Understanding Accreditation Equivalencies

As noted above, while there may be slight differences in accreditation requirements between organizations, both A2LA and AIHA-LAP, LLC are both signatories to the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation – Mutual Recognition Agreement (APLAC-MRA) for accreditation of testing laboratories, as are NVLAP and others. Only labs that have undergone intensive evaluation in accordance with procedures detailed in the relevant APLAC publications are eligible to be MRA signatories. Each APLAC MRA signatory has demonstrated compliance with the international standard ISO/IEC 17011 and that its accredited facilities are in compliance with ISO/IEC 17025 (laboratories). Each MRA signatory is re-evaluated at least every four years for continued compliance and competence.

Obligations of APLAC MRA signatories include recognition, within its own scope of recognition, the accreditation of a laboratory by other signatories as being equivalent to an accreditation by its own organization. In other words, not only are they deemed competent and compliant by APLAC, each signatory must recognize each other as equivalent for fields that both are recognized by APLAC. Therefore, as a customer of a lab accredited by either organization, you can be confident that they have been independently assessed to essentially identical standards and found to be compliant.