UKAS Certificate Register

UKAS are developing a centralised certification database. This will make it easier for organisations to check certification and the status of certification as part of their due diligence processes. A positive boon for hardworking compliance professionals and auditors.

What is this project and how far are UKAS along with developing this?

• This is still in the discovery stage of the project

• This will be an online certificate database of certificates issued by UKAS Certification Bodies (CBs)

• Will include the details of the certified organisation, scope and awarding Certification Body

• Initially for Management certification only, plans to roll out to Product and Personnel certification in the future

Why are UKAS doing this?

• To help prevent fraudulent certificates

• Provide additional value of UKAS accredited certification

• Provide easy verification of valid UKAS accredited certificates

• To provide CBs, Stakeholders and UKAS with market information

Details

• No additional charge to UKAS Customers (CBs) and no commercialisation of the data

• It will be mandatory for CBs to upload certificate information into the database (penalties for non-compliance are yet to be decided)

• There will be links to other organisations where there is value

• There will be flexibility and low overhead for CB data upload

• Future roll out to Product and Personnel Certification

What does UKAS get out of this?

• Supports their vision and mission

• Information to Market Trends can support resourcing and awareness support

• Information on CB certificate demographics can support risk-based assessment

Questions and Answers with UKAS

When is this expected to go live?

It is anticipated to take 9 to 12 months to launch the database.

Is any other national accreditation body doing this?

Accredia – the Italian accreditation body are already doing this. We are not aware of any other accreditation body currently doing this.

Have any interested parties expressed an interest in this?

So far the Ministry of Defence, the Food Standards Agency, etc.

Why is non-accredited certification allowed in the UK?

The industry is unregulated in the UK for certification. The position of CQI and UK Gov is that organisations should only use accredited certification. However, in some cases in may be necessary to use non-accredited certification. Certification can be non-accredited for good reasons such as to launch a new certification where the market demand is not yet known.

How will the database be developed?

UKAS will engage with the community in working groups to gain input and elicit feedback.