The International Organization for Standardization is an independent organization that publishes the standards. These standards help businesses in improving the quality, safety, and efficiency of processes which is requirement for manufacturing products and services. The ISO is not responsible for issuing ISO certificates to organizations. ISO only provides the requirements of the international standards. As a result, businesses that want ISO Certification need to look for certification bodies that have received accreditation from International Accreditation Forum (IAF).
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How to verify the validity of ISO Certification?
Any organization that wants to be ISO certified needs to meet all the requirements specified under the particular ISO standard. This necessitates the businesses to hire ISO certified professionals to assist them in complying with the standard. At times, the certification body might falsify and provide the certificate to the organization. ISO standards apply directly to the organization as well as its suppliers. When a large organization wants to validate the ISO certification of its potential supplier, it can do so by following a procedure.
Steps to verify the validity of ISO Certificate:
Step 1: Obtain a copy of the ISO certificate obtained by the supplier. The ISO certificates are usually awarded through email in pdf form by the certification body. As a result, it should be easier for suppliers to send the attachment through email.
Step 2: On obtaining the ISO certification from the supplier, look for the symbol of the accreditation body and certifying body on the ISO Certificate. If the certificate is accredited by IAF, visit the IASF portal. The IAF platform is an online registrar where businesses can check the validity of ISO certificates. To do so, the organization needs to know the business name of the supplier. Thereafter, certified professionals can enter the business name and search for their ISO Certification on IAF.
Step 3: The IAF portal only allows a limited number of searches even for a registered user. Certified ISO professionals can look into the local or national accreditation bodies for verifying the validity of ISO certificates. Professionals can look for the organization’s name and the country in the regional registrar platform. The portal displays a list of ISO certificates obtained by the organization.
Step 4: While viewing the certificate, professionals can look for the specific certificate they are interested in. thereafter, the validity of the certificate can be verified by seeing the status of the certificate. If the status is active, then the certificate is considered to be valid. If the certificate shows inactive status then the certificate obtained by the supplier is invalid. This helps organizations to decide whether they are willing to transact with such suppliers.
Step 5: The third option available for professionals is to visit the accredited certification body. The certification bodies are accredited by the accreditation authority. The certification body is responsible for issuing the ISO certificates. Professionals can visit the website of the certification body and conduct the search by specifying the business name. This is the last method to verify the ISO certificate. If the certificate cannot be valid through this method, we can conclude that the certificate was falsified.
There have been various instances where the ISO certificate was obtained by the organization on false pretenses. As a result, certified ISO professionals are required to take the necessary steps to check the validity of the certificate. In certain cases, the certificate obtained can be termed invalid. This is because the necessary audits for the specific standard were not performed by the organization. Every ISO Certificate is valid only for 3 years. As a result, organizations need to conduct frequent audits to comply with the standard and maintain the certification.
To sum up
It is important to note that an organization may be certified with an ISO certificate for only a part of its operations in a certain location. Certified professionals need to check whether the entire scope of operations carried out in different locations is certified. Few circumstances necessitate professionals to check whether only a certain operational procedure is certified. Such procedures might direct reflect on the functioning of the organization. As a result, certified ISO professionals need to verify the validity of ISO certificate as per the needs of the business. Individuals willing to pursue a career in this path can get certified with ISO Certifications.
The ISO has issued a number of standards, offering users a wide range of options. On selecting the ISO standard certification, individuals need to undergo training sessions. The duration of the training sessions varies among nations and is dependent on the certification level. At the end of the training session, aspirants can take up the exam in their respective cities. At the end of the training session, aspirants can take up the exam. They have to clear the exam with a minimum passing score and obtain their certification.
