How to Search Certificate on IAF Register

To search for the certificate on the IAF register, you must have the following details:

Certificate number:

Name of the company:

Country:

Does my ISO Certificate Valid

This is not clear if the entire existing certificate needs to be posted on the website of the IAF, but with the clarification and extract of the discussion, it seems that certificate outside IAF arrangements shall be valid but acceptance of the same shall be limited.

Certificate issued without posting on IAF is Fake?

It's unfair to call a Certificate issued without posting on the IAF register fake, as ISO 17021 does not mention such arrangements, but acceptance of any certificate not under the arrangement of the IAF or not updated on the IAF Search database, shall not have equal recognition.

IAF Certificate Vs Non IAF Certificate

IAF Certificate has higher validity and global acceptance, after this register, use of MLA arrangement shall be nullified and the register shall have leverage over all the arrangements.

IAF Database of Accredited Certificates

IAF Database is a register of the entire certificate issued by certification body under IAF arrangements, this is not clear if MLA need is mandatory or not. IAF database is the start of a new era and this shall control the certificate issued by an informal certification body without monitoring. With this initiative, IAF took the initiate to welcome more applications for membership of the IAF.

Why IAF has Established a Database of Accredited Certificates?

The International Accreditation Forum at its recent General Assembly approved establishing a database of management systems certificates issued by certification bodies accredited by IAF member accreditation bodies.

Organizations with accredited certificates will be able to have their certificates in the database, which users will be able to use to find organizations with certificates for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and other management systems standards.

I am delighted IAF is developing the database’s IAF Chair Xiao Jinhua said. This adds value for the certification bodies accredited by IAF members but most importantly for the organizations that hold over 1.6 million accredited management system certificates. The benefits extend even further, for example to buyers wishing to check if their potential suppliers hold such certificates’

The IAF Database Management Committee (DMC); represented by the Accreditation Bodies like ANAB, NABCB, UAF, IAS, UKAS, Certification Bodies, and Industry; has developed a global database to house and provide an authoritative source for validating accredited certifications issued all over the world.

Development of the certificate search is currently under the process of the branded IAF Cert-Search global database and industry experts expect that IAFCertsearch.org shall be the website to search such database. Upon launch, will be accessed through the domain iafcertsearch.org.

Historically, verifying the validity of an accredited management system certification was limited and often impractical as there was no central location. The inefficiency of this process allowed for misuse and diluted the value of accredited certification. IAF Cert-Search aims to provide a single location of all accredited management system certifications issued by accredited Certification Bodies, like TNV.

The IAF Cert-Search is a voluntary database with early commitments and will launch with greater than 700,000 certifications in the database.

IAF Creates New International Certification Database

A vote was taken among 78 nations with accreditation bodies that are part of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). From the vote, it was determined that a new international database for quality management system (QMS) certifications should be created.

Who can add the Certificate to the IAF Certificate search database?

The reason ISO looks only at IAF-based certificates in the survey is that it recognizes that accreditation adds a valuable level of confidence to any certificate. In a recent email, ISO told Quality Digest that ISO strongly promotes that all conformity assessment bodies (certification bodies, inspection bodies, and laboratories), as well as accreditation bodies, should operate by the relevant ISO/CASCO standards (CASCO Toolbox).

These standards are competency-based standards and bodies that implement them correctly can be considered to be competent to perform certification and/or inspection, and to do this competently [Because] the IAF requires that certification bodies and their clients meet the relevant ISO standards we only include accredited certificates issued by IAF members’

The problem of IAF Certificate Search Database

In the past, CABs were reluctant to share data about their certification clients for fear those clients would be poached by competing CABs. Therefore, the IAF has enlisted CAB representatives who are helping shape the database to minimize this type of misuse. A CAB representative I spoke with on the project felt this is not something that will prevent a successful launch. I was told many CABs already publish their client’s information online in one form or another because the certified companies want their certifications to be verified as legitimate.

This is certainly an area of concern that should be resolvable. The bigger issue is whether the largest CABs would participate, or whether individual organizations could submit their certificates and data to the IAF directly, as proof that they are legitimately certified companies. The cost of managing individual uploaded certificates is a concern to IAF because it would likely drive up the cost of managing the database for everyone else. These issues are part of the conversation.

The benefit of IAF Certificate register

Making 1.6 million certificates accessible will make it possible to rapidly screen ISO certifications from one location. On occasion in the past, regulators have nearly approved medical devices for use in the public health system, based on fake certificates that were later deemed illegitimate. The new IAF database will allow manufacturers and regulators to quickly check those certificates without the inconvenience of going to multiple websites, as seen in this article from 2013.

Although it’s possible to chase down the credibility of many certificates now, the new database will enable users to validate the legitimacy of a certificate with a few taps on a smartphone. The supply chain will be held accountable as never before. Legitimate audits will become even more valuable as the rest fade from existence. The brighter light of a well-earned certificate will shine from this new database.

The database particulars are still being worked on and there is no scheduled release date as yet, but stay tuned for further details as to when this database will be made available to the public.