Framework · Last verified
ISO/IEC 17025
ISO/IEC 17025:2017 sets competence requirements for testing and calibration laboratories, and accreditation bodies assess laboratories against it. ISO describes it in its own words: it "sets out requirements for the competence, impartiality, and consistent operation of laboratories". The current edition is the third, published November 2017 and shown as Published.
- Class
- Framework
- Owner
- ISO/IEC (CASCO — committee on conformity assessment)
- Last verified
What it is
The official title is "General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories" (Edition 3, publication date 2017-11, status Published — ISO's own page, read in a browser on 7 September 2026).
The word this record is careful about is the verb. ILAC's own wording is that the signatories "assess and accredit conformity assessment bodies according to the relevant international standards including calibration laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025), testing laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025)" — and its FAQ states plainly: "ILAC is not involved in the certification process." A laboratory holds accreditation to this standard; the phrase "ISO 17025 certified" does not match the language of either source page.
The same ILAC sentence separates the neighbouring standards by body type: inspection bodies (ISO/IEC 17020), medical testing laboratories (ISO 15189), proficiency testing providers (ISO/IEC 17043) and reference material producers (ISO 17034). Those records do not exist in this library yet, so no cross-links are drawn to them here.
The Estonian national catalogue lists a mirror edition, EVS-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017, valid from 18 December 2017, with an AC:2018 corrigendum effective 1 February 2018 — recorded as a catalogue fact about the European adoption; whether ISO published a matching corrigendum was not confirmed and is not claimed.
Who owns it
ISO and IEC jointly, through the committee on conformity assessment (CASCO). National standards bodies publish mirror editions, such as the EVS-EN adoption above.
Who assesses it
ISO publishes the standard; the accreditation decision is made by an accreditation body, not by ISO. ISO's own description of 17025 does not use the word "accredit" at all — that division of labour is why this record cites ILAC for the accreditation half.
International recognition of those accreditation decisions has been carried by the ILAC MRA. IAF announced that "Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated has commenced full operations as of 1 January 2026", bringing together the work of ILAC and IAF. ILAC's own About page had not been updated to reflect this when it was read on 7 September 2026; the successor body's signatory list has not been opened, so nothing is stated here about its current membership.
Who asks for it
National accreditation bodies apply it when they assess a laboratory; ILAC's page describes those bodies as "operating in accordance with ISO/IEC 17011", which is the standard for the accreditation body itself rather than for the laboratory.
Regulators, certification bodies and buyers who rely on test or calibration results routinely require that the results come from a laboratory accredited to this standard for the specific method — accreditation is granted for a defined scope, not for the laboratory as a whole.
Sources
- ISO — ISO/IEC 17025:2017 (standard page; opened via a real browser, automated clients get 403) ↗ — accessed
- ILAC — ILAC MRA and signatories (which standard is used for which body) ↗ — accessed
- ILAC — FAQs (“ILAC is not involved in the certification process”) ↗ — accessed
- EVS catalogue — EVS-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017 (mirror edition, status and dates) ↗ — accessed
- IAF — launch of Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (the successor body quote) ↗ — accessed
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This page is for information only; it does not accredit, certify or endorse any organisation. Requirements and programs change — always confirm against the primary source linked above.