ISO
Certification

An ISO standard is a documented agreement containing technical specifications or other precise criteria to be used consistently as rules, guidelines, or definitions of characteristics to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose. It is a living agreement that can have a profound influence on things that deserve to be taken seriously - such as the safety, reliability and efficiency of machinery and tools, means of transport, toys, medical devices, and so on.

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world’s largest developer of voluntary International Standards. International Standards give state of the art specifications for products, services and good practice, helping to make industry more efficient and effective. Developed through global consensus, they help to break down barriers to international trade.

All strategic decisions are referred to the ISO members, who meet for an annual General Assembly. The proposals put to the members are developed by the ISO Council, drawn from the membership as a whole, which resembles the board of directors of a business organization. Council meets twice a year and its membership is rotated to ensure that it is representative of ISO's membership. Operations are managed by a Secretary-General, which is a permanent appointment. The Secretary-General reports to a President who is a prominent figure in standardization or in business, elected for two years. For more information, see our section on structure and governance.

ISO's national members pay subscriptions that meet the operational cost of ISO's Central Secretariat. The dues paid by each member are in proportion to the country's Gross National Product and trade figures. Another source of revenue is the sale of standards, which covers around 36% of the budget. However, the operations of the central office represent only about one fifth of the cost of the system's operation. The main costs are borne by the organizations which manage the specific projects or loan experts to participate in the technical work. These organizations are, in effect, subsidizing the technical work by paying the travel costs of the experts and allowing them time to work on their.

When the large majority of products or services in a particular business or industry sector conform to International Standards, a state of industry-wide standardization can be said to exist. This is achieved through consensus agreements between national delegations representing all the economic stakeholders concerned - suppliers, users and, often, governments. They agree on specifications and criteria to be applied consistently in the classification of materials, the manufacture of products and the provision of services. In this way, International Standards provide a reference framework, or a common technological language, between suppliers and their customers - which facilitates trade.

For customers, the worldwide compatibility of technology which is achieved when products and services are based on International Standards brings them an increasingly wide choice of offers, and they also benefit from the effects of competition among suppliers. Also see: "Benefits of International Standards".

Facts and figures about our membership, the sectors we work in and the standards we publish can be found in ISO in figures and the ISO Annual Report.

All the latest news is available directly through our News section on ISO.org. You will also find many interesting articles in our free magazine ISOfocus. We also encourage you to check out our Social Media channels (see below). And for those wishing to keep an eye on any particular standard, our notification tool does the job!

The first step to verify a genuine certificate is to ask the company to give you a copy of certificate. Next you can ask the company which issued the certificate. We also provide certificate verification service. This is a chargeable service.

No. ISO 9000 / 9001 or quality management system certification ensures that certified company has appropriate processes in place in ensure that only good quality products are delivered to the buyer. But this is not achieved 100%. A buyer can get a faulty product or service.

Yes. ISO 9001 certification requires organizations to have a complaint management system.

A certification body [also called a registrar] is a organization which issues certificate. An accreditation body is an organization which authorises the certifcation body to issue the certificate. Normally an accreditation body is an member of International accreditation forum [IAF] but there are many “independent” accreditation bodies also.