TS EN ISO/IEC 17024

TS EN ISO/IEC 17024 is a conformity assessment standard that sets general requirements for bodies certifying persons against specific requirements. Its focus is the framework for person certification systems, rather than certification of products, processes, or services.

How person certification is organised

In general technical terms, person certification is a mechanism for independently confirming an individual’s competence in a defined occupational or technical field. A robust system separates key functions such as candidate acceptance, exam design, assessment criteria, decision-making, and certificate maintenance. ISO/IEC 17024 addresses the overall principles used to organise these elements into a consistent and credible certification scheme.

Why the certification scheme matters

A central concept in the standard is the development and maintenance of a certification scheme for persons. A scheme defines what competence is being assessed, the scope of certification, and how requirements are kept current over time. This matters because different occupational roles may require different evaluation logic: technical knowledge, assessment methods, and recertification conditions do not have to be identical. The scheme provides a structured and traceable basis for the body’s certification activities.

This document is useful for understanding how organisations operate person certification activities. Concepts such as impartiality, confidentiality, competence, assessment consistency, and complaint or appeal handling are foundational to trust in this field. TS EN ISO/IEC 17024 provides a common framework for managing these requirements at the system level, rather than defining the content of any one occupation-specific certification program.