Accreditation SNAS
Accreditation and the mission of SNAS
Accreditation is an impartial and independent formal recognition and attestation of an organization by an accreditation authority confirming its competence to carry out the activities declared in the accreditation certificate and permanently meet the requirements specified by the relevant normative document.
Accreditation is considered to be the essential factor for confidence, in the correctness of an accredited organization’s results. For this reason it should be used for the assessment and evaluation of the results of all activities of which society expects a high level of correctness and confidence.
Accreditation is a tool guaranteeing the highest degree of confidence and that is way it excludes motivation by means of profit and competition.
Accreditation is a service to society and there are no reasons for making a difference between accreditation applied in the voluntary and regulated spheres. It provides confidence in test reports and certificates particularly thanks to the fact that it applies the accreditation criteria according to the ISO/IEC and EN international standards.
Confidence in the equivalency of test reports and certificates issued in one economy with ones issued abroad is based on the principle mentioned. Producers, services providers, consumers and governmental authorities can have confidence in the test results and in certificates issued by the accredited bodies and the governmental bodies can have confidence in the correct application of its regulative measures.
At present, accreditation represents a global structure coordinated and managed by two international organizations: ILAC – International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation and IAF – International Accreditation Forum. There is close cooperation between both the above-mentioned organizations and WTO – World Trade Organization and ISO – International Standards Organization as well as the global metrology authority CIPM – Comité International des Poids et Measures. A coordinated procedure of the above-mentioned global organizations creates conditions for a harmonized application of accreditation even if carried out by the national accreditation bodies on the national level.
Slovak National Accreditation Service (SNAS) as a national accreditation body recognised by the Slovak government fulfils an important function in the national system of conformity assessment, introduced to eliminate technical barriers of domestic and international trade in the Slovak Republic and to support the required quality standard of products, services and consumer protection.
The accreditation of technical activities in Slovakia is performed in accordance with internationally accepted principles determined in the ISO/IEC series 17000 (EN series 45000) and represents a fundamental precondition for the fulfilment of obligations adopted by the SR Government in connection with the accession of the SR to the European Union in May 2004.
In this connection SNAS:
- provides competence assessment of bodies performing conformity assessment (CAB) as an independent third party recognised by the SR Government,
- grants accreditation certificates to the CABs that officially prove their competence to execute declared activities impartially, independently and of the required professional standard, which is recognised in Slovakia and abroad,
- as a signatory of EA MLA, ILAC MRA and IAF MRA is considered as a fully equivalent accreditation body in relation to other accreditation bodies - signatories mentioned MLA/BLA/MRA all over the world and as well recognizes the equivalence of results of conformity assessment bodies accredited by another accreditation bodies - signatories MLA/BLA/MRA,
- provides the required confidence to the clients of the CAB, confirming that the CAB’s activity results are fully reliable. Strong support in this direction is given by the laboratory combined MLAmark and certification combined MRA mark. SNAS as a signatory of ILAC MRA and IAF MLA is authorised to grant an appropriate licence to all CABs accredited by SNAS. This gives the results issued by bodies accredited by SNAS the highest-level of confidence, in relation to their clients all over the world,
- creates conditions for excluding the multiple assessment of competence in identical fields of activities by various authorities,
- promotes activities related to the consumer’s protection,
- provides wide publicity of all accredited CABs in SR and abroad.
Accreditation activity
SNAS carries out:
A) Accreditation activities according to following standards and regulations:
- Accreditation of Calibration Laboratories (ISO/IEC 17025)
- Accreditation of Testing Laboratories (ISO/IEC 17025) + Measurement of Stationary Source Emissions (+ CEN/TS 15675)
- Accreditation of Medical Laboratories (ISO/IEC 15189 and/or ISO/IEC 17025)
- Accreditation of Bodies Certifying Products(ISO/IEC 17065) + Sector specific certification schemes:
- Good agriculture practice (+ GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations)
- Organic production
- Welding procedures
- Chain of Custody certification of forest products (+ TD SFCS 1006)
- Providing of trust services for electronic transactions (+ Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (ETSI EN 319 403))
- Accreditation of Bodies Certifying Persons (ISO/IEC 17024)
- Accreditation of of Bodies Certifying Management Systems(ISO/IEC 17021-1) + Sector specific certification schemes:
- Quality Management Systems (+ ISO/IEC 17021-3)
- Quality Management Systems for Welding
- Sustainable Forest Certification Scheme (+ TD SFCS 1005)
- Quality Management Systems for Medical Devices
- Environmental Management Systems (+ ISO/IEC 17021-2)
- Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems
- Information Safety Management Systems (+ ISO/IEC 27006)
- Food Safety Management Systems (+ ISO/TS 22003)
- End-of-Waste Management Systems
- Anti-Bribery Management Systems (ISO/IEC TS 17021-9)
- Energy Management Systems (+ ISO 50003)
- Accreditation of Inspection Bodies (ISO/IEC 17020)
- Accreditation of Environmental Verifiers(ISO/IEC 17021-1)
- Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009
- Accreditation of Greenhouse Gas Verifiers(EN ISO 14065)
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 600/2012 and 601/2012
- Accreditation of PT Providers (ISO/IEC 17043)
B) Accreditation activities for the notification / authorization purposes:
- SNAS provides accreditation for the notification purposes in line with European directives and in close and effective cooperation with the relevant national regulators.
- SNAS provides accreditation for the authorization purposes in line with laws of the Slovak Republic and in close cooperation with the relevant regulators.
- SNAS currently conducts further negotiations in the field of accreditation for the purposes of authorization.
C) Attestation fulfilling notification/authorization requirements according to the Act No 137/2010 Coll. on Air (Act No. 318/2012 Coll., MZP SR Decree No. 60/2011 Coll.)
D) GLP assessment and inspection of laboratories according the Act No. 67/2010 Coll. Chemical Act (Government Decree No 320/2010 Coll. and No 92/2012 Coll.)
Principal features of Accreditation in SNAS
Openness
All natural or legal persons can apply for accreditation by SNAS. SNAS provides accreditation in a non-discriminatory manner, based on mutual agreement between the applicant and the accreditation body.
Voluntariness
Accreditation is voluntary, not subject to any restrictive conditions, or to differentiated financial requirements.
Transparency
The structure as well as all managerial and decision-making procedures of SNAS are fully transparent.
Independence
Dependence of the SNAS bodies and of the accredited organisations on any commercial or other financial interests with undesirable effects upon their activities and decisions, is excluded due to the measures taken.
Impartiality
In SNAS, the partiality of its bodies and accredited organisations during decision making and when declaring results of findings is excluded.
Professionalism
The activities of the SNAS bodies, including assessment during the accreditation process are performed by top-level experts in a given field of science, technology and practice in Slovakia, sufficiently familiar with the principles of accreditation.
Confidentiality
SNAS has taken measures to ensure consistent adherence to the principles of protection of author rights and confidential information at all levels of the relevant SNAS bodies’ activity where confidential information could be found.
Uniformity
SNAS applies identical and uniform principles, including accreditation criteria, methods and relevant guidelines of accreditation for all applicants, according to the field of accreditation.
Entirety
SNAS performs accreditation of all activities in the full range of the needs of the SR economy, including the area under legal regulation.
International compatibility
The activities of SNAS bodies are in compliance with internationally accepted accreditation principles, as well as with the EC Global Concept of Certification and Testing.
SNAS monitors and continuously ensures compatibility of its accreditation procedures and connected activities with international practice, in order to meet permanently the criteria of international agreements concerning mutual recognition.
Scope and Structure of MLA and MRA
![SCOPE AND STRUCTURE OF THE IAF MLA](/storage/app/media/117-008_15_10_iaf_mla_structure_web.jpg)
Scope and structure of the IAF MLA
Accredited organizations
SNAS Accreditation Marks
SNAS accreditation mark demonstrates that the organization is accredited by SNAS.
SNAS accreditation mark consists of:
- SNAS logo,
- Registration number “Reg. No. xxx/x-xxx”, where the first three numbers xxx is a member number of a SNAS registered member and the second number x-xxx is a number of an accreditation certificate in question. The letter x designates accreditation field:
- K - Calibration laboratory
- S - Testing laboratory
- M - Medical laboratory
- T- Proficiency testing provider
- I - Inspection body
- P - Certification body operating certification of products
- Q, R - Certification body operating certification of management systems
- O - Certification body operating certification of persons
- SK-V - Environmental Verifier
- V - Verifier of the Greenhouse gas emissions
- N - Fulfillment of notification/ authorization requirements
- G - Good laboratory practice
- a blue frame around the SNAS logo and registration number.
The details concerning the use of marks can be found in Methodical Guideline for Accreditation MSA-02: SNAS Logo and Marks.
Methodical Guideline for Accreditation MSA-02: SNAS Logo and Marks | |||||
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Identification | Title | Valid from | File | ||
MSA-02 | SNAS logo and marks | 07/24 |
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Documents for accreditation
MSA - GENERAL | |||||
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Identification | Title | Valid from | File | Extra | Note |
MSA-02 | SNAS logo and marks | 07/24 |
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MSA-04 | Procedure for the accreditation | 02/24 |
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MSA-05 | Requirements for SNAS assessors and professional experts | 05/24 |
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MSA-06 | Responsibilities of SNAS and conformity assessment bodies | 02/24 |
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MSA-07 | EA requirements for the accreditation of flexible scopes (EA-2/15) | 02/20 | info | ||
MSA-08 | IAF Mandatory document for the use of information and communication technology (ICT) for auditing/assessment purposes (IAF MD 4: 2018) | 02/22 | info | ||
MSA-L/01 | Field and scope of accreditation of laboratories field and proficiency testing providers | 07/24 |
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MSA -L/04 | Guidelines on the reporting of compliance with specification (ILAC-G8: 03/2009) | 11/20 | info | (effectiveness of the Slovak translation) | |
MSA-L/12 | Expression of the uncertainty of measurement in calibration (EA-4/02) | 05/22 | info | (effectiveness of the Slovak translation) | |
MSA-L/14 | Determination of the level and freqency of the participation in proficiency testing | 07/21 |
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effective from 07.2021 | |
MSA-I/01 | Accreditation scope and scope specification of accreditation of inspection bodies | 06/21 |
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Effective from 1.6.2021 | |
MSA-I/02 | Application of ISO/IEC 17020:2012 for the Accreditation of Inspection Bodies (ILAC-P15: 07/2020) | 11/21 | info | (effectiveness of the Slovak translation) | |
MSA-I/03 | Witness assessment of Inspection Bodies | 06/21 |
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MSA-N/01 | EA Document on Accreditation for Notification Purposes | 04/22 | only in Slovak version | ||
MSA-CS/01 | Scope and scope specification of accreditation of bodies certifying management systems | 07/24 |
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MSA-CS/04 | IAF Mandatory Document for the Audit and Certification of a Management System Operated by a Multi-Site Organization (IAF MD 1: 2018) | 03/18 | info | ||
MSA-CS/05 | IAF Mandatory Document for the Transfer of Accredited Certification of Management Systems, Issue 2 (IAF MD 2: 2007, Issue 2) | 06/18 | info | ||
MSA-CS/08 | EA Guidelines on the Use of ISO/IEC 17065 and ISO/IEC 17021-1 for Certification to EN ISO 3834 (EA-6/02 M: 2022) | 04/22 | info | ||
MSA-CS/09 | Legal compliance as a part of accredited ISO 14001:2015 certification (EA-7/04 M: 2017) | 06/17 | info | ||
MSA-CS/10 | IAF Mandatory Document for the Application of ISO/IEC 17021 for Audits of Integrated Management Systems (IAF MD 11: 2013, Issue 1, Version 3) | 02/21 | info | ||
MSA-CS/11 | IAF Mandatory Document for Determination of audit time of quality and environmental management systems (IAF MD 5:2015) | 04/20 | info | ||
MSA-CS/13 | Application of ISO/IEC 17021-1 in the field of medical device quality management systems (ISO 13485) (IAF MD 9: 2017) | 06/22 | info | ||
MSA-CS/15 | Witnessing Activities For The Accreditation Of Management Systems Certification Bodies (IAF MD 17: 2019) | 07/24 |
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MSA-CS/18 | Application of ISO/IEC 17021-1 for the Certification of Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OH&SMS) (IAF MD 22: 2018) | 05/22 | info | ||
MSA-CS/19 | Control of Entities Operating on Behalf of Accredited Management Systems Certification Bodies (IAF MD 23:2018) | 05/19 | info | ||
MSA-V/01 | Scope and scope specification of accreditation of greenhouse gas verifiers | 03/24 |
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MSA-V/02 | IAF mandatory document for the application of ISO 14065: 2020 (IAF MD 6: 2023) | 03/24 | info | ||
MSA-V/03 | Witness assessment of greenhouse gas verifiers | 03/24 |
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MSA-V/04 | EA document for accreditation of Verification Bodies for the purpose of EU ETS Directive (EA-6/03 M: 2022) | 08/22 | info | ||
MSA-CO/01 | Scope and scope specification of accreditation of bodies certifying persons | 01/22 |
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MSA-CO/03 | Witness assessment of bodies certifying persons | 08/23 |
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MSA-CP/01 | Scope and scope specification of accreditation of certification bodies certifying products | 12/16 |
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MSA-CP/03 | Witness Assessment of Bodies certifying Products | 06/21 |
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MSA-CP/05 | APPLICATION OF ETSI EN 319 403-1 V2.3.1 BY ASSESSMENT OF CAB CERTIFYING PRODUCTS ACCORDING TO EIDAS | 09/21 |
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MSA-CP/06 | Application of document ERA 1172/002 V3.1in assessment of certification bodies certifying products according to the ECM certification scheme | 10/21 |
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MSA-E/01 | Scope and scope specification of accreditation of environmental verifiers | 01/20 |
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MSA-E/02 | Requirements for environmental verifiers | 03/24 |
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MSA-E/04 | Surveillance of environmental verifiers | 03/24 |
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MSA-E/05 | Witness assessment of environmental verifiers | 01/20 |
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Policy SNAS | |||||
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Identification | Title | Valid from | File | Extra | Note |
PL-01 | SNAS Policy on Quality and Impartiality | 02/24 |
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PL-02 | Code of conduct for SNAS employee | 07/19 |
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PL-03 | SNAS Policy on Non-Discriminatory Access to Accreditation | 05/20 |
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PL-04 | EA Cross Border Accreditation Policy and Procedure for Cross Border Cooperation between EA Members (EA-2/13 M:2019) | 05/20 | info | ||
PL-05 | SNAS Policy for the Implementation of Accreditation Schemes | 06/21 |
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PL-06 | SNAS Policy on Cooperation with Interested Parties | 09/18 |
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PL-07 | SNAS Policy on Accreditation of Laboratories | 07/24 |
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PL-08 | SNAS Policy on Accreditation of Certification Bodies | 08/21 |
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PL-09 | SNAS Policy on Accreditation of Inspection Bodies | 06/21 |
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PL-10 | SNAS Policy on Accreditation for Authorisation/ notification Purposes | 10/23 |
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PL-11 | SNAS Policy Applied for Updating Standards Laying Down Testing and Calibration Methods in Accredited Entities | 08/21 |
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PL-13 | SNAS Policy in the Field of Traceability of Measurements | 12/20 |
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PL-15 | SNAS Policy on Accreditation of Environmental Verifiers | 10/20 |
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PL-16 | SNAS Policy on Protection and Use of SNAS Logo, Accreditation and Combined Mark of Accredited Body | 03/20 |
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PL-18 | EA Procedure and Criteria for the Evaluation of Conformity Assessment Schemes by EA Accreditation Body Members (EA-1/22 A-AB: 2020) | 12/20 | info | ||
PL-21 | SNAS policy for accreditation of flexible scope | 05/22 |
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PL-22 | SNAS policy for revision of granted scopes of accreditation in the field of certification of products, persons and management systems | 07/22 |
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PL-23 | SNAS Policy on Participation in Proficiency Testing | 05/22 |
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PL-25 | SNAS Policy for Subcontracting | 07/21 |
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PL27 | SNAS Policy for accreditation of proficiency testing providers | 06/21 |
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PL-28 | SNAS policy for accreditation of greenhouse gas verifiers | 03/24 |
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PL33 | EA Policy for the Accreditation of Organic Production Certification (EA-3/12M: 2020) | 08/22 | info | ||
PL-34 | SNAS Policy for uncertainty in calibration (ILAC P14: 09/2020) | 03/21 | info | ||
PL-41 | SNAS policy for issuing certificates by Certification Bodies for Management Systems certification in non-accredited regime | 09/21 |
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PL-45 | SNAS Policy on Issuing Certificates by Certification Bodies for Certification of Persons in Non-accredited Regime | 01/18 |
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PL-51 | SNAS policy for issuing certificates by Certification Bodies for Certification of Products in non-accredited regime | 11/19 |
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PL-52 | IAF Policy Document: General Principles for the use of the IAF CERTSEARCH MARK (IAF PL 9:2019) | 01/20 | info | ||
PL-54 | SNAS POLICY AND PROCEDURE FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT BODIES FOR NOTIFICATION PURPOSES IN ACCORDANCE WITH EA-2/17 M: 2020 | 09/22 |
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PL-55 | SNAS Policy and Procedure on the Assessment of Certification Bodies Certifying EnMS according to ISO / IEC 17021-1: 2015 and ISO 50003: 2021 | 01/22 |
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PL-57 | SNAS Policy and Procedure on the Assessment of Certification Bodies Certifying Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) according to Requirements of Standard ISO/IEC 27001: 2022 in accordance with IAF MD 26: 2023 | 07/23 |
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Pl-58 | The Policy and Procedure of SNAS for the Assessment of Laboratories According to the Requirements of the Standard ISO 15189: 2022 | 05/24 |
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