More and more European Certification Bodies are interested in granting the European quality mark KEYMARK for products and services based on European Standards in order to provide the respective certification service. Since mid 2015, the empowerment of new Certification Bodies for granting the KEYMARK is done by a KEYMARK Management Organization (KMO) on behalf of CEN.
The Way to KEYMARK Empowerment
The application for empowerment for granting the KEYMARK has to be sent in writing or as PDF by the Certification Body to the KEYMARK Management Organization. On behalf of CEN, the KMO will assess the provided application documents and evaluate if the requirements for empowerment are fulfilled (for French Certification Bodies, in close cooperation with AFNOR Certification).
The proof of competence is done according to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, Part 4 "Certification" and is based on:
- a valid accreditation according to EN ISO/IEC 17065 and the applied scope
- appropriate experience as Certification Body
- the Testing Laboratories accreditation according to EN ISO/IEC 17025 and the applied scope sub-contracted by the Certification Body
- if applicable, the evaluation of the respective certification scheme of the Certification Body if it is in conflict with the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations
If the result of the assessment is positive, a licence agreement is concluded and the Certification Body receives a corresponding certificate of empowerment. Together with the certificate of empowerment, the certification body will get an Identification No. (ID) which has to be used in conjunction with the granted KEYMARK.
The empowerment is unlimited valid as long as the Certification Body fulfills the requirements of the licence agreement and can furthermore show that they are still accredited for the respected scope as required.