The Purpose of the MLA

The purpose of the arrangement, the IAF-AB Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA), is to ensure mutual recognition of accredited certification between signatories to the MLA, and subsequently acceptance of accredited certification in many markets based on one accreditation.

Accreditations granted by IAF-AB MLA signatories are recognised worldwide based on their equivalent accreditation programs, therefore reducing costs and adding value to business and consumers.

Accreditation body members of IAF-AB are admitted to the MLA only after stringent evaluation of their operations by a peer evaluation team.

As a strategic objective, IAF-AB is committed to increasing the transparency of the peer evaluation process and its outcomes. IAF-AB and its Accreditation Body members invest significant effort and resource to maintain the integrity and consistency of the MLA through the peer evaluation process.

The IAF-AB MLA Annual Report sets out the detailed activity that is carried out as part of the peer evaluation process, to ensure that regulators, specifiers, and businesses can have confidence in the Arrangement. The IAF-AB MLA Report is published on an annual basis.

Please download the latest IAF-AB MLA Annual Report from the Promotional Documents page.

The MLA Mark

The IAF-AB MLA mark can be used by accreditation bodies to demonstrate their status as a signatory to the IAF-AB MLA.

Accredited certification bodies can also use the IAF-AB-MLA Mark in combination with the accreditation symbol to use on their certificates.

Businesses seeking certification will be able to see at a glance if the certification body issuing the certificate is accredited by an accreditation body that is a signatory to the IAF-AB MLA. The certification body must include an indication as to which activity the accreditation is related.

The Evaluation Process

Accreditation body members of IAF-AB are admitted to the MLA only after stringent evaluation of their operations by a peer evaluation team. It is the responsibility of this team to assess that the applicant member complies fully with both the international standards and IAF-AB guidelines.

Each accreditation body that is a signatory to the IAF-AB MLA commits to:

Maintain conformity with the current version of ISO/IEC 17011 Conformity assessment – General requirements for bodies providing assessment and accreditation of conformity assessment bodies and supplementary requirements documents.
Recognise the competence and impartiality of accreditation of Conformity Assessment Bodies by all other members of the MLA.
The IAF-AB MLA has been structured to build on existing and developing regional MLAs established around the world. IAF-AB has granted Special Recognition to the MLA programs of five Regional Accreditation Groups, the African Accreditation Cooperation (AFRAC), the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (APAC), the ARAB Accreditation Cooperation (ARAC), the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) and the Inter American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC), on the basis of the acceptance of the mutual recognition arrangements established within these organisations.

Membership of the IAF-AB MLA is recognized as being satisfied by membership of any of the above MLAs for recognized programs. IAF-AB members who are also signatories of these regional MLAs are automatically accepted into the IAF-AB MLA for recognized programs. The IAF-AB MLA for Quality Management Systems (QMS) has been operational since 22 January 1998 when 14 IAF-AB Members signed the Arrangement in Guangzhou, China. The IAF-AB MLAs for Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and Product Certification became operational at the IAF-AB Annual Meetings held in Cape Town, South Africa in October 2004.

The Scopes

Currently there are four main scopes for the IAF-AB MLA: Management Systems Certification, Product Certification, Certification of Persons, and Validation and Verification.

Sub-scopes are divided into two categories (Level 4 and Level 5), as described in section 4 of IAF-AB PR4: Structure of the IAF-AB MLA and List of IAF-AB Endorsed Normative Documents.

IAF-AB has endorsed the following sub-scopes:

Under Management Systems Certification:

Level 4: ISO/TS 22003 Food safety management systems– Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of food safety management systems
Level 5: ISO 22000 Food safety management systems – Requirements for any organization in the food chain
Level 5: FAMI-QS Certification Scheme

Level 4: ISO/IEC 27006 Information technology – Security techniques – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of information security management systems
Level 5: ISO/IEC 27001 Information technology – Security techniques – Information security management systems – Requirements

Level 4: ISO/IEC 17021-2 Conformity Assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems – Part 2: Competence requirements for auditing and certification of environmental management systems
Level 5: ISO 14001 Environmental management systems – Requirements with guidance for use

Level 4: ISO/IEC 17021-3 Conformity Assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems – Part 3: Competence requirements for auditing and certification of quality management systems
Level 5: ISO 9001 Quality management systems – Requirements

Level 4: ISO/TS 50003 Energy management systems – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of energy management systems
Level 5: ISO 50001 Energy management systems — Requirements with guidance for use

Level 4: n.a.
Level 5: ISO 13485 Medical devices – Quality management systems – Requirements for regulatory purposes

Level 4: ISO/IEC TS 17021-10 Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems — Part 10: Competence requirements for auditing and certification of occupational health and safety management systems
Level 5: ISO 45001 Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements with guidance for use

Under Product Certification:

Level 4: GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) General Regulations
Level 5: GLOBALG.A.P. IFA Control Points and Compliance Criteria

Under Certification of Persons:

Level 4: n.a.
Level 5: IPC Management System Auditors Certification Scheme

Under Validation and Verification:

Level 4: ICAO CORSIA Environmental Technical Manual – Volume IV, ISO 14064-3 Greenhouse gases – Part 3: Specification with guidance for the validation and verification of greenhouse gas assertions, ISO 14066:2011 Greenhouse gases – Competence requirements for greenhouse gas validation teams and verification teams
Level 5: ICAO CORSIA SARPs – Annex 16 Volume IV
A main scope means certificates are ‘equally reliable’ because the conformity assessment bodies conform to the same standard.

A sub-scope means the certificates are ‘equivalent’ because the management systems, products, services or persons conform to the same standard.

A complete list of IAF-AB MLA signatories and their scopes can be viewed in Table 1 of this document.