Accreditation is not a status that looks after itself between assessments. Alongside routine surveillance and the four-yearly re-accreditation cycle, accredited conformity assessment bodies carry a set of standing obligations that apply continuously: things you are required to report, and to report promptly, whether or not an assessment is due. This page is a reference you return to, not a one-time read, and it sets out what triggers each obligation and the timeline expected for meeting it.
Reporting obligations
Accredited conformity assessment bodies are required to report certain information to ASCB on an ongoing basis, separate from what comes up during a scheduled assessment. This includes routine statistical and operational information about your conformity assessment activity, kept current so ASCB's oversight of your accreditation reflects your actual scope of operation rather than a snapshot from your last assessment. Where ASCB sets a specific reporting format or frequency for a particular type of information, that requirement takes precedence over general practice; check your accreditation documentation or ask ASCB directly if you are unsure what applies to your body.
Significant change notification
A significant change is any change to your body that could affect your ability to continue meeting the requirements of your accreditation: changes to ownership or legal structure, changes to key personnel in roles relevant to impartiality or technical decision-making, changes to your conformity assessment process, or changes to the scope of your operations. The test is whether the change could reasonably affect your conformity or your accredited scope, not whether it feels administratively significant on its own terms.
Significant changes must be notified to ASCB promptly, not held back for your next scheduled assessment. Reporting a change after the fact, once it has already affected your operation, is reporting it too late. If you are uncertain whether something counts as significant enough to notify, the safer course is to notify and let ASCB confirm, rather than deciding on your own that it does not qualify.
Incident reporting
An incident is an event that raises a question about the integrity of a conformity assessment decision, the conduct of your body, or your ongoing conformity with accreditation requirements: for example, a serious complaint, a discovered error in a conformity assessment decision, or an event affecting your impartiality safeguards. Incidents must be reported to ASCB as they arise, not batched up for later, since the point of incident reporting is to give ASCB the information it needs while the matter is still current and addressable.
Consequences of missing an obligation
Failing to meet a standing obligation, whether by missing a reporting requirement, notifying a significant change late, or not reporting an incident, is itself a matter ASCB will treat seriously, independent of whatever the underlying change or incident was. A body that reports promptly and transparently is in a materially different position from one whose lapse comes to light through a later assessment or through a third party. Persistent or serious failure to meet these obligations can affect your accreditation status. If in doubt about whether or how to report something, contact ASCB rather than waiting to see whether it becomes relevant.
Common questions
What must an accredited body report between assessments?
Routine statistical and operational information about your conformity assessment activity, kept current, separate from what comes up at a scheduled assessment.
What counts as a significant change you must notify?
Any change that could affect your conformity or accredited scope: ownership or legal structure, key personnel in impartiality or technical-decision roles, your conformity assessment process, or the scope of your operations.
What happens if you miss an obligation?
Missed obligations can affect your accreditation status, and a persistent or serious failure to meet them is treated seriously in its own right, separate from whatever the underlying change or incident was. Reporting promptly, even about a problem, leaves you in a better position than having a lapse come to light later through an assessment or a third party.