ISO/IEC 17024:2012

Overview

ISO/IEC 17024:2012 - "Conformity assessment - General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons" - defines principles and requirements for organizations that certify people against defined competence and other certification requirements. The standard covers the development, maintenance and operation of a certification scheme for persons, and provides a globally accepted benchmark to promote consistent, comparable and reliable person‑certification activities.

Key topics and technical requirements

ISO/IEC 17024:2012 addresses the full lifecycle of person certification. Major topics include:

• Scope and definitions: terms such as certification process, certification scheme, competence, applicant, candidate, examiner.
• Legal and structural requirements: the certification body must be a legal entity and retain authority for certification decisions.
• Impartiality and conflict‑of‑interest management: documented policies, top‑management commitment, public statement on impartiality.
• Resource and personnel requirements: competence of assessors, examiners, invigilators, and rules for outsourcing.
• Certification scheme development: design and maintenance of schemes that define competence, assessment methods and validity/reliability criteria.
• Certification process: application, assessment, examination, decision, recertification, surveillance, suspension/withdrawal, use of certificates/logos.
• Records, confidentiality and security: recordkeeping for applicants, candidates and certified persons; public information and data protection.
• Management system: requirements to ensure consistent operation, continual improvement and suitability for accreditation.

The standard also provides annexed principles for certification activities and serves as a criteria document for accreditation or peer evaluation.

Applications and who uses it

ISO/IEC 17024 is used by:

• Certification bodies that issue professional or occupational certificates.
• Scheme owners (industry bodies, governments or certification organizations) that develop and maintain certification schemes.
• Accreditation bodies assessing conformity and granting recognition.
• Employers, HR and procurement teams seeking reliable measures of competence for hiring or supplier qualification.
• Training organizations aligning curricula to certification requirements.

Practical uses include establishing impartial examination systems, ensuring consistent assessment and recertification practices, and enabling mutual recognition of certified personnel across markets.

Related standards

• ISO/IEC 17000 - Conformity assessment: vocabulary and general principles (referenced normative document).

Keywords: ISO/IEC 17024:2012, certification of persons, certification body, certification scheme, conformity assessment, impartiality, competence, examination, recertification, accreditation.