Understanding the status of your certification

Granting certification

For initial certification, renewing certification or expanding certification, a certification review will be conducted prior to making a decision to grant certification if:

  • the information obtained from the required assessment is sufficient with respect to the certification requirements and the scope of certification
  • all major nonconformities have been closed out, and
  • the plan for correction and corrective action for all outstanding minor nonconformities have been reviewed and accepted.

For maintaining certification, the client shall continue to satisfy the requirements of the management system standard and fulfil BSI’s Terms of Service for Certification

Refusing certification

BSI may refuse application for certification or issue any certificate or other document verifying compliance with any law, standard, rule or scheme, if in its reasonable opinion the client does not comply with the requirements of the relevant law, standard, rule or scheme, or fails to comply with any of its obligations under the Contract, or uses BSI’s services in such a manner that may be misleading or that may bring BSI into disrepute.

Suspending certification

The certified client may be suspended in cases when, for example

  • the client’s certified management system has persistently or seriously failed to meet certification requirements, including requirements for the effectiveness of the management system
  • the certified client does not allow surveillance or recertification audits to be conducted at the required frequencies
  • the certified client has voluntarily requested a suspension.

Upon suspension, the client management system certification is temporarily invalid.  The suspended certification shall be restored if the issue that has resulted in the suspension has been resolved. Failure to resolve the issues that have resulted in the suspension in a defined timeline shall result in withdrawal or reduction of the scope of certification.

Withdrawing certification

Certification may be withdrawn in cases when, for example:

  • the client fails to resolve issues that have resulted in the suspension in a defined timeline
  • the client fails to meet BSI Terms of Service for Certification (e,g, Failure to resolve major nonconformities, not accepting on-going assessment visits, Product Certification test failures, etc)
  • the client ceases to provide the services or products within the scope of certification the client requests voluntarily to withdraw.

Reducing the scope of certification

The scope of certification may be reduced in cases when, for example:

  • the client ceases to provide part of the services or products within the scope of certification
  • the client fails to resolve the issues that have resulted in the suspension in a defined timeline shall result in reduction of the score of certification if it affects only parts of the certification scope.