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Akkreditierung von Zertifizierungsstellen (DAkkS)
In brief
Accreditation is the official confirmation that a testing, inspection or certification body is technically competent and works according to defined rules. In Germany it is granted by the Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle (DAkkS) as the national accreditation body. Accredited certification bodies audit, for example, whether a company meets the requirements of ISO 9001 or ISO/IEC 27001.
Certified or accredited?
The terms are often confused. A company is certified, a certification body is accredited. Accreditation is therefore the audit of the auditors. The legal basis is EU Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and the German Accreditation Body Act (Akkreditierungsstellengesetz). Every EU member state has exactly one national accreditation body.
| Body | Typical standard for accreditation |
|---|---|
| Certification body for management systems | ISO/IEC 17021-1, for ISMS additionally ISO/IEC 27006 |
| Certification body for products and processes | ISO/IEC 17065 |
| Testing laboratory | ISO/IEC 17025 |
Through international agreements, certificates from accredited bodies are also recognized in other countries.
Relevance when selecting service providers
Certificates show that a service provider is regularly audited externally. For management systems, after initial certification there are annual surveillance audits. With a certificate, check the scope, issuing body and validity date. Which questions you should ask a service provider is shown in our guide Choosing an ITAD provider.
Second IT is certified, among others, to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO/IEC 27001 and is audited externally at least three times a year.
Frequently asked questions about accreditation
What is the DAkkS?
Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle GmbH is Germany’s national accreditation body. It confirms the competence of laboratories, inspection bodies and certification bodies.
What is the difference between accreditation and certification?
Companies, products or persons are certified. The bodies that certify or test are accredited.
How do I recognize an accredited certification?
By the accreditation symbol on the certificate and the name of the certification body. The DAkkS maintains a public database of accredited bodies.
Why is the accreditation of a certification body important?
It confirms that the body is technically competent and works according to defined rules. Through international agreements, certificates from accredited bodies are also recognized in other countries.
What should I look for in my service provider’s certificate?
Check the scope, the issuing body and the validity date. For management systems, there are annual surveillance audits after initial certification. Whether the body is accredited is shown by the public DAkkS database.
Certified processes from pickup to erasure certificate.
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