ICoCA Accepted Certification Bodies

The following provides a technical overview of the standards required from certification bodies to be accepted by ICoCA for ICoCA certification.

ICoCA certification standards

To become an ICoCA Certified Member, a private security company (PSC) must be certified to an external standard which is recognised by ICoCA[1] for certification. The standard must also be issued by an accepted certification body. Currently the following recognised standards can be used for certification:

  • ISO 18788
  • PSC.1
  • ISO 28007[2]

New standards can be proposed by Member companies, and it is anticipated that the number of accepted standards for certification will increase over time.[3]

Accepted certification bodies

ICoCA does not accept certifications from all certification bodies as many certification bodies do not operate to high, rigorous standards and therefore the certifications which they issue are not acceptable for ICoCA’s own certification.

A certification body can be accepted through two mechanisms:

  1. The certification body is accredited to an ICoCA-recognised standard by an IAF-MLA member. IAF-MLA members can be verified here. To note, only UKAS, ONAC and Cofrac are currently accrediting certification bodies to ISO 18788.
  2. The certification body is accredited to ISO 17021 by an IAF-MLA member and has passed ICoCA competency checks. IAF-MLA members can be verified here.

Certification bodies directly accredited to an ICoCA recognised standard

The following accepted certification bodies are directly accredited to a recognised standard:

AES CCS Icontec
Intertek MSS Global

Certification bodies accredited to ISO 17021

The following accepted certification bodies are accredited to ISO 17021 and have passed ICoCA competency checks:

DNV DQS Eurocert
IAS Register Infinity Cert Libero Assurance
QMS Global SMG TUV Austria Hellas
UNIT

What is the difference between a certification body being directly accredited to a recognised standard and being accredited through ISO 17021 and passing ICoCA competency checks?

A certification body which is accredited to a recognised standard is being regularly checked by the accreditation body (the IAF-MLA member) to ensure that they are certifying in line with the standard. The certification body may also be required to follow certain guidelines, such as UKAS’s CIS 9 or CIS 10. This oversight is rigorous. A certification body which is accredited to ISO 18788 must also be accredited to ISO 17021.

A certification body with is accredited to ISO 17021 (but not accredited to a recognised standard) is being regularly checked by the accreditation body to ensure that they are operating in line with best practice for certification bodies. The accreditation body, amongst other areas, will check to ensure that the certification body is competent, consistent, impartial and independent, and reliable. They are however not being checked against the recognised standard itself.

Given the additional oversight that accreditation to a recognised standard brings, ICoCA encourages all certification bodies which are accepted through the ISO 17021 route to obtain accreditation to a recognised standard.

Certificates issued to PSCs by certification bodies accredited to a recognised standard should be visible through the IAF’s certification database. Certificates issued by certification bodies which are only accredited to ISO 17021 are unlikely to appear on this database as they are not accredited to the recognised standard by an IAF-MLA member.

Information on ICoCA certification is available through the ICoCA website.

 

Questions

What if my certification body is accredited to ISO 17021 by an IAF-MLA member but is not currently accepted by ICoCA?

Please contact the ICoCA Secretariat on secretariat@icoca.ch. The Secretariat can then see if the certification body can be accepted. Please note that as part of assessment process personnel from the certification body will need to be interviewed.

What is my certification body is not accredited to ISO 17021 by an IAF-MLA member?

Certifications issued by such certification bodies cannot be accepted for ICoCA certification.

 

For further information please contact ICoCA on secretariat@icoca.ch.

 

[1] Technically, the ICoCA Board of Directors, as per Article 11 procedures.

[2] Certification is to ISO 28000 using ISO 28007-1:2015, “Ships and marine technology – Guidelines for Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSC) providing privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) on board ships, Part 1 General”

[3] For more details please consult ICoCA’s Article 11 procedures, specially III. ICoCA Certification Procedure, Board Recognition of Standards.