Frequently Asked Questions
What is ISO/IEC 17024?
ISO/IEC 17024 Conformity assessment – General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons is an international standard designed to ensure that certification bodies around the world operate in a consistent, comparable and reliable manner.
It was developed under the auspices of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and was ratified by over 80 countries, including the United States. The standard can be purchased from the International Organization for Standardization or from the American National Standards Institute.
Which organizations accredit certification bodies complying with ISO/IEC 17024?
| Region | Accreditation Information available from |
| United States | American National Standards Institute.. |
| Canada | Standard Council of Canada. |
| Australia and New Zealand | Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand. |
| United Kingdom | United Kingdom Accreditation Service. |
In the United States, the Institute for Certification Excellence (formerly known as NOCA, the National Organization for Certifying Agencies) has announced that in 2010 it will begin accrediting certification programs to the ISO/IEC 17024 standard. See http://www.NOCA.org for details.
How does the Handbook help us meet ISO/IEC 17024 and accreditation?
The Compliance Handbook explains ISO/IEC 17024 both as an overview, and in detail. It explains precisely what you’ll need to do to have your certification meet the requirements for accreditation under ISO/IEC 17024.
We may want to get our program accredited. How do we go about evaluating whether we’re ready, and what it might cost?
To determine whether you're ready, you can use the extensive Development Checklist in the Handbook to see whether there are open issues in your Policies and Procedures or in your management system.
No one can give you a firm cost estimate for obtaining accreditation without knowing your certification program in detail. And that’s expensive. Using the Compliance Handbook as a guide, you can evaluate how much work your organization has already done, and how much needs to be done to complete an application for accreditation. Then you can formulate your own cost estimate.
We’re starting a new certification program, and we may want to get it accredited in the future. Is there a way we can set up our program so that if we apply for accreditation we’re set up for it?
Starting your certification program with the Compliance Handbook as a guide, you can formulate policies and procedures so they conform with ISO/IEC 17024 requirements. You can establish documentation standards that make application for accreditation a straightforward exercise of assembling and reorganizing the
documentation already at hand.
We need 17024 accreditation: Where can we get authoritative guidance?
The Compliance Handbook gives detailed, authoritative guidance specifically directed at compliance with the ISO/IEC 17024 standard’s requirements.
Other books on certification, testing and test construction give overall guidance.
Some we suggest include:
Certification and Accreditation Legal Handbook. ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership, Washington, DC. 2004. Available at: [http://www.asaecenter.org/Marketplace]
Core Competencies for Certification Professionals,
ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership, Washington, DC. 2009. Free download from: [http://www.asaecenter.org/resources/ProfessionalDevelopment.cfm] under Section Resources.
“Development and Delivery of Certification Programs” chapter in Core Competencies in Professional Development, ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership, Washington, DC. 2005. Available at: [http://www.asaecenter.org/Marketplace]
Certification Simplified. Mickie Rops Consulting, 2009. Available at: [www.msrops.com] Click on Certification Books link.
Standards for educational and psychological testing, by the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education. Available at: [ http://www.apa.org/science/standards.html ]
We’re about ready to apply for accreditation, but would like some reassurance our program is in compliance with ISO/IEC 17024. How can we evaluate our program, short of a $20K consulting bill for an internal audit?
Using the Compliance Handbook, your own staff can conduct the internal audit to evaluate compliance with ISO/IEC 17024 prior to submitting your application for evaluation. The internal audit is a critical part of ISO/IEC 17024 compliance so conducting it prior to finalizing your application is not redundant.