What is ISO/IEC 17021?

ISO/IEC 17021 is a standard that was created for assessing certification bodies to ensure that they are competent and that they conform to all types of management systems. These organizations are usually called Certification Bodies (CBs) or registrars.  The latest version of ISO/IEC 17021 was published in 2015. The standard helps promise that CBs are impartial and that the results of their audit are consistent.

History of 17021

The original ISO/IEC 17021 was published in 2006. According to this first publication, accredited IAF MLA  management system certification bodies were given two years from the first date of publication to conform to the standard. In 2011, there was a revision that was focused on competence, and all CB were given two years to conform to the new standard.

Related 17021 Standards

ISO/IEC 17021 was designed for all types of management systems, along with this standard, several other versions of 17021 have been published to meet the needs of specific management systems, including:

• ISO/IEC TS 17021-2 for environmental management systems
• ISO/IEC TS 17021-3 for quality management systems
• ISO/IEC TS 17021-4 for event sustainability management systems
• ISO/IEC TS 17021-5 for asset management systems
• ISO/IEC TS 17021-6 for business continuity management systems
• ISO/IEC TS 17021-7 for road traffic safety management systems
• ISO/IEC TS 17021-8 for sustainable development in communities management systems
• ISO/IEC TS 17021-9 for anti-bribery management systems 
• ISO/IEC TS 17021-10 for occupational health and safety management systems