What specifically is meant by certification, registration and accreditation?
The process of determining whether products, processes, systems, or people meet specified requirements is called conformity assessment . Certification, registration, and accreditation are three separate and distinct conformity-assessment schemes to describe the quality and reliability of what they do. The processes can be conducted by the supplier (called first party ), purchaser (called second party ), or independent organization (called third party ). The following definitions are recognized: Certification : Procedure by which a third party gives written assurance that a product, process or service conforms to specified requirements. Registration : Procedure by which a body indicates relevant characteristics of a product, process or service, or particulars of a body or person, in an appropriate, publicly available list. Accreditation : Procedure by which an authorative body gives formal recognition that a body or person is competent to carry out specific tests.
