Standard status
- Current published edition
- ISO/IEC 17020:2026 (third edition, published and effective March 27, 2026)
- Assessments conducted against
- The 2026 edition. ISO/IEC 17020:2012 may still be used by bodies not yet transitioned until the transition deadline below, after which only the 2026 edition applies.
- Transition deadline
- March 27, 2029
- Scheme type
- Inspection bodies (IBs)
ISO/IEC 17020 is the international standard for bodies performing inspection. A body accredited against it is an inspection body, often shortened to IB. Inspection means the examination of a product, process, service or installation, and the determination of its conformity with requirements, or, on the basis of professional judgment, with general requirements. The standard sets the requirements for the competence, impartiality and consistent operation of such bodies. ASCB offers accreditation to ISO/IEC 17020.
What the standard covers
The requirements group into four themes.Impartiality and independence
The inspection body must identify and manage risks to its impartiality on an ongoing basis, including those arising from its relationships. The 2026 edition revises how independence is classified: bodies are categorized as Type A, providing third-party inspection independent of the items they inspect, or Type non-A, where the body forms part of the organization whose items it inspects or has related involvement. The 2012 edition's Type A, B and C categories map into this revised classification.
Competence
Requirements cover the competence of personnel performing inspection: defined requirements per inspection area, supervised experience before working independently, and monitoring of ongoing performance.
Inspection processes
The body must use documented methods appropriate to each inspection type, control the items and equipment involved, and report results accurately, clearly and objectively in inspection reports or certificates.
Management system
The body operates a management system supporting consistent achievement of the standard's requirements, either meeting the standard's own management system provisions or through an ISO 9001 quality management system covering the scope.
Is an inspection body the same as a certification body?
No. An inspection body examines specific items, installations or processes and reports on their conformity, often using professional judgment. A certification body certifies that an organization's management system, product or personnel meet a standard, working to different requirements, for example ISO/IEC 17021-1 for management system certification. A single organization can hold both accreditations, but they are separate accreditations against separate standards.
Does an accredited inspection report mean the item is approved?
An inspection report records the inspected item's conformity with specified requirements at the time of inspection. Accreditation means the body issuing the report has been independently assessed against ISO/IEC 17020 by an accreditation body. Neither is a general product approval, which is a matter for regulators or purchasers relying on the report.
Scheme and sector application
Inspection under ISO/IEC 17020 spans sectors including construction and civil engineering, lifting and pressure equipment, vehicles, agriculture and food, and in-service industrial inspection. ASCB-accredited inspection bodies operate across these sectors internationally.
Why seek ASCB accreditation against ISO/IEC 17020
ASCB assesses an inspection body against the requirements of ISO/IEC 17020 on a periodic, risk-based basis, sampling records, personnel authorizations and live inspection activity. For an inspection body and the users of its reports, that means independent third-party assessment against the international standard for inspection bodies, applied on its own terms; a clear signal to clients, specifiers and regulators that the body works to the same international requirements as the wider field; public verifiability, since an accredited body's status and full scope of accreditation can be confirmed on the ASCB register; and delivery by an established international accreditation body operating to ISO/IEC 17011 for more than 30 years; organizations certified by ASCB-accredited bodies operate in 140+ countries.
Where ISO/IEC 17020 sits among the standards
ISO/IEC 17020 is one of a family of conformity assessment standards. The most closely related are:
• ISO/IEC 17000: the conformity assessment vocabulary and principles; it defines the shared terms this standard uses.
• ISO/IEC 17025: testing and calibration laboratories; measurement-based results, where inspection turns more on professional judgment.
• ISO/IEC 17021-1: management system certification bodies; a different activity, certifying management systems.
• ISO/IEC 17065: product, process and service certification; a different activity, certifying products against a scheme.
• ISO/IEC 17011: requirements for accreditation bodies; the standard ASCB works to when it accredits an inspection body.
How to apply
How to apply for ISO/IEC 17020 accreditation, including the process, the fees and the application documents, is set out on Become Accredited.