The Standards Council of Canada offers internationally-recognized accreditation programs for management system certification bodies.

Accreditation by the Standards Council of Canada demonstrates that an organization has met the international standard for management system certification bodies and is able to competently assess and certify management systems.

A certification body’s scope of accreditation indicates which management systems it is accredited to assess and certify:

• Quality management systems (including sector programs for aerospace and telecommunications)
• Environmental management systems (including sector programs for forestry and hog farming)
• Food safety management systems
• Information security management systems
• Occupational health and safety management systems
• Management systems for manufacturers of medical devices (CMDCAS-recognized)

Accreditation requirements

The Standards Council of Canada applies accreditation requirements from international standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization  (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

The Standards Council of Canada begins using ISO/IEC 17021 for accrediting management system certification bodies in May 2007. Learn more about the transition to ISO/IEC 17021.

The ISO 22003 standard contains additional requirements for certification bodies for food safety management systems. Likewise, ISO/IEC 27006 contains additional requirements related to accrediting information security management systems certification bodies.

Certification bodies seeking to offer sector-specific programs must first be accredited as a certification body for quality or environmental management systems, as applicable.

Complete requirements are included in the applicable criteria and procedures for management system certification bodies.

Graphic summary of accreditation requirements »

Benefits of Standards Council of Canada accreditation for certification bodies

Accreditation by the Standards Council of Canada instantly increases the credibility of your organization and certification services.

It also increases international recognition and acceptance of the management systems certifications you issue. The Standards Council of Canada is a signatory to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and represents Canada at ISO and IEC. The Standards Council of Canada works closely with various international partners and has signed agreements with a number of countries in order to promote your certifications abroad.

The Standards Council of Canada is the only Canadian organization that accredits management systems certification bodies.