INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC STANDARD 17024

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC STANDARD 17024

First edition 2003-04-01

Conformity assessment — General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons

Évaluation de la conformité — Exigences générales pour les organismes de certification procédant à la certification de personnes

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies) . The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

ISO/IEC 17024 was prepared by ISO/CASCO, Committee on Conformity Assessment.

This first edition of ISO/IEC 17024 is based on EN 45013:1989.

Introduction

This International Standard has been drawn up with the objective of achieving and promoting a globally accepted benchmark for organizations operating certification of persons. Certification of persons is one means of providing assurance that the certified person meets the requirements of the certification scheme. Confidence in the respective certification schemes is achieved by means of a globally accepted process of assessment, subsequent surveillance and periodic re-assessments of the competence of certified persons.

However, it is necessary to distinguish between situations where certification schemes for persons are justified and situations where other forms of qualification are more appropriate. The development of new certification schemes for persons, in response to the ever increasing velocity of technological innovation and growing specialization of personnel, may compensate for variations in education and training and thus facilitate the global job market. Alternatives to certification may still be necessary in positions where public services, official or governmental operations are concerned.

In contrast to other types of conformity assessment bodies, such as management system certification/ registration bodies, one of the characteristic functions of the personnel certification body is to conduct an examination, which uses objective criteria for competence and scoring. While it is recognized that such an examination, if well planned and structured by the certification body, can substantially serve to ensure impartiality of operations and reduce the risk of a conflict of interest, alternative requirements have been included in this International Standard.

In either case, this International Standard should be the basis for the recognition of the certification bodies and their certification schemes, in order to facilitate their acceptance at the national and international levels. Only the harmonization of the system for developing and maintaining certification schemes for persons can establish the environment for mutual recognition and the global exchange of personnel.

This International Standard specifies requirements which ensure that certification bodies operating certification schemes for persons operate in a consistent, comparable and reliable manner. The requirements in this International Standard are to be considered as general requirements for bodies operating certification schemes for persons and therefore may have to be supplemented in response to additional demonstrated market need/desire (i.e. improvement of the profession) or specific government requirements (i.e. protection of the public).

Conformity assessment — General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons

1     Scope

This International Standard specifies requirements for a body certifying persons against specific requirements, including the development and maintenance of a certification scheme for persons.

NOTE In some countries, bodies which verify the conformity of the competence of persons against specified requirements are called “certification bodies”, in other countries “registration bodies”, in others “assessment and registration bodies” or “certification/registration/licensure bodies”, and in others still “registrars”. This International Standard uses the term “certification body”. However, this use is not limiting.

2     Normative references

The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

ISO/IEC Guide 2:1996, Standardization and related activities — General vocabulary

ISO 9000:2000, Quality management systems — Fundamentals and vocabulary

3     Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO/IEC Guide 2 and ISO 9000 and the following apply.

3.1 appeal

request by applicant, candidate or certified person for reconsideration of any adverse decision made by the certification body related to her/his desired certification status

3.2 candidate

applicant who has fulfilled specified prerequisites, allowing his/her participation in the certification process

3.3 certification process

all activities by which a certification body establishes that a person fulfils specified competence requirements, including application, evaluation, decision on certification, surveillance and recertification, use of certificates and logos/marks

3.4 certification scheme

specific certification requirements related to specified categories of persons to which the same particular standards and rules, and the same procedures apply