Membership Criteria

Regional Cooperation Bodies

Formally established regional accreditation cooperations having objectives similar to and compatible with ILAC, which are committed to the obligations of the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement and which consist of formally nominated representatives of the accreditation interests from at least four economies. Recognised Regional Cooperation Bodies are those whose regional Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRA/MLA) have been successfully peer-evaluated by ILAC.

Full Members (ILAC MRA Signatories)

Accreditation bodies that meet the requirements for Associates (below) and have also been accepted as signatories to the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement. Each accreditation body that is a signatory to the Arrangement agrees to abide by its terms and conditions and by the ILAC evaluation procedures. To do this, the signatory must:

  • Maintain conformance with ISO/IEC 17011, related ILAC guidance documents, and a few, but important, supplementary requirements, and
  • Ensure that all its accredited laboratories, inspection bodies and proficiency testing providers comply with ISO/IEC 17025 or ISO 15189 (for medical testing laboratories) or ISO/IEC 17020 or ISO/IEC 17043 and related ILAC documents.

These signatories have, in turn, been peer-reviewed and shown to meet ILAC’s criteria for competence. A brochure, “The route to signing the IAF or ILAC Arrangements”, describing the process involved in becoming a signatory to the ILAC MRA is available from here.

Associates 

Accreditation bodies that, while not yet signatories to the ILAC Arrangement:

  • operate accreditation schemes for testing laboratories, calibration laboratories, inspection bodies, and/or other services as decided from time to time by the ILAC General Assembly.
  • can provide evidence that they are operational and committed to comply with:
    • the requirements set out in relevant standards established by appropriate international standards writing bodies such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and ILAC application documents; and
    • the obligations of the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement;
  • are recognised in their economy as offering an accreditation service;

A brochure, “The route to signing the IAF or ILAC Arrangements”, describing the process involved in becoming a signatory to the ILAC MRA is available from here.

Stakeholders

Representative international, regional and national organizations having an interest in the work of ILAC and include bodies such as associations of laboratories, associations of laboratory practitioners, inspection body associations, purchasing organisations, regulatory authorities, consumer associations and trade organisations.

Please contact the ILAC Secretariat for all enquiries on ILAC membership.