IAF ConsultancyCertification with IAF Consultancy is eight steps, then a loop. You apply, accept a written offer, complete Stage 1 and Stage 2, and an accredited certification body issues the certificate. Two surveillance visits follow. Re-certification renews the cycle and returns it to Surveillance 1.
What happens before anyone visits?
It begins with an application. The useful facts are which standards you want certified, the sites in scope, and a plain description of what the company does. That is enough to write an offer.
The offer is a contract, not a brochure. It names the scope, the days, and the price. Stage 1 is booked after it is signed. If the scope is wrong, this is the moment to correct it. Changing it during the audit is how simple projects become long ones.
What do the two audit stages check?
Stage 1 reviews the documented system. The question is whether an audit can fairly go ahead: is the scope clear, are the required processes described, and are there gaps that would waste the Stage 2 visit? Gaps found here are cheaper to close than the same gaps found later.
Stage 2 audits the system in operation. Auditors sample real work. They follow a job from the request to the result, and they say what was seen. Each finding states what has to change before a certificate can be recommended. What an audit samples describes that trail.
Who issues the certificate?
A recommendation is not the certificate. When the audit supports certification, an accredited certification body issues it. That separation matters. Clients and tenders are checking for a certificate from an accredited body, not a letter from the auditor. IAF Consultancy carries out the audit.
What are the eight steps?
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Submit application | You name the company, the sites, and what you want certified. |
| Offer and contract | The offer states scope, timing, and price. The audit is booked after you sign. |
| Stage 1 | The documented system is reviewed, and gaps are named before Stage 2. |
| Stage 2 | The system is audited as it runs. Findings say what must be closed. |
| Certification issuing | An accredited certification body issues the certificate. |
| Surveillance 1 | A shorter visit in the first year checks that the system still works. |
| Surveillance 2 | A second visit the following year checks that the controls are still in use. |
| Re-certification | A renewal audit is completed. The cycle then returns to Surveillance 1. |
What happens in the years after?
The certificate sits inside a cycle. Surveillance 1 is a shorter visit in the first year. Surveillance 2 is the visit in the following year. Before expiry, re-certification audits the system again for a new cycle. After the certificate follows those visits in more detail.
Re-certification does not send the company back to the application, and it does not repeat Stage 1 as a matter of course. When it is complete, the cycle returns to Surveillance 1, then Surveillance 2, then re-certification again.
The same sequence is drawn on the process section of the home page. Several systems can sit in one application. To start, submit an application.