A conformity assessment body is an independent body that tests the conformity of products, processes or services for compliance with laws, standards and directives.
You can be accredited as a conformity assessment body by the German Accreditation Body (DAkkS). The DAkkS checks whether you fulfill the normative and legal requirements.
Your application for initial accreditation is valid for one conformity assessment body at a time. Initial accreditation is generally required if you are a new customer. However, you can also apply for initial accreditation if you are an existing customer and wish to have another conformity assessment body or another type of accreditation accredited. The accreditation procedure is initiated when the application is submitted.
If the outcome of the procedure is positive, the accreditation confirms that your organization meets the requirements within the defined scope and may carry out certain conformity assessment tasks. As a rule, you will receive accreditation for an unlimited period of time.
Accreditation also allows you to use the non-digital accreditation symbol.
In order to ensure the competence of the conformity assessment body and to maintain the accreditation, DAkkS carries out regular surveillance assessments on an ongoing basis.