What is CNAS?

When you get a calibration certificate from China's third party lab, you would find a mark of CNAS in the certificate. Today we are going to introduce CNAS.

China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (abbreviated as: CNAS) is an accreditation body approved and established by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China (abbreviated as: CNCA) in accordance with the provisions of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation" to unify the implementation of the accreditation of certification bodies, laboratories and inspection bodies and other related institutions.

History

China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) was formally established on March 31, 2006, based on the integration of the former China National Accreditation Service for Certification Bodies (abbreviated as: CNAB) and the former China National Accreditation Service for Laboratories (abbreviated as: CNAL).

CNAB is an accreditation body approved by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the State Council and authorized to be responsible for the accreditation of certification bodies and related work for all types of management system certification and product certification.CNAB was established in July 2002, and is composed of the former China National Accreditation Committee for Quality System Certification Bodies (CNACR), the former China National Accreditation Committee for Product Certification Bodies (CNACP), the former China National Accreditation Board for Import and Export Enterprises (CNAB) and the former China Accreditation Board for Environmental Management System Certification Bodies (CACEB) were integrated.

CNAL is approved by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the State Council and authorized to establish a unified responsible for the accreditation of laboratories and inspection bodies and related work of the accreditation body. CNAL was established in July 2002, is the former China National Accreditation Committee for Laboratories (English abbreviation: CNACL) and China Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Laboratory Accreditation Committee (English abbreviation: CCIBLAC) Integration.

Organizational structure

The organizational structure of the China National Accreditation Committee for Conformity Assessment includes: Committee of the Whole, Executive Committee, Special Committee for Certification Bodies, Special Committee for Laboratories, Special Committee for Inspection Bodies, Special Committee for Assessment, Special Committee for Complaints, Special Committee for End Users and Secretariat. The members of CNCA are composed of five parties, including government departments, conformity assessment bodies, conformity assessment service recipients, conformity assessment users and professional organizations and technical experts.

Purpose

The purpose of CNCA is to promote the construction of conformity assessment organizations in accordance with relevant standards and norms, and to promote conformity assessment organizations to effectively provide services to society with fair behavior, scientific means and accurate results.

Main Tasks

The main tasks of China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment are;

1. In accordance with relevant laws and regulations of China, international and national standards and norms, etc., to establish and operate a national accreditation system for conformity assessment bodies, and to develop and issue rules, guidelines, guidelines and other normative documents for accreditation work.

2. The domestic and foreign applications for conformity assessment bodies to carry out capacity evaluation, make accreditation decisions, and accreditation supervision and management of recognized conformity assessment bodies.

3. Responsible for the use of the accreditation committee logo and recognition mark for guidance and supervision.

4. Organize and carry out training of personnel related to accreditation, assess the qualifications of the assessors and employment management.

5. To provide relevant technical services for conformity assessment bodies, to provide the community with public information on accredited conformity assessment bodies.

6. Participate in international activities related to conformity assessment and accreditation, and sign bilateral or multilateral accreditation cooperation agreements with relevant accreditation and related institutions and international cooperation organizations.

7. To deal with the work of the complaints and grievances related to accreditation

8. Undertake the work entrusted by the relevant government departments.

9. To carry out other activities related to accreditation.

The CNAS Secretariat is located in the China National Accreditation Center for Conformity Assessment, which is subordinate to the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration, and is only engaged in accreditation-related business and does not provide any services that may affect the impartiality of accreditation.

International Mutual Recognition

China National Accreditation System for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) has an important position in international accreditation activities, and its accreditation activities have been integrated into the international accreditation mutual recognition system and play an important role. China National Accreditation Committee for Conformity Assessment is a full member of International Accreditation Forum (IAF), International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) and Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC). from January 1, 2019, PAC and APLAC merged to form a new regional accreditation cooperation organization " Asia-Pacific Accreditation Cooperation" (APAC).