About IAF

12. MLA Signatories

The mechanism by which IAF implements its objective is the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA). Accreditation body members of IAF are admitted to the MLA only after a most stringent evaluation of their operations by a peer evaluation team which is charged to ensure that the applicant member complies fully with both the international standards and IAF requirements. Once an accreditation body is a member of the MLA it is required to recognize the certificates issued by certification/registration bodies accredited by all other members of the MLA.

IAF has granted Special Recognition to two Regional Accreditation Groups, the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) and the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC), on the basis of the acceptance of the mutual recognition arrangements established within these organizations. Membership of the IAF MLA is recognized as being satisfied by membership of either the EA MLA or the PAC MLA and IAF members who are also signatories of these regional MLAs are automatically accepted into the IAF MLA. Special Recognition was granted to the Interamerican Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) for the Quality Management Systems (QMS) MLA at the IAF Annual Meetings held in Cancun, Mexico in November 2006.

The first fourteen members to join the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) for QMS signed the Arrangement in Guangzhou, China on 22 January 1998. At the IAF Annual Meetings held in Cape Town, South Africa in October 2004, the IAF MLAs for Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and Product Certification became operational with 27 EMS MLA and 21 Product MLA certificates being signed.

The number of IAF MLA Signatories at October 2009 is as follows:

• IAF QMS MLA:     3 Regional Accreditation Groups (EA, PAC & IAAC) and 41 Accreditation Bodies
• IAF EMS MLA:     2 Regional Accreditation Groups (EA & PAC) and 37 Accreditation Bodies
• IAF Product MLA:  2 Regional Accreditation Groups (EA & PAC) and 33 Accreditation Bodies

IAF is encouraging more of its members to join the MLA, as soon as they have passed a rigorous evaluation process, to ensure that their accreditation programs are of world standard.

The consequence of joining the IAF MLA is that ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 conformity assessment certificates issued by certification/registration bodies accredited by any one of the members of the MLA will be recognised in the world wide IAF program.

Contact details of the accreditation bodies which are signatories to the MLA are listed on the IAF Members pages.  Those members which are signatories are denoted by “Date Admitted to the MLA”.

Details of the signatories of the IAF MLA programs at the present date are listed on the following two tables:

Table 1 - Argentina - Norway

Table 2 - Philippines - Vietnam