implementation walkthrough

How to implement ISO/IEC 17065: video walkthrough

A walkthrough of building a body that certifies products, processes or services to ISO/IEC 17065 and preparing it for accreditation.

  • Implementation walkthrough
  • 3 min 15 s

Key takeaways

  • ISO/IEC 17065 covers bodies that certify products, processes and services.
  • Each body works within certification schemes that set the product requirements.
  • Impartiality is analysed and safeguarded.
  • Every client signs a certification agreement covering certificates and marks.
  • Accreditation bodies witness certification work before deciding.

Certificates for products, processes and services

ISO/IEC 17065 is the international standard for bodies that certify products, processes and services. Its requirements cover the competence, consistent operation and impartiality of such bodies. Product certification is third-party work: a body independent of supplier and buyer evaluates the product, process or service against specified requirements, reviews the evidence, decides, issues the certificate or grants the right to use the mark, and keeps checking through surveillance. In the standard's words, the aim is to give confidence to all interested parties that a product, process or service fulfils specified requirements.

Every certification body works within a certification scheme, which sets the requirements the product must meet and how it is evaluated. The body itself is accredited, not certified. This short film walks through how a body prepares.

From scope and schemes to accreditation

Define the scope, the schemes and the accreditation body: which products, processes or services, schemes, normative documents and locations go on the application, and which body will assess. Every accreditation body publishes its own procedure, but the sequence is common.

A gap analysis then checks the body clause by clause and scheme by scheme. Implementation settles the legal and contractual matters, with a certification agreement signed by every client and rules for the use of certificates and marks; manages impartiality through an analysis covering ownership, relationships and other activities, with a mechanism for safeguarding it; provides for liability and financing; certifies on non-discriminatory conditions; keeps client information confidential; and makes the required information public. Resources, including competent personnel and controlled outsourcing, and the certification process, from application and evaluation through review, decision and surveillance to complaints and appeals, follow. The body operates, then applies; the accreditation body assesses, witnesses certification work and decides.

Sterling's expert and experienced consultants support preparation and implementation with your team under Sterling OS™. ISO/IEC 17065:2012 is the current edition, and a second edition is at final draft stage.

ISO/IEC 17065 at a glance

Purpose
Competence, consistent operation and impartiality of bodies that certify products, processes and services, so their certificates can be relied on
Relevant to
Third-party certification bodies of any size, testing or inspection organisations adding certification, and scheme owners building a programme
Edition
ISO/IEC 17065:2012, the first edition, confirmed by ISO in 2024; a second edition is at final draft stage, with the FDIS ballot opened in August 2026 and no transition period set yet
Accreditation
Assessed and granted by an accreditation body for a defined scope, with certification work witnessed, then surveillance and reassessment
Sterling's role
Consulting with your team, Effivity, training, internal audit and assessment readiness, then Sustain™
Cost and timing
Total investment for an ISO/IEC 17065 certification body management system depends on the current maturity of your processes, the scope, locations and number of employees. The process typically takes 6 to 12 months

ISO/IEC 17065: the complete guide →

ISO/IEC 17065: questions people ask

Is ISO/IEC 17065 a certification or an accreditation?

An accreditation. An accreditation body assesses the certification body's competence, consistent operation and impartiality for a defined scope, witnesses its certification activities and, if satisfied, grants and publishes the scope. A certificate of "ISO 17065 compliance" from another certification body or a consultancy is not accreditation and appears on no register.

What is the difference between ISO/IEC 17065, ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 17024?

Three kinds of certification body. ISO/IEC 17065 is for bodies certifying products, processes and services against a scheme; ISO/IEC 17021-1 for bodies auditing and certifying management systems such as ISO 9001 or ISO/IEC 27001; ISO/IEC 17024 for bodies certifying persons. A body may be accredited under more than one, each with its own scope.

What is a certification scheme, and do we need ISO/IEC 17067?

The scheme is the set of rules a certification body applies: the requirements the product, process or service must meet, how conformity is evaluated and decided, and how surveillance is done. ISO/IEC 17067:2013 describes the fundamentals of product certification and gives guidelines for developing and operating schemes; its second edition, retitled for conformity assessment schemes generally, is under publication at ISO and expected in October 2026. Scheme owners write the scheme on those lines; bodies operating another owner's scheme apply its rules.

Which accreditation body should we apply to, and will our certificates be accepted abroad?

Normally the national body, for example NABCB (India), UKAS (United Kingdom), EIAC (Dubai), GAC (Gulf states), ANAB or IAS (United States) or PAB (Philippines), provided it is a Global ACI MRA signatory for product certification and, where relevant, for the scheme. Signatories recognise one another's accreditations as equivalent, except where regulation or law provides otherwise, so check the Global ACI directory and ask whoever will rely on the certificate.

We are a scheme owner. Do we have to become a certification body?

Not necessarily. A scheme owner can write and maintain the scheme and have approved certification bodies operate it under accreditation, or set up its own certification body and have it accredited. What matters is that the scheme is documented, the rules for evaluation, decision and surveillance are clear, and the scheme owner's involvement does not compromise the certification body's impartiality.

More ISO/IEC 17065 questions and answers →

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