Making reference to accreditation

An accredited CAB may make reference to accreditation in two ways, i.e. by:

  • using the accreditation mark for the relevant type of accredited CAB, which may only be used in conjunction with the accredited CAB’s name, symbol or logo, or
  • making a statement, the form of which is prescribed, e.g. “Name of accredited CAB is accredited by Slovenian Accreditation with accreditation number LK-XXX / LP-XXX / LM-XXX / CP-XXX / CS-XXX / CO-XXX / K-XXX / SI-V-XXXX / P-XXX in the field of calibration (SIST EN ISO/IEC 17025) / testing (SIST EN ISO/IEC 17025) / testing (SIST EN ISO 15189) / certification of products, processes and services (SIST EN ISO/IEC 17065) / certification of management systems (SIST EN ISO/IEC 17021-1) / certification of persons (SIST EN ISO/IEC 17024) / inspection (SIST EN ISO/IEC 17020, Type A/B/C) / environmental verification (SIST EN ISO/IEC 17021-1) / verification of GHG emission reports (SIST EN ISO 14065)”

An accredited CAB may only make reference to accreditation in one of the above-mentioned manners. Other indications (such as ‘accredited’, ‘accredited CAB’, ‘accredited method’, or indication of the accredited CAB’s number), that could be understood as reference to accreditation, are not allowed.

Accreditation mark is a mark that accredited CABs use for making reference to their status in relation to accreditation. It consists of:

  • the SA logo,
  • the accredited CAB’s identification number (number of accreditation), and
  • the relevant accreditation standard or other normative document.

The possible variants of accreditation marks for different types of accredited CABs are as follow:

An accredited CAB may make reference to accreditation or use the accreditation mark when:

  • it holds valid accreditation in the activity field in relation with which it makes reference to accreditation, and
  • in relation with that activity, it fulfils all the requirements for accreditation.

An accredited CAB shall make reference to accreditation in reporting of the results of the accredited activity, and it may also make reference to accreditation in informing on the accredited activities or their advertising (in brochures, presentations, on notepaper, in offers, or the like).

An accredited CAB shall always make reference to accreditation in such a way as to prevent confusion in understanding the limitations and scope of accreditation. When an accredited CAB holds accreditation for a part of its activity only, it may use the accreditation mark and make reference to the accreditation in such a way solely as to make it clearly understandable to which part of the activity the reference applies. When an accredited CAB performs its activity at multiple locations, some of which are not included in the scope of accreditation, it may make reference to the accreditation only in relation with the work performed at the location which is included in the scope of accreditation.

In the case of withdrawal / revocation of accreditation, the accredited CAB shall immediately cease using the accreditation mark and/or making any other reference to accreditation for the part covered by the withdrawal / revocation of accreditation.

The accreditation mark or the statement shall not be used in such a way as to imply that SA assumes responsibility for the consequences resulting from the activities comprised within the scope of accreditation, or that it is SA who approves the object of calibration, testing, inspection or certification, or verification, or that it approves an assumption of conformity. A misuse or a misleading use of the accreditation mark or any other reference to accreditation shall be treated as non-compliance with the requirements for accreditation.

Read more about the rules for the use of accreditation mark and for making reference to SA accreditation in the document S05 – Rules for the use of the SA logo, the use of accreditation mark and for making reference to accreditation. See also the document OA08, Accredited bodies’ reporting, for additional explanations of requirements for making reference to accreditation.