Certification Body Accreditation

Find the standards, criteria, and key documents needed to apply for SAC accreditation as a certification body.

Last updated 3 August 2026

A certification body must be fully conversant and comply with the relevant standards and criteria to be accredited. The standards, specific criteria and related documents for the SAC accreditation are as below:

Publications for All Certification Programmes

Standards and Criteria Document for Management Systems Certification

ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 - Conformity assessment - Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems - Part 1: Requirements

The latest version of IAF Mandatory Documents (MD) and Policy Documents (PD) can be accessed via the IAF website.

IAF MD 1 – Audit and Certification of a Management System Operated by a Multi-Site Organization
IAF MD 2 – Transfer of Accredited Certification of Management Systems
IAF MD 4 – Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Auditing/Assessment Purposes
IAF MD 5 – Determination of Audit Time of Quality, Environmental, and Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems
IAF MD 7 – Harmonization of Sanctions to be applied to Conformity Assessment Bodies
IAF MD 9 – Application of ISO/IEC 17021-1 in the Field of Medical Device Quality Management Systems (ISO 13485)
IAF MD 11 – Application of ISO/IEC 17021 for Audits of Integrated Management Systems
IAF MD 12 – Accreditation Assessment of Conformity Assessment Bodies with Activities in Multiple Countries
IAF MD 15 – Collection of Data to Provide Indicators of Management System Certification Bodies' Performance
IAF MD 16 – Application of ISO/IEC 17011 for the Accreditation of Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) Certification Bodies
IAF MD 22 – Application of ISO/IEC 17021-1 for the Certification of Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OH&SMS)
IAF MD 23 – Control of Entities Operating on Behalf of Accredited Management Systems Certification Bodies
IAF MD 26 – Transition Requirements for ISO/IEC 27001:2022
IAF MD 28 – Upload and Maintenance of Data on IAF Database
IAF MD 29 – Transition Requirements for ISO/IEC 27006-1:2024
IAF MD 30 – Transition Requirements for ISO 37001:2025
IAF PL 9 – General Principles for the Use of the IAF CERTSEARCH Mark

Joint IAF-ISO Communiques

Standards and Criteria Document for Product Certification

ISO/IEC 17065:2012 - Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services

Standards and Criteria Document for Personnel Certification

ISO/IEC 17024:2012 Conformity assessment - General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons

Standards and Criteria Document for Auditing Organisations

Modified from ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 Conformity assessment - Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems - Part 1: Requirements