ANSI Certificate Accreditation Program (ANSI-CAP) Issues Transition Plan for Latest Version of ANSI/ASTM E2659 Standard

Certificate issuers have a three-year transition period to implement the revised standard practice for certificate programs

The American National Standards Institute Certificate Accreditation Program (ANSI-CAP) has released a three-year transition plan for certificate issuers to undergo full migration from ANSI/ASTM E2659-09, Standard Practice for Certificate Programs, to the revised and newly released version of the standard, ANSI/ASTM E 2659-18.

About ANSI/ASTM E 2659-18

ANSI/ASTM E2659-18, Standard Practice for Certificate Programs, was published in February 2018 and provides guidance to certificate issuers for developing and administering quality certificate programs and to stakeholders for determining the quality of certificate programs.

The international standard was developed in accordance with the practices established by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee's "Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations."

ASTM E2659 - an American National Standard - was developed by ASTM International Committee E36 on Laboratory and Inspection Agency Accreditation. It was first selected by ANSI-CAP in 2009 as the standard against which certificate programs will be evaluated for potential accreditation. In addition to the specific requirements identified in newly revised ASTM E2659-18, ANSI-CAP also follows the accreditation process outlined in ISO/IEC 17011, General Requirements for Accreditation Bodies Accrediting Conformity Assessment Bodies.

ANSI will conduct ongoing workshops and webinars regarding the requirements under ANSI/ASTM E2659-18, and encourages certificate issuers to analyze and familiarize themselves with the requirements of the revised standard without delay. Certificate issuers are also advised to create a transition plan to determine both the required changes and the timeframe required to execute them in order to conform to ANSI/ASTM E2659-18.

Transition Timeline for Implementation: ANSI/ASTM E2659-18 Standard

To support accredited certificate issuers, ANSI-CAP has developed a three-year transition period, from February 2018 to December 2020, to allow for full migration to ANSI/ASTM E2659-18.

Applicants

• The application materials corresponding with ANSI/ASTM E2659-18 will be made available to the public by October 1, 2018.

• All applications submitted until October 1, 2018, will be assessed under ANSI/ASTM E2659-09.

• Organizations can apply under ANSI/ASTM E2659-18 after October 1, 2018; however, ANSI will continue to accept applications under ANSI/ASTM E2659-09 until December 31, 2019.

• Applications submitted after January 1, 2020, must be based upon ANSI/ASTM E2659-18.

• ANSI will not issue accreditations under ANSI/ASTM E2659-09 beyond December 31, 2020.

Accredited Organizations

• ANSI will publish the corresponding annual surveillance self-assessment that includes the requirements under ANSI/ASTM E2659-18 by October 1, 2018.

• All accredited organizations must demonstrate compliance to ANSI/ASTM E2659-18 by December 31, 2020. This will be done during the annual surveillance/reaccreditation assessment from 2019 to 2020.

• Additionally, any non-conformity identified will be handled according to existing ANSI-CAP procedures, and must be resolved before the end of the transition. Once this occurs, accreditation under ANSI/ASTM E2659-09 would be granted.

To access ANSI/ASTM E2659-18, visit the ANSI Webstore. Access the full transition plan on ANSI's Sharepoint.

To find out more about ANSI Certificate Accreditation Program (ANSI-CAP) please contact Dr. Turan Ayvaz, Director of ANSI's Certificate Accreditation Program, at tayvaz@ansi.org, or, visit the ANSI-CAP website.

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org.

ANSI accreditation is nationally and internationally recognized as a mark of quality and assures that employers can have confidence that the certificate holder has completed the prescribed course of study.