The accreditation process, step by step.

The ASC Accreditation Process, Step by Step | ASC

The five steps

Published in advance. Applied every time.

  1. Application & document review

    Submit your application, the documentation listed in the applicable ASC accreditation criteria, and the application fee. An ASC accreditation officer reviews your submission for completeness and confirms the requested scope.

  2. Assessment team assignment

    ASC matches an assessment team of quality system, technical, and subject-matter experts to your scope. Conflicts of interest are screened under ASC's published Conflict of Interest Policy before any assessor is assigned.

  3. On-site assessment

    The team assesses your management system and technical competence against the accreditation criteria, including witnessed activity where the standard requires it, and issues a written assessment report with any nonconformities.

  4. Independent decision

    After nonconformities are closed, an independent decision function, separate from the assessment team, reviews the file and makes the accreditation decision, as required by ISO/IEC 17011:2017.

  5. Surveillance & renewal

    Accredited bodies are listed in the public directory and undergo periodic surveillance. Full reassessment is required for renewal every accreditation cycle; suspension and withdrawal rules are published in advance.

Timeline

Months, not years.

Because ASC has no queue and your file goes to a senior team, most initial accreditations complete within a few months of a complete application. The largest timeline variable is your own readiness: complete documentation and prompt closure of nonconformities shorten the path more than anything ASC controls.

What keeps you accredited

  • Periodic surveillance under ASC-AOP-03, scheduled around your operations.
  • Continued conformity with the accreditation criteria and the Use of Mark and Symbol Policy.
  • Full reassessment for renewal each accreditation cycle.

The rules

Every stage has a published procedure.

  • ASC-SOP-AB-01: Accreditation and Oversight Procedure.
  • ASC-AOP-02: Onsite Assessment and Witness Audit.
  • ASC-AOP-03: Surveillance and Reassessment.
  • ASC-AOP-04: Suspension, Withdrawal, and Scope Reduction.
  • ASC-AOP-05: Competence and Qualification of Assessors.

All are downloadable from the public documents portal. Read them before you apply; hold us to them after you do.

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