I was recently at a meeting with some colleagues and the subject of forged certificates was brought up. We discussed the fact that some organizations do have the audacity of not just creating a fake certificate, but sometimes even wanting to change registrars. Seems odd? Later on, I was asked by a reader for some tips on how to find out if a registration or certificate is valid or not. The reader noticed while auditing their potential supplier that the processes in this company did not look very much in control the way an ISO certified company would.

So here I’m with some concise steps and links that can hopefully help anybody confirm if a certain organization is indeed ISO certified. For more guidance, you can also explore our ISO Auditing Services.

Look at the Certificate

The first thing you need to do when you are evaluating a potential supplier based on their ISO certificate is requested them to provide you with a copy of the certificate itself. If the company is indeed certified, they should not have a problem providing you with a copy of their ISO certificate. When you have it, then you can take the following steps:

1. 1. Only Registrars are allowed to give ISO certificates. An organization cannot self-grant an ISO certificate.
   2. Look for the name of the registrar (i.e. DNV, BSI, ABS etc.).
   3. Look for the name of the accreditation body (i.e. ANAB, ANSI, UKAS, etc.). If you see a stamp from an accreditation body, you can find out if this accreditation body is a member of the International Accreditation Forum.

“Accreditation is a choice, not an obligation, and the fact that a certification body is not accredited does not, by itself, mean that it is not a reputable organization.” — ISO Website

1. If there is a registrar name on the certificate, the quickest way to find out if the certificate is valid is to call the Registrar directly and ask them to verify that they have issued such certificate.
2. Bear in mind that if an organization certifies Plant A, it does not mean that Plant B and C are also certified.
3. Ensure that the certificate has not expired. If it has, then you can ask the company the reason why the certificate is expired.

Search the Net

If you have some time and access to the internet, you can actually go to the Registrar website directly and look for a list of their clients. Here are a few of them:

• DNV Certification
• BSI
• ABS

Not all registrars are created equal

Like it or not, I’m going to have to be sincere, not all registrars stand to the same auditing principles or conform to the same audit standards. Simply put, some registrars are better than others. I’m not being biased but rather speaking from my own experience and what I heard in the ISO world.

Let’s put the case of those registrars operating without being accredited or perhaps while their accreditation is under suspension. In either case, they are not authorized to give certificates until their auditing practices are up to par with accreditation body auditing practices and ISO auditing standards as well.

It still smells…

If you have done your homework, looked at the certificate and audited the company and you still think that the processes from your potential supplier do not match the level of quality an ISO certified company should demonstrate, then go with your assessment.

If you figure out the certificate is not valid, then don’t bother. Forging a certificate is not professional and should be an indication of other malpractices they may be capable of. A good supplier should be able to help you improve your quality by providing you with excellent products and services.

This article was published by Quality Digest on 10/05/2009.

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