Appeals against certification decisions
A Certification Applicant or Certification Client may appeal against any decision made by a Certification Decision Maker – including decisions to refuse, defer, suspend, withdraw or reduce the scope of certification. Appeals are only for against a Certification Decision Maker’s decision. If you have a complaint about the service; a certified client or the Scheme then please visit the complaints page.
A Certification Applicant or Certification Client may not appeal against a ‘Minded to Take Action…’ notice until a final certification decision has been made following that notice.
An appeal should first be referred to the Certification Decision Maker who made the decision under appeal, for consideration of whether new information or objective evidence disclosed in the appeal could cause that decision to be revised. The Certification Decision Maker shall respond within 10 working days. Where the Certification Decision Maker revises the decision, no further appeal process is required unless the appellant remains dissatisfied with the revised decision.
Where the Certification Decision Maker does not revise the decision, the appeal may be referred to a senior person within the Participating Conformity Assessment Body who was not involved in the original decision. That person shall acknowledge the appeal within 10 working days and provide a determination within 20 working days.
Where the appellant remains dissatisfied with the review by the Certification Decision Maker, the appeal shall be dealt with in accordance with the Appeals Process established by the Participating Conformity Assessment Body in accordance with their ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation.
Where the appellant remains dissatisfied following exhausting the Participating Conformity Assessment Body’s appeals process, the appellant may refer the appeal to the Scheme’s Appeals Panel. The Appeals Panel shall:
a) comprise members with appropriate industry or technical competence in the relevant subject matter
b) be independent of the Scheme Owner, the Participating CAB and the appellant
c) consider only the evidence available to the Certification Decision Maker at the time of the original decision – where additional evidence is submitted, the Panel may remit the matter to the Certification Decision Maker for re-evaluation
d) make its determination by majority decision, with reasons.
The Appeals Panel may:
a) uphold the original certification decision
b) remit the decision to the Certification Decision Maker with recommendations to obtain or consider additional evidence
NOTE: The Appeals Panel cannot revoke the decision taken by the Certification Decision Maker as the Participating Conformity Assessment Body is required to maintain sovereign ownership of certification decisions.
The determination of the Appeals Panel on the merits of the appeal shall be final within the scheme’s internal processes. It does not affect any right of the appellant to seek external recourse through regulatory or legal channels.
All appeals shall be acknowledged in writing within 10 working days of receipt. A determination at each stage shall be provided within 20 working days. Where this is not possible, the appellant should be provided with a progress report and a revised expected determination date.
In order to submit an appeal, please complete the form below.
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