ISO 17025: accreditation for laboratories

ISO/IEC 17025:2017 describes what a laboratory needs in order to work competently, impartially and consistently. The Dutch Accreditation Council (RvA) accredits testing laboratories against this standard. Accreditation recognises laboratory activities within a defined scope. This differs from ISO 9001 certification.

For example, a client asks for an accredited material test. A supplier’s ISO 9001 certificate alone is not enough to demonstrate that specific laboratory competence. You check whether the requested test, method and location fall within the scope of accreditation.

ISO 17025 in brief

Question	Answer
Who is it for?	Laboratories that test or calibrate. Relevant sampling can also be part of the work
Current edition	ISO/IEC 17025:2017
What is assessed?	Technical competence and the organisation of the laboratory work
Who accredits in the Netherlands?	The RvA
What does the recognition cover?	The activities and locations in the accreditation scope
Is ISO 9001 required first?	A separate ISO 9001 certificate is not a general requirement

“ISO 17025 certified” is used informally. Ask a laboratory for its accreditation certificate and the associated scope. That way you can check what the recognition actually covers.

Getting started with ISO 17025

Choose the question below that fits your situation. A laboratory manager often starts with the application and budget. A buyer usually starts with the scope and what the evidence means.

Prepare the file, the assessment and the follow-up.Applying for accreditation Budget the external costs and internal effort.Costs and lead time Check whether your testing falls under the accreditation.Reading a scope Read a measurement result together with its uncertainty.Understanding measurement uncertainty Determine which evidence the client or job requires.ISO 17025 or ISO 9001?

Explore by topic

If you have a specific question about one part of the standard, the short pages below cover it. Each page answers one question.

Accreditation for a laboratory that calibrates measuring instruments.ISO 17025 calibration How you trace a measurement result back through a chain of calibrations.Metrological traceability When participation is mandatory and what to do with the result.Proficiency testing When you may say pass or fail, and the decision rule.Declaration of conformity Which documents and records a laboratory needs.Quality system and documents Which requirements the standard places on laboratory software and data.LIMS and laboratory software Check your laboratory before the RvA visits.ISO 17025 checklist From recording and correcting to a genuine corrective action.Nonconformities

Which laboratory do you mean?

A testing laboratory examines the properties of a material, for example. A calibration laboratory compares measuring instruments with references. The RvA uses ISO/IEC 17025 for both disciplines. For medical laboratory activities, ISO 15189 is a separate route. Determine the right discipline before you prepare an application. You can read the difference on ISO 15189 vs ISO 17025.

Fictional example: a metal company has its own measurement room and outsources chemical analyses. It can explore accreditation for certain in-house measurements, and at the same time select an external laboratory for other analyses. The accreditation of that external laboratory does not automatically make the company’s own measurement room accredited.

Sources

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