FAQ

ISO certification is the formal confirmation, by an independent third party (the certification body), that an organisation's management system conforms to an international standard, such as ISO 9001 for quality, ISO 14001 for the environment or ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety. It does not certify the product or service itself, but the way the organisation manages its processes.

An accredited certificate is issued by a certification body, such as CQA, that is itself accredited by a national accreditation body (NAH in Hungary) for that standard and sector. Accreditation guarantees uniform methods and, through the EA and IAF agreements, international recognition. A non-accredited certificate is not covered by these guarantees.

Three years. During the cycle there are surveillance audits in the first and second year; before expiry a recertification audit starts a new three-year cycle.

The cost depends on the duration of the audits, which is calculated according to the IAF mandatory documents on the basis of the number of effective personnel, the number of sites, the complexity of the activities and the standards requested. Fill in the quote request to receive an offer.

It depends on the readiness of your management system and on the audit planning, which is agreed with you. The certificate is issued after the stage 2 audit, once any nonconformities have been addressed and the certification decision has been taken.

A management system that has been implemented according to the standard, with records showing that it operates, a completed internal audit and a completed management review.

No. To safeguard impartiality, CQA does not provide consultancy on management systems and does not certify management systems on which it has provided consultancy. You can rely on internal resources or on an independent consultant.

No: the audit team is appointed by CQA to ensure competence and impartiality. You are informed of the team in advance and can object to the appointment of a specific auditor.

Minor nonconformities require corrections and corrective actions accepted by CQA; major nonconformities may require a follow-up audit. The certificate is issued only after the nonconformities have been addressed.

Yes. CQA is accredited by NAH, a signatory of the EA MLA and IAF MLA agreements: accredited CQA certificates are recognised by the accreditation bodies that have signed them.

Yes. The transfer of accredited certificates follows the IAF mandatory document IAF MD 2: before accepting the transfer CQA carries out a pre-transfer review of the certificate, its scope and status, and any open nonconformities.

On the Verify a certificate page, by entering the certificate number. The page shows the current status of the certificate.