Recognition of External Experts

DIN CERTCO cooperates only with external experts (inspectors, auditors, or assessors) which have passed corresponding recognition procedure and are bound by contract.

Inspectors and auditors need to have product and production related knowledge and experience for the relevant scope. Furthermore, they need to be competent in doing audits. Knowledge of specific standards and certification relevant documents as well as of the certification procedure is also required for a positive inspection/audit result.

The proof of competence is based on the requirements defined in the international standards

• DIN EN ISO 19011 „Guidelines for auditing management systems“
• DIN EN ISO/IEC 17020 „Conformity assessment - Requirements for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection“

Applications for recognition of external exports shall be sent to DIN CERTCO in writing. Based on the documents submitted, DIN CERTCO will check whether the current general requirements for recognition are being met. For the specific qualification criteria please see the application form.

DIN CERTCO reserves the right to verify the competence of the inspector/auditor in addition to the submitted application documents by a witness audit.

If the result of the assessment is positive, an agreement on cooperation is concluded and the external expert receives a corresponding certificate of approval with a validity of 5 years if applied for.

All external experts recognized by DIN CERTCO are subject to regular monitoring (e.g. by witness audits) to ensure that the recognition requirements are continually met.