The path to ISO/IEC
17065 accreditation.
Accreditation is the step that turns a credible third-party determination into a regulatory instrument. Safety Critical Labs has completed ANAB intake and scheme review, with formal engagement deferred until certification volume supports it.
A recognized authority,
not just a credible voice.
ISO/IEC 17065 is the international standard for bodies that certify products, processes, and services. Accreditation under it is granted by a national accreditation body that has itself been audited against ISO/IEC 17011. In the United States, recognized bodies include the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) and A2LA. SCL filed its intake with ANAB, which is why the steps below describe ANAB's process.
For Safety Critical Labs, accreditation does one specific thing. It moves the SCL mark from "a defensible third-party assessment against a published standard" to "an assessment whose conformity has been independently verified by a body that regulators already recognize."
The framework is open. The methodology is documented. The mark is filed for trademark protection. Accreditation is the missing piece that closes the loop between SCL determinations and the regulatory bodies whose recognition the mark is built to earn.
This is a multi-year path. It begins with documented quality management, demonstrated independence and impartiality, competency records for every assessor, and external audit. SCL has been preparing for this from the first version of the framework.
Safety Critical Labs has issued no certificates to date. Intake and scheme review are complete. ANAB confirmed the submitted certification scheme is sufficient to proceed and provided a fee estimate for ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation of Safety Critical Labs. Formal engagement is deferred as a deliberate sequencing decision. Accreditation spend follows certification volume, and SCL will re-engage ANAB when that volume supports it.
From intake to accredited body.
Each step has a defined input and a defined output. The order is fixed. The timeline scales with the certification body's readiness, not the accreditor's.
Intake and scheme review
Submit the certification scheme to ANAB for initial review. Confirm the scope, the published standard, and the methodology are sufficient to proceed.
CompleteFee estimate and engagement
ANAB prepares a formal fee estimate based on the scheme. When SCL accepts the engagement, formal accreditation activities begin.
Estimate received · DeferredGap assessment and document review
ANAB reviews SCL's quality management system, methodology, assessor qualifications, and impartiality controls against the requirements of ISO/IEC 17065.
PendingOn-site assessment
ANAB conducts a formal on-site assessment, including witness audit of at least one SCL certification engagement. Findings are documented and any nonconformities are remediated.
PendingAccreditation decision
ANAB issues a formal accreditation determination. Accredited bodies are listed in the ANAB public directory and may use the accreditation mark in conjunction with the SCL certification mark.
PendingSurveillance and reassessment
Accreditation is maintained through periodic surveillance audits and full reassessment on a defined cycle. The framework's continuous validation discipline applies to the certification body itself.
PendingA certificate regulators
can reference.
An SCL certificate is a defensible record. After accreditation, it becomes an instrument regulators can formally rely on.
Procurement officers can cite it. Aviation authorities can reference it in airworthiness criteria. Medical device reviewers can accept it as evidence. The accreditation does not change what the certificate means. It changes what regulators can do with it.
Every assessment SCL conducts before accreditation is conducted against the same framework, the same methodology and the same records discipline that will be audited after accreditation. One control is not yet running: dual independent review requires a second qualified assessor, and it is a precondition for accreditation rather than an optional step. That gap, and what compensates for it in the meantime, is set out in full at /impartiality. Accreditation does not change the standard an assessment is held to. It puts an independent body behind the claim that the standard is being met.