Accreditation Cost

How much will accreditation cost?

The costs of accreditation differ based on the following factors:

• Total number of standards or schemes that the certification body wishes to be accredited for
• Size of the body seeking accreditation
• The number of sites from which services are offered
• The complexity of the organisation, as this will have an effect on assessment durations
• The technical scope that the body is seeking accreditation for, that is the number of technical sectors and
• The number of countries that the body wishes to be accredited for

These factors will affect the number and type of assessments to be undertaken during the initial assessment and for ongoing surveillance.

Once accredited, the annual fees and certificate fees will be charged.  These are published through our accreditation manual, available to all applicant and accredited bodies.

How long will it take for our organization to become accredited after we apply?

The length of time that it will take to gain accreditation will be dependent on how well prepared the applicant is.  The major issues that we encounter with applications that extend out the timeframes include:

• Quality of documentation. As a document review against the accreditation requirements is undertaken prior to an on-site assessment poor documentation may mean that there are several nonconformities that need to be addressed before the application can be progressed.
• Lack of evidence of implementation of the structural requirements of the accreditation criteria. The criteria require particular structures to be formed, such as mechanisms to ensure impartiality. We often find that there is a lack of understanding around these requirements, and poor implementation.
• Lack of evidence about implementation of procedures. This is often detected at the initial assessment, where practices and procedures just do not match, and so nonconformities are raised that need to be addressed before accreditation can be granted.

If all is in good order, IMAB can usually schedule the first visit within three months of receipt of application, with the complete process taking between 2-3 months from application to accreditation.