CB is in the position that all activities in certification process can be outsourced in case this is not directly prohibited by the standard.
What kind of activities can be outsourced by CB? Is it allowed to outsource for example reception of applications, application review, planning of the evaluation activities etc. Or is it allowed for CB only outsource evaluation activities described under cl.7.4?
September 2019
CB can outsource its certification activities including evaluation excluding decision making. Even though it is not prohibited directly in the ISO/IEC 17065 standard, it is indirectly addressed in clause 7.6.3 (this requirement also is indirectly supported or enhanced by clause 4.2.8 of the standard). The rest of the certification activities of CB can be outsourced provided that to meet the applicable requirements of the standard (or relevant standards e.g., ISO/IEC 17025 for testing relevant, ISO/IEC 17020 for inspection relevant or ISO/IEC 17021-1 MS certification relevant) which are relevant to undertaken activities. Although, there is no exact or detailed definition of evaluation activities in the standard, but according to definition of “evaluation” in clause 3.3 of the standard, it includes selection and determination activities covering planning and preparation activities, testing, inspection or audit, decision making, surveillance etc. as referred in ISO 17000 clauses A2 and A3. Based on this approach, the CB can outsource more activities than written in clause 7.4 of the standard. Outsourcing of Contract Reviews is also not prohibited by the standard.
It was agreed that an ISO clarification would be sought on this matter to confirm the EA consensus i.e. that a CB for ISO/IEC 17065 can outsource everything except decisions (e.g. application, application review, competence review and allocation, etc.).