Sole Accreditation Body
A non-profit association
Accredia is the association designated by the Italian Government to certify the competence and impartiality of bodies and laboratories that verify the conformity of products and services with standards.
Each European country has its own Sole Accreditation Body operating in accordance with European Regulation EC 765/2008 and international standard ISO/IEC 17011.
In Italy, the designated body is Accredia.
Accredia is a recognized, non-profit association operating under the supervision of the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, the national accreditation Authority.
Accredia’s activities are organized into three Departments:
- Certification and Inspection
- Testing Laboratories
- Calibration Laboratories
Role of Accredia
As an independent third party, the Accreditation Body guarantees the reliability of conformity assessment services and helps to build trust in national and international markets.
As a super partes Authority, Accredia verifies and attests the competence and impartiality of certification, inspection, and verification bodies, as well as testing and calibration laboratories.
Through accreditation, the Body ensures compliance with standards and the reliability of conformity certificates issued on the market. It also carries out constant and rigorous surveillance of accredited bodies and laboratories.
By helping to guarantee the quality and safety of products and services placed on the market, Accredia performs a guarantee function in the public interest, protecting people’s health and safeguarding the environment.
Through international cooperation, Accredia supports the development of safe and competitive markets by promoting the application of uniform and reliable quality standards at European and global level.
In the European Union and worldwide
Accredia is the Sole National Accreditation Body. It is a signatory to international Mutual Recognition Agreements and a member of EA, IAF, and ILAC.
In the European Union
Accredia was designated by the Government in accordance with EC Regulation 765/2008, which regulates accreditation and conformity assessment in member states. EC Regulation 765/2008 establishes for the first time a harmonized framework and uniform rules for accreditation and conformity assessment in Europe. Individual countries are responsible for designating their own Sole Accreditation Body, which must operate in accordance with the international standard ISO/IEC 17011. With the designation of Accredia in 2009, Italy complied with European standards.
Around the world
The Sole Accreditation Body is a signatory to international Mutual Recognition Agreements aimed at promoting the free movement of products and services. Accredia is part of the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA), International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) networks, which manage the EA MLA, IAF MLA and ILAC MRA Mutual Recognition Agreements. Signatory status is acquired by passing a peer evaluation process between Accreditation Bodies.
History
Documents, anecdotes, and quotes from the most significant moments and figures in 40 years of accreditation in Italy. The on line archive, created by Accredia in 2019 to celebrate its 10 years of activity, contains the most important documents, from the first steps of Sit, Sinal, and Sincert to the unification of the conformity assessment system and the most significant results of the Sole Body.
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Policies and objectives
Quality and impartiality
Accredia ensures the effectiveness and quality of its services in a transparent and impartial manner.
The objective of the quality and impartiality policy is to increase the satisfaction of all interested parties, in accordance with the principles of competence, transparency, and impartiality.