IAF also publishes Guidance for the use of accreditation bodies when accrediting certification/registration bodies to assure that they also operate their programs in a consistent and equivalent manner. IAF Guidance documents are not intended to establish, interpret, subtract from or add to the requirements of any ISO/IEC Guide but simply to assure consistent application of those Guides.
Copies of all published IAF Guidance to the application of ISO/IEC Guides are available below.
The following documents are available in Adobe Acrobat PDF. If you do not have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer it is available here free from Adobe.
IAF GD 1:2003 Guidance on the Application of ISO/IEC Guide 61:1996
(Issue 3 Version 3, issued on 1 December 2003)
All IAF Accreditation Body Members are obliged to comply with the guidance on the application of ISO/IEC Guide 61:1996 (General Requirements for Assessment and Accreditation of Certification/Registration Bodies), Issue 3 Version 3, before 1 November 2004. The members of the IAF MLA have demonstrated in a peer evaluation that their program complies with this Guidance.
IAF GD 2:2005 Guidance on the Application of Guide 62:1996
(Issue 4, issued on 15 December 2005; application from 15 December 2006)
All IAF Members are required to comply with the IAF guidance on the application of ISO/IEC Guide 62:1996 (General Requirements for Bodies operating Assessment and Certification/Registration of Quality Systems), Issue 4, before 15 December 2006. IAF Accreditation Body Members are required to evaluate the operations and planning of accredited bodies to ensure that full implementation will be in place before 15 December 2006. The guidance is intended to ensure that all certification/registration bodies accredited by IAF members are demonstrably competent to operate the accredited programs. Accreditation bodies that are members of the IAF MLA ensure that the certificates issued by certification/registration bodies accredited by them are equivalent to certificates issued by bodies accredited by other members of the MLA.
IAF GD 3:2003 Guidance on Cross Frontier Accreditation
(Issue 1 Version 3, issued on 1 December 2003)
Provides guidance on Section 3 of ISO/IEC Guide 61 for the accreditation of management system certification/registration bodies in situations where a certification/registration body seeks more than one accreditation or accreditation from an accreditation body outside of its own country or economy. IAF’s objective is to offer its mechanism for mutual recognition to reduce duplicate accreditation. Accreditation bodies that are members of the IAF MLA are obliged to comply with the guidance on cross frontier accreditation before 1 May 2004. This guidance is also published in Annex 2 of IAF GD1:2003 guidance on the application of ISO/IEC Guide 61:1996.
IAF GD 5:2006 Guidance on ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996
(Issue 2, issued on 8 December 2006; application from 8 December 2007)
All IAF Members are required to comply with the IAF guidance on the application of ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996 (General Requirements for Assessment and Accreditation of Bodies Operating Product Certification Systems), Issue 2. IAF Accreditation Body Members are required to evaluate the operations and planning of accredited bodies to ensure that full implementation is in place. The guidance is intended to ensure that all certification/registration bodies accredited by IAF members are demonstrably competent to operate the accredited Product Certification programs. Accreditation bodies that are members of the IAF MLA ensure that the certificates issued by certification / registration bodies accredited by them are equivalent to certificates issued by bodies accredited by other members of the MLA.
Summary of Changes for IAF GD 5:2006 Issue 3
Prepared to assist users of the IAF guidance to identify what amendments have been made in this particular issue. The summary of changes will be available for a period of 12 months from the date of publication of the revised IAF guidance.
IAF GD 6:2006 Guidance on the Application of ISO/IEC Guide 66:1999
(Issue 4, issued on 15 August 2006; application from 15 August 2007)
Revised to incorporate guidance on Advanced Surveillance and Reassessment Procedures (ASRP) and Computer Assisted Auditing Techniques (CAAT) as well as temporary sites.
Summary of Changes for IAF GD 6:2006 Issue 4
Prepared to assist users of the IAF guidance to identify what amendments have been made in this particular issue. The summary of changes will be available for a period of 12 months from the date of publication of the revised IAF guidance.
IAF GD 7:2006 Transition Plan for Accredited Certification from AM/WDI to ASRP
(Issue 1, issued on 4 October 2006; Application from 4 October 2006)
Provides guidance for organisations maintaining accredited certification using the Alternative Method (AM) or Well Developed and Implemented (WDI) Management Systems for the transition to Advanced Surveillance and Reassessment Procedures (ASRP).
IAF GD 8:2007 Informative Guidance on the Transition to ISO/IEC 17021 Accreditation from ISO/IEC Guide 62 and ISO/IEC Guide 66
(Issue 1, issued on 10 May 2007; Application from 10 May 2007)
ISO/IEC 17021 was published on 15 September 2006 replacing ISO/IEC Guide 62 and ISO/IEC Guide 66 and incorporating the majority of the guidance contained in their respective IAF guidance documents, IAF GD 2 and IAF GD 6. Resolution 2006-09 was passed by the IAF General Assembly in Cancun on 14 November 2006 endorsing a 2 year transition period to ISO/IEC 17021.
IAF GD 24:2004 Guidance on the Application of ISO/IEC 17024:2003
(Issue 1, issued on 1 February 2004)
All IAF Members are required to comply with the IAF guidance on the application of ISO/IEC 17024:2003 (Conformity assessment - General Requirements for Bodies operating Certification of Persons ), Issue 1, before 1 April 2005. IAF Accreditation Body Members are required to evaluate the operations and planning of accredited bodies to ensure that full implementation will be in place before 1 April 2005. The guidance is intended to ensure that all certification/registration bodies accredited by IAF members are demonstrably competent to operate the accredited Certification of Persons programs. Accreditation bodies that are members of the IAF MLA ensure that the certificates issued by certification/registration bodies accredited by them are equivalent to certificates issued by bodies accredited by other members of the MLA.
IAF Guidance in the Application of ISO9001:2000
(Issue 2, issued December 2001)
All IAF Accreditation Body Members are obliged to ensure that the certification/registration bodies they accredit issue accredited certificates to ISO9001:2000 which comply with this guidance.
IAF Guidance on Guide 65:1996
(Issue 1, issued in March 1999)
All IAF Members are required to comply with the IAF guidance on the application of ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996 (General Requirements for Assessment and Accreditation of Bodies Operating Product Certification Systems), Issue 1. IAF Accreditation Body Members are required to evaluate the operations and planning of accredited bodies to ensure that full implementation is in place. The guidance is intended to ensure that all certification / registration bodies accredited by IAF members are demonstrably competent to operate the accredited Product Certification programs. Accreditation bodies that are members of the IAF MLA ensure that the certificates issued by certification / registration bodies accredited by them are equivalent to certificates issued by bodies accredited by other members of the MLA.
