Our legal mandate Confirm competence, ensure quality, create trust
As the national accreditation body of the Federal Republic of Germany, DAkkS has a legal mandate: the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies. DAkkS fulfils this mandate, acting as a key stakeholder in the national quality infrastructure for the benefit of the economy and the nation, and for the protection of society and the environment.
What is the DAkkS mandate?
Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle (DAkkS) is the national accreditation body of the Federal Republic of Germany. In around 4,300 accreditation cases, we assess, confirm and monitor the technical competence of laboratories and of testing, inspection and certification bodies. The services of these “conformity assessment bodies” are required in many areas of the economy and in basic public services – from the analysis of drinking water and product testing to medical laboratory diagnostics. Our accreditations create confidence in the assessment services of these bodies, because when we issue an accreditation, we confirm that an organisation fulfils the normative, legal and other requirements applicable to it and that it can perform a specific activity competently. That is our legal mandate.
Key stakeholder in the quality infrastructure
Accreditation is a key component of the national quality infrastructure. The quality infrastructure also includes standardisation, conformity assessment, market surveillance and metrology. The accreditations issued by DAkkS help to make products, processes and services safer and to simplify trade in Europe and around the world. We therefore make an important contribution to safety and quality – in the interests of the nation and the economy, and of protecting society and the environment.
National accreditation body
DAkkS was founded by the Federal Republic of Germany as a legal entity under private law and “entrusted” with the responsibilities of the national accreditation body. DAkkS shareholders, each with a one-third stake, are
- the Federal Republic of Germany,
- the länder (the states of Bavaria, Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia) and the
- industry stakeholders represented by the Federation of German Industries (BDI).
Statutory and non-statutory activity
In the performance of its statutory work, DAkkS is responsible for the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies that have their registered office in Germany. In exceptional cases, DAkkS also acts a statutory body in the member states of the European Union or the European Economic Area (EEA).
DAkkS also accredits bodies outside the territorial scope of EU Regulation 765/2008 in so-called “third countries”. In these cases, it is not subject to the requirements of European and national legislation and acts in a non-statutory capacity.