Accredia / About us

About us

The National Accreditation Body

Accredia was appointed by the Italian government to attest the competence and impartiality of Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) which verify the conformity to the standards of goods and services.

All European countries have an accreditation body which operates in line with the requirements of Regulation EC 765/2008 and with the international standard ISO/IEC 17011.

Accreditation attests the competence and impartiality of certification, inspection, validation and verification bodies, and testing and calibration laboratories; accreditation ensures their suitability to assess the conformity of goods and services to the rules set down by the voluntary and obligatory standards.

Accredia is a recognized association operating on a non-profit basis under the vigilance of the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy which is the national reference authority for accreditation.

Accredia has three departments – Certification and Inspection, Testing Laboratories, and Calibration Laboratories, and it carries out constant and thorough surveillance of all accredited CABs.

Accredia’s role

The accreditation body is an impartial authority working for the interests of the public to ensure that the services provided by CABs are trustworthy.

As an independent third party, Accredia makes sure that accredited CABs observe the standards and that the declarations of conformity they issue constitute a guarantee, protecting the environment and the health and safety of citizens.

The use by institutions, businesses and consumers of accredited conformity assessment services strengthens trust in the quality and safety of the goods and services available on the market.

Unione europea
In the EU
Accredia was nominated by the government, implementing Regulation EC 765/2008 which regulates the accreditation and conformity assessment activities of member states.

Regulation EC 765/2008 creates a harmonised and uniform framework of rules for accreditation and conformity assessment throughout Europe.

Each member state has the task of nominating an accreditation body operating in compliance with the international standard ISO/IEC 17011. With the creation of Accredia in 2009 Italy conformed with the European standards. In the EU

Accredia nel mondo
Worldwide
Accredia is signatory to the international Mutual Recognition Agreements to benefit the free movement of goods and services.

Accredia is a member of EA – European cooperation for Accreditation and IAF – International Accreditation Forum as well as ILAC – International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation and it is signatory to the international Mutual Recognition Agreements.

Signatory status was gained by means of the successful completion of an evaluation process conducted by other national accreditation bodies. Worldwide

The principles

Through its technical assessors and experts involved in assessment activities, Accredia respects the general principles contained in the standard ISO/IEC 17011 and Regulation EC  765/2008.

Competence

Accredia’s technical officers and assessors take part in regular trainings and updates to ensure the high level of the accreditation service.

Independence

Accredia’s assessment teams are chosen following a thorough appraisal of the independence of their members with respect to the applicant or accredited body or laboratory.

Representativeness

A representative balance is guaranteed to Accredia’s corporate members of direct and indirect interests in accreditation and conformity assessment activities.

Transparency

Accredia operates with transparency and applies all the rules under constant monitoring based on the consensus of all the interested parties.

Policies and objectives

Quality and impartiality
Accredia ensures the effectiveness and quality of services in a transparent and impartial way.

The aim of the quality and impartiality policy is to satisfy of all parties, while respecting the principles of competence, transparency and impartiality. Quality and impartiality

Safety in the workplace
Health and safety in the workplace are a stand-out objective for Accredia.

All Accredia staff members strive to promote workplace health and safety, working together for the creation of appropriate conditions for carrying out the activites. Safety in the workplace