• Application request: The applicant shall approach UKICB indicating for which Standard/Scheme it wishes to apply. UKICB will send through email the registration form including information on the fees and payment details.
  Application form, supporting documents, and corresponding payment. The applicant fills up all details of the registration form, prepares all supporting document and makes the necessary payment. Both the payment transaction log/conformation and the completed registration form and documents shall be submitted to UKICB.
  Review and submit documents. Once the payment is made, the form is reviewed together with the accompanying documents by UKICB. It then gives a report back to the applicant if some documents are not attached
• Offsite Audit: UKICB shall carry out an off-site desk audit of all the documents submitted by the applicant. A report shall be submitted to the applicant with the potential nonconformities. Applicant has to submit a Corrective Action Report, CAR, for resolution of potential nonconformities.
• On-Site Office Audit: After the offsite desk audit has been successfully completed, the onsite audit will be scheduled. The on-site audit will consist of an in-depth review of all documents, a review of audit evidence of process execution, and an interview with the staff. A report will be submitted indicating any potential non-conformity. The applicant shall have to submit a CAR – Corrective Action Report for resolution of any potential non-conformity.
• Witness audit: Witness audits are scheduled pending satisfactory results of the document review and initial office audit. A witness audit is performed with the objective of assessing the degree and effectiveness to which the applicant certification body has applied its system, and to review the competency of the certification body auditors. UKICB auditor(s) will observe the applicant’s auditor while performing an audit in an organization against the Standard under scope. This will guarantee he complies with his own certification procedure apart from ISO guidelines for auditors, as well as that these procedures are effective. Offerings of witness audits of any type will have been observed through the accreditation process of an accrediting organization. The applicant must have four witness audits to be accepted. The witnessed audits must be initial certification audits. Therefore, the applicant must have a client who is willing to undergo the certification process for the purpose of certification once the process of accreditation is exhausted. Surveillance and recertification audits cannot be accepted as witness audits. Just as is the case with any audit, a witness audit may detect non-conformities. Such deviations should be rectified prior to proceeding further in the process of accreditation.
• Final report and audit team recommendations: When the office and witness audits are complete, a final report coupled with audit team recommendations on accreditation status shall be developed. These recommendations shall be subjected to the review of ARP – Accreditation Review Panel of UKICB. ARP shall have 30 days to make a final recommendation on whether to accredit or refuse to recommend accreditation. The final decision on whether to accredit certification activities shall be under the control and authority of the CEO.

Since this process is very detailed and thorough, it has many stages depending on the preparation of the applicant individual CB – Certification Body for the quality audits, so no time limit can be placed on this process. This process may last from 3 months to over one year.

Maintenance of accreditation. The instance an organization becomes accredited, its accreditation is also valid for a period of three years. Finally, during that period, UKICB will, at a minimum every two years, carry out surveillance office and witness audits of the accredited certification body to confirm continuing conformance of the Certification Body with the requirements for accreditation. The number of surveillance audits shall be based on the number of certifications issued by the Certification Body and the scope of the accreditation awarded to the Certification Body by UKICB.
Re-accreditation. At the end of the three year cycle, the Certification Body shall be subjected to a re-accreditation audit, which shall include the above steps.