Some schemes have a structure where there is a base set of requirements that all certificate holders need to comply with, and an additional set of requirements for which the certificate holder can choose which ones it complies with. Either by choosing a specific theme/module or by scoring enough “points” to qualify for the certificate.
Just stating that the product complies to the (all) requirements of the scheme, does not provide the user of the certificate information about the actual requirements a specific certificate refers to and complies with.
- Does the certificate have to specify to which requirements the certificate is issued in such a case?
- Does the certification scheme need to clearly identity these levels in themes/modules to enable a specific certificate?
March 2024
Given that the ‘‘certification scheme’’ is consisted by a core set of requirements and several sets of additional requirements which are available to the applicant to select from, it seems that each combination of core plus additional requirements constitutes a separate and distinct certification scheme (refer to §3.9 of ISO/IEC 17065 or more generally to §4.9 of ISO/IEC 17000).
To this end, the scheme owner shall clearly distinguish the individual sets of additional requirements (or so-called sub-schemes), thus allowing for an explicit reference to the core plus specific additional requirements to be made on the certificate.
- YES, the certificate must specify to which requirements the certificate is issued in such a case.
- YES, the certification scheme needs to clearly identity these levels in themes/modules to enable a specific certificate.