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ILAC is the international organisation for accreditation bodies operating in accordance with ISO/IEC 17011 and involved in the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies including calibration laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025), testing laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025), medical testing laboratories (using ISO 15189), inspection bodies (using ISO/IEC 17020), proficiency testing providers (using ISO/IEC 17043) and reference material producers (using ISO 17034).
Accreditation is the independent evaluation of conformity assessment bodies against recognised standards to carry out specific activities to ensure their impartiality and competence. Through the application of national and international standards, government, procurers and consumers can have confidence in the calibration and test results, inspection reports and certifications provided.
Accreditation bodies are established in many economies with the primary purpose of ensuring that conformity assessment bodies are subject to oversight by an authoritative body. Accreditation bodies, that have been peer evaluated as competent, sign regional and international arrangements to demonstrate their competence. These accreditation bodies then assess and accredit conformity assessment bodies to the relevant standards.
The arrangements support the provision of local or national services, such as providing safe food and clean drinking water, providing energy, delivering health and social care or maintaining an unpolluted environment. In addition, the arrangements enhance the acceptance of products and services across national borders, thereby creating a framework to support international trade through the removal of technical barriers.
The international arrangements are managed by ILAC in the fields of calibration, testing, medical testing, inspection, proficiency testing providers and reference material producers accreditation and IAF in the fields of management systems, products, services, personnel and other similar programmes of conformity assessment. Both organisations, ILAC and IAF, work together and coordinate their efforts to enhance the accreditation and the conformity assessment worldwide.
The regional arrangements are managed by the recognised regional co-operation bodies that work in harmony with ILAC and IAF. The recognised regional co-operations are also represented on the ILAC and IAF Executive Committees. ILAC works closely with the regional co-operation bodies involved in accreditation, notably EA in Europe, APAC in the Asia-Pacific, IAAC in the Americas, AFRAC in Africa, SADCA in Southern Africa, and ARAC in the Arab region.
History
ILAC first started as a conference, which was held on 24-28 October 1977 in Copenhagen, Denmark with the aim of developing international cooperation for facilitating trade by promotion of the acceptance of accredited test and calibration results.
In 1996, ILAC became a formal cooperation with a charter to establish a network of mutual recognition agreements among accreditation bodies.
In 2000, the 36 ILAC Full Members consisting of laboratory accreditation bodies from 28 economies worldwide, signed the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (ILAC MRA) in Washington DC, to promote the acceptance of technical test and calibration data for exported goods. The ILAC MRA for calibration and testing laboratories came into effect on 31 January 2001.
The ILAC MRA was then extended in October 2012 to include the accreditation of inspection bodies. In May 2019 it was further extended to include the accreditation of proficiency testing providers and in May 2020 for the accreditation of reference material producers.
 
About IAF
The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) is a worldwide association of accreditation bodies and other bodies interested in conformity assessment in the fields of management systems, products, processes, services, personnel, validation and verification and other similar programmes of conformity assessment.
Our primary function is to develop a single worldwide program of conformity assessment which reduces risk for businesses and their customers by assuring them that accredited certificates and validation and verification statements may be relied upon.

Charter
The International Accreditation Forum, Inc. (IAF) is an international association of organizations that have agreed to work together on a worldwide basis to achieve common trade facilitation objectives. We are a major worldwide forum for developing principles and practices for the conduct of conformity assessment that will deliver the confidence needed for market acceptance. We act through the accreditation of those bodies that conduct certification of management systems, products, processes, services and personnel, and validation and verification.
We promote worldwide acceptance of certificates of conformity and validation and verification statements issued by certification and validation/verification bodies accredited by Accreditation Body Members of IAF, and seek to add value for all stakeholders through what we do and through our programs.
We bring together, on a worldwide basis, partner accreditation bodies and representatives of stakeholder groups that seek to facilitate global trade through the acceptance of accredited certificates of conformity and validation and verification statements.
We develop and/or recognize appropriate processes and practices for the conduct of conformity assessment worldwide and ensure their universal application by IAF Accreditation Body Members and their accredited certification and validation/verification bodies.
We consult widely with stakeholders in developing our programs and we work to deliver the best possible standard of conformity assessment in order to provide our stakeholders with a value-added outcome.
We influence world trade through linking and working with other key international organizations and industry groups.
 
Original approved by members of IAF November 2000.