To achieve and maintain SSAIB certification requires compliance with SSAIB rules and scheme specific criteria. Failure to do so will result in certification not being granted or, when certification has been previously granted, may result in certification being suspended, reduced or withdrawn.
This is a straight forward process and the team at SSAIB are here to assist you every step of the way
Complete our online application form.
Once SSAIB have reviewed and accepted your application, we will contact you to arrange a convenient date for the audit and guide you through the requirements on that day.
For product certification, this is generally one day - depending on which scheme the product certification falls under.
For management systems, this is based on the head count of your organisation and this will guide us for the man-days required for the stage 1 and stage 2 visit. Normally we allow six weeks between the stage 1 and stage 2 visit, but this can be adjusted - depending on the findings of the stage 1 audit.
Once the visit has been carried out, we will leave you with a report stating the outcome of the visit - along with any non-conformances that may have been identified, which will require close out before certification can be granted.
Based on the recommendation of the report - and the close out of non-conformances - the SSAIB decision maker will then review the recommendation from the auditor and, if there are no issues, they will grant certification.
Should there be any outstanding issue(s), SSAIB will contact you to resolve them in order that certification can be awarded.
Once certificated for product, your certificate remains valid provided the annual surveillance visit is carried out.
For management systems, your certificate is valid for three years - subject to annual surveillance visits and a successful re-certification audit at the end of the three years.
Compliance is determined during an initial certification audit and on-going annual surveillance audits. In the case of management system schemes - ISO 9001, for example - compliance is also determined during re-certifications audits, which are carried out prior to the expiry of certification. This occurs three years from the date that certification was granted.
At the SSAIB, we recognise the importance of a transparent, audit process and the right of our registered firms to appeal decisions that directly affect their scope of registration, including suspension, withdrawal, or the imposition of sanctions. In line with our commitment to procedural fairness and integrity, we provide a structured appeals process as outlined in SSAIB Rule 20.
For full details of the appeals process, please refer to SSAIB Rule 20, available upon request.”