Accreditation Service for Certifying Bodies (ASCB)

What Accreditation Service for Certifying Bodies (ASCB) does

Accreditation Service for Certifying Bodies (ASCB) is an independent, non-governmental accreditation body founded in 1995 and domiciled in Dover, Delaware as Accreditation Service for Certifying Bodies, LLC. It assesses conformity assessment bodies against internationally recognized ISO/IEC standards — including ISO/IEC 17021-1 (certification bodies), ISO/IEC 17020 (inspection bodies), ISO/IEC 17024 (personnel certification), ISO/IEC 17025 (laboratories), ISO/IEC 17029 (validation/verification, including ISO 14064 applications), and ISO/IEC 17065 (product certification) — as well as its own training accreditation schemes (ASCB-TP:2025 and ASCB-TC:2025). All accreditation activity is conducted in accordance with ISO/IEC 17011, with decisions based on structured assessment, objective evidence and competent evaluators, supported by documented procedures for application, surveillance, complaints and appeals.

ASCB's core technology is its standards-based accreditation framework, not a software product: it is a governance and assessment process codified in procedures, assessor competency requirements, and the International Register (IRQAO) — a live, publicly searchable certificate verification platform covering all accredited bodies, organizations and products. The organization operates with a lean in-house team of 5 employees, drawing on a registered pool of 10,000+ assessors, auditors and quality assurance personnel to deliver assessments globally. To date, ASCB has accredited 230+ conformity assessment bodies across 70+ countries, with downstream coverage of 30,000+ certified organizations whose combined annual turnover is approximately USD 250 billion.

ASCB's revenue model is accreditation-fee based and recurring: conformity assessment bodies pay for initial accreditation, ongoing surveillance, and re-assessment against ISO/IEC standards. Distribution is direct via enterprise field sales — organizations apply through the ASCB website and engage through the client portal (portal.ascb.co.uk) — with a recently established US office (2024) supporting North American market expansion. No public pricing exists; customer segments span seven distinct conformity assessment verticals, and the company maintains no external investors, parent entity or subsidiaries, preserving the independence required by ISO/IEC 17011.

Name

Accreditation Service for Certifying Bodies (ASCB)

Legal name

Accreditation Service for Certifying Bodies, LLC

Website

https://ascb.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ASCB is an independent, ISO/IEC 17011-compliant accreditation body founded in 1995 that assesses certification, inspection, laboratory, personnel, product, validation/verification, and training bodies against ISO/IEC standards. It serves 230+ accredited bodies across 70+ countries from Dover, Delaware.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Accreditation Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138)

SIC

Services-Services, Nec (8900)

akta.pro primary industry

Standards, Metrology & Accreditation Bodies (BPAIAOAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations (EDADACAJ)

Keywords

• Accreditation services
• Conformity assessment
• ISO/IEC standards
• Certification body accreditation
• Laboratory accreditation

Headquarters

HQ city

Dover

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Accreditation Services: ASCB provides accreditation services to conformity assessment bodies, certification bodies, laboratories, inspection bodies, training providers, and personnel certification bodies. Accreditation is applied against internationally recognized ISO/IEC standards including ISO/IEC 17021-1, ISO 17020, ISO/IEC 17024, ISO/IEC 17025, ISO/IEC 17029, and ISO/IEC 17065.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ASCB is an independent, non-governmental accreditation body that assesses conformity assessment bodies against internationally recognized ISO/IEC standards including ISO/IEC 17021-1, ISO 17020, ISO/IEC 17024, ISO/IEC 17025, ISO/IEC 17029, and ISO/IEC 17065. It issues accreditation to certification bodies, inspection bodies, laboratories, personnel certification bodies, training providers, product certification bodies, and validation and verification bodies. It also operates the International Register (IRQAO), a global certificate verification platform.

Product overview

ASCB operates as an independent, non-governmental accreditation body delivering standards-based accreditation across multiple sectors and regions for over 30 years. Their portfolio centers on eight core accreditation services: Certification Body Accreditation (ISO/IEC 17021-1), Inspection Body Accreditation (ISO/IEC 17020), Training Provider Accreditation (ASCB-TP:2025), Training Course Accreditation (ASCB-TC:2025), Personnel Certification Accreditation (ISO/IEC 17024), Laboratory Accreditation (ISO/IEC 17025), Product Certification Accreditation (ISO/IEC 17065), and Validation and Verification Bodies Accreditation (ISO/IEC 17029). These accreditation services are complemented by the International Register (IRQAO), a global certificate verification platform that enables stakeholders to confirm certificate authenticity. ASCB applies internationally recognized ISO/IEC standards consistently across all services without imposing proprietary schemes or additional non-standard criteria.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Certification Body Accreditation (ISO/IEC 17021-1)
• Inspection Body Accreditation (ISO/IEC 17020)
• Training Provider Accreditation (ASCB-TP:2025)
• Training Course Accreditation (ASCB-TC:2025)
• Personnel Certification Accreditation (ISO/IEC 17024)
• Laboratory Accreditation (ISO/IEC 17025)
• Product Certification Accreditation (ISO/IEC 17065)
• Validation and Verification Bodies Accreditation (ISO/IEC 17029)
• International Register (IRQAO)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30,000 organizations certified under ASCB accreditation with estimated combined annual turnover of approximately USD 250 billion
• +1 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service): The UK's national accreditation body, recognized by the British government. Like ASCB, UKAS accredits certification bodies, inspection bodies, laboratories, and personnel certification bodies against ISO/IEC standards, but operates at much larger scale and with formal government designation.
• COFRAC (Comité Français d'Accréditation): France's national accreditation body, designated by the French government. COFRAC accredits laboratories, inspection bodies, and certification bodies against ISO/IEC standards, competing with ASCB for European conformity assessment clients.
• DAkkS (Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle): Germany's national accreditation body, operating under EU Regulation 765/2008. DAkkS accredits conformity assessment bodies across all relevant ISO/IEC standards, comparable to ASCB's full portfolio, with significantly larger scale and government backing.
• ANAB (ANSI National Accreditation Board): ANAB is a major US-based accreditation body operating under ANSI, accrediting management system certification bodies, testing laboratories, inspection bodies, and personnel certification bodies against ISO/IEC standards. Direct competitor to ASCB in the North American market ASCB is targeting.
• A2LA (American Association for Laboratory Accreditation): A2LA is a US-based non-profit accreditation body focused primarily on laboratory accreditation under ISO/IEC 17025, with expansion into inspection and calibration. Directly comparable to ASCB's laboratory and inspection body accreditation services.
• International Accreditation Service (IAS): IAS is a US-based accreditation body providing accreditation for testing and calibration laboratories, inspection bodies, and certification bodies. Operates against similar ISO/IEC standards as ASCB and competes for North American conformity assessment clients.

Others

• International Accreditation Forum (IAF): IAF is the worldwide association of accreditation bodies that manages mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) among member accreditation bodies. It does not compete directly but governs the recognition framework within which ASCB operates.

Emerging players

• APMG International: APMG accredits and certifies training providers and courses in IT, cybersecurity, and project management methodologies. Comparable to ASCB's training provider (ASCB-TP:2025) and training course (ASCB-TC:2025) accreditation offerings.
• Exemplar Global: Exemplar Global is a personnel certification body that certifies auditors and quality professionals. It operates in an adjacent layer of the conformity assessment ecosystem, with some overlap with ASCB's ISO/IEC 17024 personnel certification accreditation services.

Regional players

• Perry Johnson Registrars (PJR): PJR is a US-based certification body accredited to issue ISO management system certifications. As a downstream accredited customer of accreditation bodies like ANAB and UKAS, PJR represents the type of client ASCB targets with its ISO/IEC 17021-1 accreditation services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/accreditation-service-for-certifying-bodies-ascb

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Accreditation Service for Certifying Bodies (ASCB)