DAkkS implements new body of rules in the area of accreditation for notification purposes

Following the revision of the document EA-2/17 of the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA), Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle (DAkkS) has withdrawn Rule 71 SD 0 022. The German translation of the EA document, which defines requirements for accreditation for notification purposes, replaces the previous rule. DAkkS is now examining the extent to which accredited bodies wishing to use their accreditation as a demonstration of competence for designation in accordance with a directive or regulation within the “new legislative framework” need to be converted to a different standard.

In April 2020, EA published a new revision of document EA-2/17 “EA Document on Accreditation for Notification Purposes”. The document sets out binding requirements for the accreditation of bodies wishing to use their accreditation as a demonstration of competence for designation (“notification”) in accordance with a directive or regulation within the “new legislative framework”. DAkkS must apply this document in a binding manner.

Implementation in several steps

There are two deadlines to be considered with regard to the implementation of the new EA-2/17: By April 2021, all accreditation bodies in Europe, including DAkkS, were required to implement the document in their internal procedures. By April 2023, all accreditations granted must also meet these requirements.

For the implementation of the document within DAkkS, DAkkS has translated the document EA-2/17 M:2020 into German and published it. As part of the implementation, DAkkS employees received training and various internal documents were revised. In addition, the previous Rule 71 SD 0 022 was withdrawn, as it can be replaced in full by the German translation of EA-2/17.

Changes to note

An important change as compared to the previous version of EA-2/17 is that deviations from the so-called “preferred standard” as the basis for accreditation – for example DIN EN ISO/IEC 17065 – are now only possible under very specific, restrictive conditions. For clients of DAkkS, this means that they may have to switch to a different accreditation standard by April 2023. However, DAkkS expects that there will be a need for a transition of this kind only in a very small number of cases, as DAkkS and the notifying authorities in Germany have in the past always applied the preferred standard wherever possible.

Information from DAkkS case managers

By mid-2021, all DAkkS case managers will review their cases to determine whether a changeover is necessary in individual cases. The accredited bodies affected will then receive further information as required.