Definition Accreditation, Registration and Certification - What are the differences?

Does ISO know what they are talking about?

Coury Ferguson said:

You are right on. A company has a "Registered" System, not a "Certified" System.

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The organization – or the system?

With ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004, it is the management system that is certified, not the organization that implements the system. However, since the management system has no independent existence, it is acceptable for organizations with certified systems to describe themselves as certified on condition that they specify the extent of the certification.

RCBeyette said:

Amusingly enough, Dilbert has reached a similiar theory....

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Roxane,
Thanks for the file, but nothing there when I opened it. Any suggestions?

ralphsulser said:

Roxane,
Thanks for the file, but nothing there when I opened it. Any suggestions?

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Ditto!!!

Al and Ralph...dunno. It's a powerpoint file. I tried attached the .tif file (the original set-up...it was a scanned document). Is there anybody who is able to open up the powerpoint file who can help?

I can't view the pp file too, and I'd like to see the dilbert version...

HI Sidney..I'm new in this place and was searching the whole space and I found your reply to the discussion and I found it very interesting.

thnx.

Marc said:

I can't begin to tell you how many people will insist their company is ISO 9001 Certified. Unfortunately, many, many people do not understand the distinctions between Accreditation, Registration and Certification.

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We are actullay one of them since we live in that part of the world where ISO certification word is widely and commonly used

Jim Wynne said:

It's a distinction (registration/certification) without a significant difference. From the reference Sidney posted:

No company that I know of ever got "certified" without also getting "registered."

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amanbhai said:

We are actullay one of them since we live in that part of the world where ISO certification word is widely and commonly used

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In today's world, that is true. Companies who pass their registration (aka certification) audit are given a certificate (a piece of paper) by the registrar. The registrar puts the company on their list of registered (aka certified) companies. This is where the disconnect comes in: Over the last 20 years, through use, the terms have become synonymous.

The current applicable definition from Merriam-Webster:

1: to attest authoritatively: as a: confirm b: to present in formal communication c: to attest as being true or as represented or as meeting a standard d: to attest officially to the insanity of
2: to inform with certainty : assure
3: to guarantee (a personal check) as to signature and amount by so indicating on the face
4: to recognize as having met special qualifications (as of a governmental agency or professional board) within a field <agencies that certify teachers>

certify: To attest to as the truth or meeting a standard.

The distinction is simply no longer of importance. Most people will call registration certification these days. And who cares? It's all a simple label. Being 'certified' doesn't buy you anything that being 'registered' doesn't and vice-versa.

amanbhai said:

We are actually one of them since we live in that part of the world where ISO certification word is widely and commonly used

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In the "early" days, the term "registration" was preferred in the USA to avoid confusion with the word "certified" which could be interpreted as (ISO) certified products.

It's interesting to note that the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) always used the term "certification."

But as William Shakespeare already observed: "What's in a name?"

Stijloor.

Stijloor said:

In the "early" days, the term "registration" was preferred in the USA to avoid confusion with the word "certified" which could be interpreted as (ISO) certified products.

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Yes. Mainly for legal reasons.