Personnel Certification Bodies
Free guide to ISO/IEC 17024:2012 - requirements for personnel certification bodies, covering impartiality, examination processes, and surveillance audits.
- Impartiality Requirements
- Certification Scheme
- Examination Process
- Surveillance
- Appeals & Complaints
Free access - just sign in
ReadSafety.com is completely free. Create a free account or sign in to unlock all ISO standard guides, the interactive Periodic Table, and the knowledge blog.
About ISO 17024:2012 - Personnel Certification Bodies
ISO/IEC 17024:2012 is the international standard for bodies operating certification of persons. It specifies requirements for the competence, consistent operation, and impartiality of bodies that certify individuals against specific requirements - covering professional certifications, vocational qualifications, and competence-based credentials across all sectors.
The standard is used as the basis for accreditation of personnel certification bodies by national accreditation bodies (NABs) such as ANAB, UKAS, and DAkkS. Certification bodies accredited under ISO 17024 include those certifying quality management professionals (CQE, CQA, CMQ/OE), information security professionals (CISSP, CISM), project managers (PMP), safety professionals (CSP), and many others.
Clause 4 covers general requirements including legal responsibility, liability, and non-discrimination. Clause 5 addresses structural requirements, including the governance of the certification body and the requirement for an impartiality committee. Clause 6 covers resource requirements, including the competence of personnel involved in the certification process. Clause 7 specifies process requirements covering the development and maintenance of the certification scheme, application and evaluation processes, examination design and administration, certification decisions, and surveillance of certified persons. Clause 8 covers management system requirements.
A certification scheme under ISO 17024 must define the competence requirements for the certification (knowledge, skills, and attributes), the examination or assessment methods used to evaluate competence, the conditions for initial certification, recertification, and suspension or withdrawal of certification, and the code of conduct for certified persons.
ISO 17024 is the accreditation standard used by USQC (US Quality Council) for its Lean Six Sigma certification programs. It ensures that certifications issued under the scheme are credible, internationally recognized, and based on rigorous, impartial assessment of individual competence.
Source: ReadSafety.com - Free ISO Educational Resource by USQC · readsafety.com/iso/17024