Two global accreditation organisations have merged into one
From 1 January 2026 global accreditation cooperation is run by one organisation instead of two. Existing accreditations and certificates remain valid.
- The Global Accreditation Cooperation has taken over the tasks of the body for certification bodies and the one for laboratories and inspection bodies.
- The reason is simple: requirements in both worlds had been converging for years, and users of results rarely distinguished which arrangement stood behind what.
- One organisation means one set of rules and one mutual recognition arrangement.
- That arrangement is what makes a test report or certificate from one country accepted in another without repeating the testing.
- A laboratory need do nothing immediately — accreditations stay valid and national accreditation bodies operate unchanged.
- Changes will show up in the details: symbols on documents and references in procedures, announced by your own accreditation body.
Source: IAF