Cofrac accreditation of conformity assessment bodies (France)
Mandatory wherever a legal text requires it — medical biology, Qualiopi certification bodies, property-surveyor certification, vehicle roadworthiness testing, among others. Elsewhere it stays voluntary and serves as proof of competence in the market.
Issued by: Cofrac — the French Accreditation Committee, a not-for-profit association founded in 1994 and designated by the State as France's sole national accreditation body
Conformity assessment bodies: testing, calibration and medical laboratories, inspection bodies, certifiers of products, services, management systems or persons, verifiers and proficiency-testing providers.
What this scheme covers
- C.1An official recognition of competence, impartiality and independence, granted by a body designated by the State under Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and Decree no. 2008-1401 of 19 December 2008 — not by a customer or a trade body.
- C.2An assessment against the international ISO/IEC 17000 family: ISO/IEC 17025 (testing and calibration), ISO 15189 (medical laboratories), ISO/IEC 17020 (inspection), ISO/IEC 17065 (products, services and processes), ISO/IEC 17021-1 (management systems), ISO/IEC 17024 (persons), ISO/IEC 17043 and ISO 17034.
- C.3An explicit scope: the certificate and its technical annex set out exactly which activities, standards and sites are covered. Outside that scope, the body is not accredited.
- C.4International recognition: Cofrac is a signatory to the multilateral recognition arrangements (European Accreditation, ILAC, IAF), which get its accredited bodies' reports and certificates accepted abroad.
- C.5Ongoing control: periodic surveillance assessments during the cycle, notification of changes and a full reassessment at renewal.
The link with Qualiopi
Accreditation does not apply to the training provider itself but to the body that certifies it: a Qualiopi certification body must be accredited against the national quality standard under NF EN ISO/IEC 17065, by Cofrac or by a European peer signed up to the recognition arrangements. Checking your certifier's accreditation — and its scope — is therefore part of choosing one.
The process, summarised
- 1.Identify the standard and accreditation programme matching the intended activity, then obtain the requirement documents Cofrac publishes for that programme.
- 2.Build the required management system and competencies, then run them long enough to hold real evidence: internal audits, management review, files or tests actually performed within the requested scope.
- 3.File the application: Cofrac first checks that it is admissible, then arranges the initial assessment — a document review and an on-site assessment by assessors supported by technical experts in the field.
- 4.Address the findings raised in the assessment report, then await the decision. The certificate issued states the scope and the term of the accreditation.
- 5.Maintain the accreditation over time: periodic surveillance assessments, notification of changes (scope, key staff, sites, organisation) and a reassessment when the cycle is renewed.
FAQ — Cofrac accreditation
+Accreditation or certification: what is the difference?
Certification attests that an organisation, product, service or person meets a standard. Accreditation attests that the body issuing that certification — or performing the test, inspection or calibration — is competent, impartial and independent to do so. You are certified by a body, which is itself accredited. A company is never “ISO 9001 accredited”: it is ISO 9001 certified by an accredited body.
+Can a training provider be accredited by Cofrac?
Not for its training activity: a training provider is Qualiopi-certified by an accredited certification body, it is not accredited itself. Accreditation only comes into play if it also runs a conformity assessment activity — certifying persons under ISO/IEC 17024, say — with the impartiality requirements that entails. Writing “accredited body” on your website when you are merely certified is a common and damaging confusion.
+How do you check that a body really is accredited?
Cofrac publishes the list of its accredited bodies and their certificates, together with the technical annex detailing the scope. Two checks matter: that the accreditation is currently valid, and above all that the service you need falls within the declared scope. A body accredited for one activity is not automatically accredited for everything it offers.
- Scope of accreditation: read the technical annex before you sign7 min
- Getting Cofrac accreditation: the steps of the process7 min
- ISO/IEC 17025, 17020, 17065, 17024: which standard for which body7 min
- When is accreditation compulsory in France?7 min
- Accreditation, certification, qualification: telling them apart7 min