Accreditation
Definition
Formal recognition by a standards body (such as UKAS in the UK, A2LA in the US, or NABL in India) that a laboratory or individual practitioner meets defined quality and competence requirements. Accreditation is increasingly used as a proxy for compliance with conduct standards.
- Recognition bodies
- India (NABL), UK (UKAS), US (A2LA)
- Standard
- ISO/IEC 17025 for forensic labs
- Scope
- Test-specific, not generic
- Assessment
- Requires ongoing technical evaluation
Common questions
How is accreditation different from certification?+
Accreditation is a third-party attestation that a lab can perform specific tests to a defined technical standard like ISO/IEC 17025. Certification covers a broader management system (like ISO 9001) but does not require the same test-specific competence assessment. Accreditation is more rigorous and narrowly focused.
Is accreditation required for forensic labs to work?+
It is increasingly becoming a court requirement, not just a quality badge. Courts expect labs to be accredited by recognized bodies like UKAS in the UK, A2LA in the US, or NABL in India. The requirement varies by jurisdiction and type of test.
Related terms
- ISO/IEC 17025
- The international standard for testing and calibration laboratories, published jointly by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission. It...
- Calibration
- A steganalysis technique that estimates the cover image statistics by cropping or decompressing and re-compressing the test image to produce a reference....
- Competence
- The duty to opine only within the expert's validated area of expertise, using methods that are scientifically sound and, in most jurisdictions,...
- Disclosure Duty
- The obligation to report all material findings, including those that undermine the instructing party's position. Negative results, method limitations, known error rates,...
- Duty to the Court
- The obligation of expert witnesses in UK proceedings (and, to varying degrees, in other jurisdictions) to assist the court with objective, unbiased...
- Forensic Science Service (FSS)
- The UK government-owned forensic science provider, founded in 1991 from the earlier Home Office Forensic Science Service, closed in 2012 after financial...
- Gatekeeping
- The judicial function, codified in the United States by Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993) and Federal Rule of Evidence 702, of...
- Hierarchical Lab Network
- A tiered system in which local or regional labs handle routine casework and refer specialised or high-stakes work upward to a national...
- ILAC
- The International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, the global network of accreditation bodies. ILAC's Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) means a result produced by an...
- Independence
- The requirement that an expert's opinion is formed solely on the evidence and the expert's own professional judgment, free from pressure from...
- ISO 17025
- International standard for the general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. Covers management system requirements (document control, internal audits,...
- ISO 9001
- The international standard for quality management systems published by the International Organization for Standardization. Certification means the organisation has documented and implemented...
Explained in these topics
- Codes of Conduct for Forensic ExpertsFormal recognition by a standards body (such as UKAS in the UK, A2LA in the US, or NABL in India) that a laboratory or individual practitioner meets defined qu...
- Forensic Laboratory Systems: A Global OverviewThird-party verification that a lab meets a defined competence standard. In forensic science, accreditation to ISO 17025 by bodies such as UKAS (UK) or A2LA (U...
- Quality Assurance in Serology LaboratoriesThird-party attestation that a laboratory meets a defined standard, carried out by a national accreditation body. Accreditation is distinct from certification:...
- Quality Control Management in Forensic InstitutionsThird-party attestation by a recognised body (NABL in India) that a laboratory is competent to carry out specific tests against ISO/IEC 17025. Distinct from ce...
- Quality Systems: ISO 17025 and AccreditationThird-party attestation that a laboratory is competent to perform specific tests or measurements, based on assessment against a recognised standard. Accreditat...