The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) have begun the process of incorporating the Global Accreditation Cooperation, a single international organization for accreditation. The target date for the Global Accreditation Cooperation to become operational, taking over the roles of IAF and ILAC, is provisionally January 2026.

To provide regulators, specifiers and other stakeholders with information on the transition to the Global Accreditation Cooperation, IAF and ILAC have released a communication on specifying the use of Global Accreditation Cooperation accreditation. The communication addresses the transition from the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) and ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) to the Global Accreditation Cooperation’s MRA, the use of the IAF MLA and ILAC MRA marks, and other related issues. Until the target date and establishment of the internal processes and procedures of the Global Accreditation Cooperation, IAF and ILAC will maintain normal operations.

IAF and ILAC are encouraging our members, regulatory bodies, scheme owners and other stakeholders to collaborate on making any necessary changes to regulations and specifications as soon as possible after the target date. This will aid in a smooth transition to the Global Accreditation Cooperation, which is positioned to improve the acceptance and recognition of accredited conformity assessment results across borders.