Conformity assessment bodies and accreditation
A test laboratory, a certification body, a Notified Body, an NRTL and a TCB are not interchangeable names for "the people who certify". They do different jobs, are accredited against different standards (or not accredited at all), and owe their legal standing to different texts. This page maps who does what, what Regulation 765/2008 actually says about accreditation in the EU, what changed in 2026 (ILAC and IAF replaced by Global ACI, a new ISO/IEC 17020 and 17024, a new ISO/IEC 17065 at final draft), and what the FCC and OSHA rules require of the bodies you use. Choosing the assessment module and the specific Notified Body are covered on separate pages.
Testing, certification, accreditation, notification
Section titled “Testing, certification, accreditation, notification”Four activities get mixed up in project meetings:
- Testing is measurement. A laboratory applies a test method and reports results. A test report is evidence, not a decision on conformity.
- Certification is a decision. A body reviews evidence against a scheme and issues a certificate or attestation that the product (or system, or person) conforms.
- Accreditation is the attestation, by a national accreditation body, that a conformity assessment body meets the requirements of harmonised standards to carry out a specific conformity assessment activity (Regulation 765/2008, Article 2(10)).
- Notification (EU), recognition (FCC, OSHA) are acts of a public authority that authorise a body to perform tasks under a given law. They are legal statuses, not accreditation standards.
Conformity assessment body: the umbrella term
Section titled “Conformity assessment body: the umbrella term”ISO/IEC 17000 defines the vocabulary: a conformity assessment body (CAB) is any body that performs conformity assessment activities such as testing, calibration, inspection or certification. A CAB acquires a more specific status when a legal framework recognises it for a defined task:
| Status | Granted by | Legal basis | Accreditation required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notified Body | Notifying authority of an EU Member State, listed in NANDO | Union act aligned with Decision 768/2008/EC (Articles R13 to R25) | No: preferred evidence; without it, documentary evidence and a two-month objection window (R22(3), R23(4) and (5)) |
| FCC-recognised test laboratory | FCC Office of Engineering and Technology | 47 CFR 2.948 and 2.951 | Yes, ISO/IEC 17025 by an FCC-recognised accreditation body (2.948(e)) |
| TCB | FCC | 47 CFR 2.960 and 2.962 | Yes, ISO/IEC 17065 for the scope certified, plus ISO/IEC 17025 (2.960(a)(4) and (a)(6)) |
| NRTL | OSHA | 29 CFR 1910.7 and its Appendix A | Not as such: OSHA assesses and recognises the body itself |
| Accredited laboratory or certification body | National accreditation body | Regulation 765/2008 in the EU; national law elsewhere | It is the accreditation |
One organisation can hold several of these statuses at once, for different scopes. Always check the status that matters for the job in hand, in the register that grants it: NANDO for notification, the FCC lists for laboratories and TCBs, the OSHA list for NRTLs, the accreditation body directory for accreditation.
What Regulation 765/2008 says about accreditation
Section titled “What Regulation 765/2008 says about accreditation”Chapter II of Regulation 765/2008 (Articles 3 to 14) has applied since January 1, 2010. Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 deleted its market-surveillance chapter (Articles 15 to 29) from July 16, 2021 and renamed it a regulation "setting out the requirements for accreditation" (Article 39); the accreditation rules remain in force. Article by article:
| Article | What it says | Practical consequence |
|---|---|---|
| 2(10), 2(11) | Defines accreditation and the national accreditation body as "the sole body in a Member State that performs accreditation with authority derived from the State" | A private "accreditation" outside this system is not accreditation in the EU sense |
| 3 | Chapter II applies to accreditation used on a compulsory or voluntary basis | Voluntary schemes are covered too |
| 4(1), 4(2) | Each Member State appoints a single national accreditation body; if not economically meaningful, it uses another Member State's body | One body per country, not a market |
| 4(7), 4(8) | Not-for-profit; no conformity assessment services, no consultancy, no shares in a CAB | Your accreditation body cannot also be your test house or consultant |
| 5(1), 5(3), 5(4) | Accreditation certificate on request; monitoring of accredited bodies; restriction, suspension or withdrawal | Accreditation status can change; check it is current |
| 5(2) | A Member State may decide not to use accreditation, and then supplies documentary evidence of competence | Mirrors the R22(3) route for notification |
| 6 | No competition with CABs or with other national accreditation bodies | |
| 7(1) | A CAB requests accreditation from the body of its own Member State, except in three listed cases | A lab cannot shop for an accreditation body elsewhere in the EU |
| 10 | Peer evaluation organised by the body recognised under Article 14 | The basis of mutual acceptance |
| 11(2) | National authorities recognise the equivalence of peer-evaluated accreditation bodies and accept the attestations of the CABs they accredited | Legal mutual acceptance inside the EU |
| 14(6) | The first body recognised is the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) | EA runs EU peer evaluation |
The harmonised standard for accreditation bodies is ISO/IEC 17011, which is what peer evaluation checks (Articles 10(5) and 11(1)).
National accreditation bodies
Section titled “National accreditation bodies”| Body | Country | Legal basis | Status checked October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| COFRAC | France | Decree 2008-1401 of December 19, 2008, under Regulation 765/2008 | Not-for-profit association; states it is signatory to the EA, ILAC, IAF and Global ACI arrangements |
| DAkkS | Germany | German Accreditation Body Act (AkkStelleG), under Regulation 765/2008 | Member of EA; announced full membership of Global ACI on September 22, 2026 |
| UKAS | United Kingdom | Accreditation Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/3155), regulation 3 | Remains an EA member and EA MLA signatory after Brexit, under EA articles revised in December 2021 |
| A2LA | United States | No single national body: the Global ACI register lists several US accreditation bodies (A2LA, ANAB, AIHA LAP among them) | Listed among Global ACI recognised accreditation bodies |
The Global ACI register listed 129 recognised accreditation bodies when we checked it on October 7, 2026. Read the register rather than a list on a web page (including this one): signatory status is per activity, and it changes.
The accreditation standards, by activity, and their 2026 status
Section titled “The accreditation standards, by activity, and their 2026 status”| Standard | Applies to | Current edition (October 7, 2026) | What changed recently |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO/IEC 17025 | Testing and calibration laboratories | ISO/IEC 17025:2017 | No new edition |
| ISO/IEC 17065 | Product, process and service certification bodies | ISO/IEC 17065:2012 | Second edition at final draft (FDIS) stage, ballot opened August 4, 2026; no transition set until it is published |
| ISO/IEC 17020 | Inspection bodies | ISO/IEC 17020:2026 | Published March 2026; accreditations to the 2012 edition end March 27, 2029 (UKAS: assessments against 2026 only from January 1, 2028) |
| ISO/IEC 17021-1 | Management system certification bodies | ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 | No new edition |
| ISO/IEC 17024 | Bodies certifying persons | ISO/IEC 17024:2026 | Published April 1, 2026 according to EA |
| ISO/IEC 17011 | Accreditation bodies | ISO/IEC 17011:2017 |
These are different activities, not tiers of quality. A 17021-1 body audits a management system and cannot certify a product; a 17020 inspection body judges conformity by inspection, often of installations or in service; a 17025 laboratory produces results without deciding conformity of the product to a scheme.
Mutual recognition: EA MLA and the Global ACI MRA
Section titled “Mutual recognition: EA MLA and the Global ACI MRA”Two layers make an accredited result travel.
Inside the EU, it is law. Article 11(2) of Regulation 765/2008 obliges national authorities to accept the accreditation certificates of peer-evaluated accreditation bodies and the attestations of the CABs they accredited. EA organises that peer evaluation and operates the EA Multilateral Agreement (EA MLA).
Worldwide, it is a voluntary arrangement. Until the end of 2025 there were two: the ILAC MRA (testing, calibration, inspection) and the IAF MLA (certification of products, management systems and persons). Since January 1, 2026 they are replaced by a single organisation, Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI), and a single MRA that "will cover the scopes previously recognised under the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement and the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement". Key points from the launch notice and the Global ACI pages:
- Existing accreditations under the ILAC MRA or IAF MLA continue to be recognised during the transition.
- The ILAC MRA and IAF MLA marks remain valid until the new Global ACI mark is fully adopted; no end date was published.
- Six recognised regional cooperation bodies (EA in Europe, APAC, IAAC, AFRAC, the Arab Accreditation Cooperation and SADCA) carry out most of the peer evaluation.
- The current scope of the MRA is set by Global ACI document FMRA-001.
Mutual recognition removes the need to repeat measurements; it does not replace national approval steps. The FCC is the clearest example below.
The recognition layer in the EU and the US
Section titled “The recognition layer in the EU and the US”European Union: Notified Bodies
Section titled “European Union: Notified Bodies”Under the acts aligned with Decision 768/2008/EC, the notifying authority may notify only bodies meeting Article R17. The application comes with an accreditation certificate "where one exists" (R22(2)); otherwise the body provides documentary evidence (R22(3)). The Commission and the Member States have two weeks to object when the notification is based on accreditation, two months when it is not (R23(5)). In module B, the Notified Body examines the documentation and specimens and carries out appropriate examinations and tests, or has them carried out (Annex II, module B, point 4). For reading NANDO scopes, see notified body selection; for what happens after the certificate, see notified body surveillance audits.
United States, radio: FCC laboratories and TCBs
Section titled “United States, radio: FCC laboratories and TCBs”- Certification procedure: testing must be done in a laboratory that is accredited and recognised by the FCC (47 CFR 2.948(a)). The accreditation is to ISO/IEC 17025 by an accreditation body recognised by the FCC on the basis of ISO/IEC 17011, with reassessment at intervals not exceeding two years (2.948(e)).
- Laboratories outside the US: accreditation is acceptable only if the laboratory is designated under a government-to-government MRA, or, in a country without such an MRA, accredited by an organisation recognised under 47 CFR 2.949 (2.948(f)). An ILAC or Global ACI signatory alone is not enough.
- TCB: accredited to ISO/IEC 17065 for the equipment it certifies and to ISO/IEC 17025 for testing (2.960(a)(4) and (a)(6)); it must accept data from any FCC-recognised accredited laboratory and must not repeat tests unnecessarily (2.962(d)(2)).
- SDoC: the rules set no accreditation requirement for the laboratory, but testing must not be done in a facility owned by, controlled by or under the direction of a prohibited entity (2.906(a)(1), as amended in August 2025).
For the grant itself, see FCC ID, grantee code and TCB.
United States, workplace safety: NRTLs
Section titled “United States, workplace safety: NRTLs”An NRTL is an organisation recognised by OSHA under 29 CFR 1910.7 that tests for safety and lists, labels or accepts equipment, with production controls, factory inspections and independence from manufacturers (1910.7(b)). In the electrical subpart, equipment is "approved" mainly when an NRTL accepts, certifies, lists or labels it; the definition also covers equipment of a kind no NRTL handles (inspected by a public authority) and custom-made equipment assessed by its manufacturer (1910.399, "acceptable"). See NRTL and UL listing.
How to qualify a test laboratory
Section titled “How to qualify a test laboratory”- Get the accreditation certificate and its scope. The scope lists the standards (and editions), and often the parameters and ranges, the laboratory is accredited for. If the edition you need is not listed, the result is not accredited, whatever the logo on the report.
- Check the accreditation body and its signatory status for that activity: EA MLA in Europe, Global ACI MRA worldwide.
- Check the status is current. Accreditation can be restricted, suspended or withdrawn (Regulation 765/2008, Article 5(4)); accreditation bodies publish their directories.
- For an FCC certification file, check the FCC recognition, not only the accreditation (47 CFR 2.948(a) and (f)).
- Ask which line items are outside the accredited scope. A report may mix accredited and non-accredited results.
- Agree the report content up front (configuration tested, measurement uncertainty where the method requires it, traceability). For uncertainty, see calibration and measurement uncertainty.
A scope line is specific: not "EMC testing" but, for example, radiated emissions per EN 55032 over a stated frequency range, or safety per EN 62368-1 for given clauses.
In-house testing versus accredited external testing
Section titled “In-house testing versus accredited external testing”| Route | Does the text require an accredited laboratory? | Source |
|---|---|---|
| EU module A (internal production control) | No | Decision 768/2008/EC, Annex II, module A |
| EU module B (type examination) | The Notified Body carries out the examinations and tests, or has them carried out | Annex II, module B, point 4 |
| FCC SDoC | No (prohibited-entity facilities excluded) | 47 CFR 2.906(a)(1), 2.948(a) |
| FCC certification | Yes, accredited and FCC-recognised | 47 CFR 2.948(a) |
| OSHA "approved" electrical equipment | NRTL listing or labelling, with the 1910.399 exceptions | 29 CFR 1910.399 |
Where no accreditation is required, in-house data is legally possible, but it carries no recognition under Article 11 or the Global ACI MRA, and the manufacturer must still defend the method and the calibration of the equipment if challenged. A common working pattern is in-house pre-compliance for design iteration and accredited testing for the formal record.
A host product that integrates a pre-certified radio module does not inherit the module's results for the whole product: emissions, safety and exposure of the integrated product still have to be assessed.
Claims the texts contradict
Section titled “Claims the texts contradict”| Common claim (including on the previous version of this page) | What the text says |
|---|---|
| "Notified Bodies are accredited bodies" or "a body is notified after accreditation" | Accreditation is preferred but not required; without it the notifying authority provides documentary evidence and the objection window is two months instead of two weeks (Decision 768/2008/EC, R22(3), R23(4) and (5)) |
| "IAF ceased operations and merged with ILAC to form Global ACI, which maintains the MLA arrangements" | Global ACI started full operations on January 1, 2026 with its own single MRA covering the former ILAC MRA and IAF MLA scopes; existing accreditations stay recognised during the transition (IAF launch notice) |
| "SDoC testing must be done in an FCC-recognised accredited laboratory" | Only the certification procedure requires an accredited, FCC-recognised laboratory (47 CFR 2.948(a)); for SDoC the restriction is on prohibited-entity facilities (2.906(a)(1)) |
| "A report from any ILAC-signatory laboratory can be used for an FCC grant" | Outside the US the laboratory must be designated under a government-to-government MRA or accredited by an organisation recognised under 2.949, then recognised by the FCC (2.948(f), 2.951) |
| "An NRTL is accredited to ISO/IEC 17065 and 17025" | NRTL status is an OSHA recognition under 29 CFR 1910.7 and its Appendix A; the rule does not make ISO/IEC accreditation the basis of recognition |
| "A TCB only needs ISO/IEC 17065" | It also needs ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation to show it can test the equipment it certifies (47 CFR 2.960(a)(6)) |
| "UKAS is outside EA since Brexit" | UKAS remains an EA member and EA MLA signatory under EA articles revised in December 2021 |
| "ISO/IEC 17020:2012 is the current inspection standard" | ISO/IEC 17020:2026 was published in March 2026; accreditations to the 2012 edition end March 27, 2029 |
| "A laboratory can choose any EU accreditation body" | It must apply to the body of its own Member State, except in the three cases of Article 7(1) of Regulation 765/2008 |
How this differs from neighbouring topics
Section titled “How this differs from neighbouring topics”- This page is about the bodies and the accreditation system.
- Choosing which conformity assessment module applies is covered in modular conformity assessment under Decision 768/2008, and whether a third party is needed at all in self-declaration vs Notified Body.
- Choosing which Notified Body to engage is covered in notified body selection.
- The CE pillar is the entry point for the directives and regulations themselves.
See also
Section titled “See also”- Getting started with certification: where to begin
- Harmonised standards and presumption of conformity
- CB Scheme (IECEE): global safety via one report
- NRTL / UL listing: US product safety explained
- FCC ID, Grantee Code & TCB: equipment authorization
- IEC 60068: environmental and mechanical testing
- EU AI Act: product compliance for manufacturers
- Switzerland and the EU-CH MRA
Sources & references
- Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, Chapter II (accreditation), Articles 2 to 14, EUR-Lex eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2008/765/oj
- Decision No 768/2008/EC, Annex I Articles R17 to R25 (notified bodies) and Annex II module B, EUR-Lex eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec/2008/768/oj
- ISO/IEC 17025:2017, catalogue record, ISO www.iso.org/standard/66912.html
- ISO/IEC 17065:2012, catalogue record, ISO www.iso.org/standard/46568.html
- ISO/IEC FDIS 17065, second edition in approval stage, catalogue record, ISO www.iso.org/standard/94443.html
- Publication of ISO/IEC 17020:2026 and ISO/IEC 17024:2026 (April 8, 2026), EA european-accreditation.org/publication-of-the-new-international-standards-with-the-requirements-for-bodies-performing-inspection-and-certification-of-persons/
- Transition arrangements for ISO/IEC 17020:2026 (technical bulletin, March 30, 2026), UKAS www.ukas.com/resources/technical-bulletins/iso-iec-17020-2026-transition/
- Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated launch (January 1, 2026), IAF iaf.nu/en/news/global-accreditation-cooperation-incorporated-launch-unifies-international-accreditation-organisations-and-strengthens-worldwide-trust/
- About the Global ACI MRA, Global ACI global-aci.org/en/about-the-global-aci-mra/
- Global ACI recognised accreditation bodies, Global ACI global-aci.org/en/recognised-abs/
- ILAC, International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, ILAC ilac.org/
- European co-operation for Accreditation (EA), EA european-accreditation.org/
- UKAS membership of EA (December 16, 2021), UKAS www.ukas.com/resources/latest-news/ukas-membership-of-ea/
- The Accreditation Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/3155), regulation 3, legislation.gov.uk www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/3155/regulation/3/made
- COFRAC, French national accreditation body, COFRAC www.cofrac.fr/
- DAkkS, German national accreditation body, DAkkS www.dakks.de/en/
- 47 CFR 2.948, measurement facilities, eCFR www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-2/subpart-J/section-2.948
- 47 CFR 2.960, recognition of Telecommunication Certification Bodies, eCFR www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-2/subpart-J/section-2.960
- 47 CFR 2.962, requirements for Telecommunication Certification Bodies, eCFR www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-2/subpart-J/section-2.962
- 29 CFR 1910.7, definition and requirements for a nationally recognized testing laboratory, eCFR www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-XVII/part-1910/subpart-A/section-1910.7
- 29 CFR 1910.399, definitions (acceptable, approved), eCFR www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-XVII/part-1910/subpart-S/section-1910.399
- NANDO, New Approach Notified and Designated Organisations, European Commission single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/goods/building-blocks/notified-bodies_en
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between a test laboratory and a certification body?
- A test laboratory measures the product against a test method and issues a test report. A certification body reviews evidence (often that very report) against a scheme and issues a certificate or attestation that the product conforms. Testing produces data, certification produces a decision. The two functions can sit in one organisation, but they are accredited against different standards: ISO/IEC 17025 for the laboratory and ISO/IEC 17065 for the product certification body.
- Is a Notified Body the same thing as an accredited laboratory?
- No. A Notified Body is a conformity assessment body that a Member State notifying authority has notified to the Commission and the other Member States for a specific Union act. Accreditation is the preferred evidence of its competence but not a legal requirement: without an accreditation certificate, the notifying authority supplies documentary evidence and the objection period is two months instead of two weeks (Decision 768/2008/EC, Articles R22(3), R23(4) and R23(5)). An ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation of a laboratory says nothing about notification.
- Why is an accredited test report accepted in other countries?
- Inside the EU it is a legal obligation: national authorities must recognise the equivalence of accreditation bodies that passed peer evaluation and accept the attestations of the bodies they accredited (Regulation 765/2008, Article 11(2)). Worldwide it rests on a voluntary arrangement: since January 1, 2026 the Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI) MRA covers the scopes of the former ILAC MRA and IAF MLA. Neither overrides national approval rules, such as FCC recognition of test laboratories.
- What is an NRTL and how does it relate to a Notified Body?
- An NRTL (Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory) is an organisation recognised by OSHA under 29 CFR 1910.7 that tests for safety and lists, labels or accepts equipment. OSHA recognises NRTLs itself under Appendix A of that section; the rule does not make ISO/IEC accreditation the basis of recognition. It is a US workplace-safety mechanism and has no legal link to EU notification.
- Can I use in-house or non-accredited test data in my technical file?
- Under self-declaration routes, yes: EU module A and the FCC Supplier's Declaration of Conformity contain no accreditation requirement for the test laboratory (47 CFR 2.948(a) requires an accredited, FCC-recognised laboratory only for the certification procedure). Since the August 2025 amendments, SDoC testing must not be done in a facility owned or controlled by a prohibited entity (47 CFR 2.906(a)(1)). Where a Notified Body is involved, it carries out or has carried out the examinations and tests it needs (module B, point 4).
- What is a TCB in the US FCC system?
- A Telecommunication Certification Body grants FCC equipment certification. To be recognised it must be accredited against ISO/IEC 17065 for the scope it certifies and also accredited against ISO/IEC 17025 to show it can perform the tests (47 CFR 2.960(a)(4) and (a)(6)). It must accept test data from any FCC-recognised accredited laboratory and must not repeat tests unnecessarily (47 CFR 2.962(d)(2)).
- Which accreditation standard applies to whom?
- ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for testing and calibration laboratories, ISO/IEC 17065:2012 for product, process and service certification bodies (a second edition reached the final draft ballot in August 2026), ISO/IEC 17020:2026 for inspection bodies (transition ends March 27, 2029), ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 for management system certification bodies, ISO/IEC 17024:2026 for certification of persons and ISO/IEC 17011 for accreditation bodies themselves.
- How do I qualify a test laboratory before sending it a product?
- Ask for the accreditation certificate and its scope, and check that the exact standard and edition you need is listed. Check that the accreditation body is a signatory for that activity (EA MLA in Europe, Global ACI MRA worldwide). For an FCC certification file, check the laboratory is on the FCC list of recognised laboratories. Then ask which line items of the quote fall outside the accredited scope.