TS EN ISO/IEC 17025

TS EN ISO/IEC 17025 sets out the general requirements used to assess the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. This edition establishes the organizational and technical framework needed for a laboratory to produce reliable results, including sampling activities, and it also covers testing and calibration carried out using non-standard and laboratory-developed methods. Laboratory competence is not defined only by having equipment; it also depends on traceability, staff competence, method suitability, and the supporting quality system.

The technical basis of laboratory competence

In general technical terms, a standard of this kind explains the core principles a laboratory needs in order to deliver measurement and test results that are consistent, comparable, and dependable. Testing laboratories usually measure properties of a product, material, or component, while calibration laboratories determine the relationship between an instrument indication and a reference value. Including sampling matters because the way a sample is selected can directly influence the validity of the final result.

Services covered by this standard

• Laboratories providing testing and/or calibration services
• Laboratory operations that include sampling
• Work performed using non-standard methods
• Work performed using laboratory-developed methods
• General requirements used as the basis for recognition of competence

This document is not a product standard; it is a competence standard for laboratories and the way they operate. Its focus is therefore not the technical outcome of any single test, but the systematic conditions that support a laboratory’s ability to produce results. Quality management, record control, measurement uncertainty, equipment suitability, and method selection are central concepts for understanding the technical reliability of laboratory services.