Signatories to the IAF MLA
The IAF MLA has been structured to build on existing and developing regional MLA/MRAs established around the world. Therefore, IAF has formally recognised the MLA/MRA programs of five Regional Accreditation Groups (RAGs):
- European co-operation for Accreditation (EA)
- Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (APAC)
- Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC)
- Arab Accreditation Cooperation (ARAC)
- African Accreditation Cooperation (AFRAC)
ABs recognised under these Regional MLA/MRAs may apply to the IAF for recognition under the IAF MLA on the basis of the acceptance of the mutual recognition arrangements established within these organisations.
Membership in the IAF MLA is facilitated by membership in the recognised RAGs’ (AFRAC, APAC, ARAC, EA or IAAC) MLA/MRAs for recognised scopes and sub-scopes. IAF members who are also signatories of these regional MLA/MRAs can be accepted into the IAF MLA for recognised scopes and sub-scopes.
Originally, unaffiliated ABs applied directly to IAF to become an IAF MLA signatory. Since the end of 2018, there are no unaffiliated IAF Member ABs as all IAF AB members are now also members of a RAG.
Another RAG has been working on establishing its MLA/MRA. In recognition of this, the South African Development Community Cooperation in Accreditation (SADCA) has been included in the statistics that follow.
The number of signatories to the IAF MLA has grown in recent years, providing confidence to businesses and regulators in an increasing number of economies. A full list of IAF MLA signatories is available here and new IAF MLA signatories and scope extensions, as noted during the 2021 IAF General Assembly, are referenced in Annex 1 of this report. The graphs below show the evolution of the number of signatories at the regional level for different MLA scopes.
