ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 167 national standards bodies. Through its members, it brings together experts to share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus-based, market relevant International Standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges. The head office of ISO body is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
ISO was founded on 23 February 1947, and (as of November 2022) it has published over 24,500 international standards covering almost all aspects of technology and manufacturing. It has 809 Technical committees and sub committees to take care of standards development. The organization develops and publishes standardization in all technical and nontechnical fields other than electrical and electronic engineering. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and works in 167 countries as of 2022. The three official languages of the ISO are English, French, and Russian.
It is a global federation for all the accreditation bodies worldwide, which is known as the International Accreditation Forum or IAF. The government and administrations approve work projects only to the IAF approved ISO certified companies as it is required quality audits at regular intervals. It's costly as compared to non-IAF. Validity of the Certificate is 3 years but every year there are surveillance charges which are 50%-60% of the Registration Amount. If you want to apply for any Govt Tender or you want to submit at any Govt Department then IAF ISO is required.
It’s very less costly as compared to IAF ISO and getting a non-IAF ISO certification is much more feasible. Validity of the Certificate is 3 years. This Certificate is valid globally in Govt. tenders & internationally until there is no such specific requirement for IAF Accredited certificate in the document. It may or may not be accepted by the Govt Department or for any Govt/Pvt tenders. It is basically used just for branding and promotions. TQC don’t have any legal responsibilities if this certificate is not accepted by any third parties.
The duration varies depending on factors such as the size and complexity of your organization, readiness for certification, and the specific ISO standard. On average, the process can take between 3 to 12 months.
