Frequently asked questions

ASI GmbH is phasing out Accreditation services and transitioning these into the Two-Tier Assurance Program to establish a unified global system for all Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs), ensuring consistent standards, streamlined operations, regulatory alignment with EU Regulation EC 765:2008, and to address delays in the EA-1/22 scheme reviews through National Accreditation Bodies. This shift addresses the need to manage parallel accreditation systems.

CABs currently accredited under ASI GmbH (Legacy Accreditation) will be required to transition to the Two-Tier Assurance Program, with ASI in North America serving as the Tier-One Accreditation Body.

Of course. The ASI GmbH Accreditation Certificate will remain valid until ASI in North America issues the new accreditation certificate. ASI will coordinate transitions to ensure there is no disruption to services.

EA-1/22 is the mandatory procedure and criteria used by National Accreditation Bodies (NABs) to evaluate a defined Conformity Assessment Scheme (CAS) to fulfill the requirements of ISO/IEC 17011:2017 Clause 4.6. This clause mandates procedures to determine the suitability of Conformity Assessment Schemes for accreditation purposes.

Ongoing delays in the EA-1/22 scheme reviews have prompted ASI to transition the accreditation of all CABs, including those in the EEA and UK, to the Two-Tier Assurance Program with ASI in North America as the Tier-One Accreditation Body. CABs located outside the EEA/UK have already been operating under Two-Tier Assurance Program for over a year. Once the EA-1/22 reviews are finalized, ASI will coordinate with EEA and UK-based CABs to transfer their Tier-One accreditation from ASI in North America to participating NABs in Europe. As a result, the timing of each CAB’s return to their respective NAB in the EEA/UK will depend on the completion of these scheme reviews. ASI will notify CABs when the review process is complete and coordinate the transition accordingly.

Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) have been signed with the following National Accreditation Bodies: Accredia (Italy), DAkkS (Germany), and UKAS (United Kingdom). ASI continues to engage with all other NABs in the EEA/UK. However, participation in Two-Tier Assurance Program is voluntary and we do not expect that all NABs will join. To participate, each NAB must sign a formal MOU with ASI, consistent with the agreements already established with Accredia, DAkkS, and UKAS.

CABs in the EEA/UK shall hold Accreditations from their local NAB if that NAB is participating in Two-Tier Assurance Program. If a NAB chooses not to participate in the Two-Tier Assurance Program, the CAB may select another Two-Tier Assurance Program Participating NAB. CABs outside the EEA/UK will remain under ASI in North America for Tier One Accreditation.

Yes, once the EA-1/22 scheme review is finalized for a particular scheme, the UK-based CABs will need to move their ASI in North America accreditation back to UKAS and request a scope extension of their ISO 17065 certificate.

Accreditation Cycles will remain unchanged during the transfer. However, ASI may use this opportunity to align cycles across different schemes under a single cycle for ISO/IEC 17065. This means some current cycles may be shortened or extended to achieve alignment. Importantly, this does not affect the accreditation status of the CAB, as accreditation under both ASI GmbH and ASI in North America does not expire.

Yes. CABs will need to sign two new agreements as part of the Two-Tier Assurance Program transition:

• A revised Assurance Service Agreement (ASA) with ASI GmbH, and
• a new Accreditation Service Agreement (AcSA) with ASI in North America to reflect the updated accreditation structure.

ASI in North America will review all files shared by ASI GmbH to decide on the transfer. If the most recent Head Office (HO) assessment includes open NCs, a note will be added to the Assessment Report indicating that ASI GmbH, as the outsourced body, will continue to monitor and report on the closure of these NCs to ASI in North America. This approach ensures that findings remain properly documented, avoids duplication of records, and eliminates the need for additional changes during the transition.

In theory, yes. However, ASI in North America will not arbitrarily deny transfers. If there are unresolved issues that could affect the integrity of the accreditation, these may need to be addressed before a transfer is approved. Additionally, suspended accreditations will not be transferred. For more information, please refer to the Transfer Procedure (ASI NA-PRO-20-100).

ASI in North America currently does not issue an accreditation symbol (i.e., a symbol used by accredited CABs to indicate they are accredited). However, CABs may make accreditation claims in accordance with the Trademark Policy (ASI NA-POL-20-110). In contrast, ASI GmbH does issue a logo that may be used on certificates, as detailed in the Logo Policy (ASI-POL-20-108).

CABs are not expected to retroactively update existing certificates. If a CAB wishes to reflect both ASI GmbH approval and ASI in North America accreditation on a certificate, a draft should be submitted to the ASI Quality Team (quality@asi-assurance.org) for approval following the ASI Logo Usage Guidelines (ASI-GUI-20-162).

Yes. CABs accredited by ASI in North America may continue to carry out certification activities within the EU until the relevant EA-1/22 reviews are completed. Then, the CAB’s Tier-One accreditation will need to be transferred to a participating European NAB, in line with the Two-Tier Assurance Program framework.

No. The procedures and IT systems of ASI in North America and ASI GmbH are fully integrated and aligned. In practice, there will be no change for CABs. The same planning personnel, management contacts, and assessment teams will continue to support and carry out assessments. As a result, the assessment approach and experience for CABs will remain consistent and uninterrupted.

Yes. ASI Connect remains the central platform for managing accreditation activities, including NCs, audit scheduling, reporting, and scheme-specific communication throughout and beyond the Two-Tier Assurance Program transition.

For CABs under the Annual Service Fee (ASF) model, ASI in North America assessments will be covered under the existing ASF already invoiced by ASI GmbH, so no additional financial impact is expected.

For CABs under the Regular Service Fee (RSF) model, the ASI GmbH fee structure will continue to apply for all assessments.

Importantly, the transition itself will not result in additional costs, and ASI in North America’s annual accreditation fee of $1,000 (+ $500 per scope) will be waived for both 2025 and 2026.