Accreditation

Accreditation to international standards is provided by the National Accreditation Body for Ireland, INAB, which is part of the Health and Safety Authority.

INAB accreditation is provided to applicant conformity assessment bodies (CABs) that test, certify and inspect products/services. Since the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, most applications for INAB accreditation have been received from notified bodies.

A notified body is an organisation designated by an EU country to assess the conformity of certain products before being placed on the market. These bodies carry out tasks related to conformity assessment procedures for manufacturers set out in the applicable legislation, when a third party is required. It is a requirement, in most instances, that notified bodies are accredited by the national accreditation body.

While manufacturers are free to choose any notified body that has been legally designated to carry out the conformity assessment procedure within the European Union, most Irish manufacturers would have relied on the services of notified bodies based in the UK.

INAB can provide accreditation to those notified bodies seeking to establish in Ireland; this provides local access to notified bodies for Irish manufacturers.

In order to assist applicant CABs, INAB has documented guidance on establishment for the purposes of accreditation, which can be found on the INAB website.

Further information can be obtained from inab@inab.ie

A directory of European legislations and EU schemes with provisions to accreditation and/or conformity assessment may be found at https://european-accreditation.org/publications/ea-inf-05/