Change in practice to align with the Official IAOB position regarding ISO/TS 16949 certificate expiration dates

SQA Advisory Number 17

Original date: May 17, 2006 Revision date: October 11, 2007 Download PDF (right-click; save target as)

Introduction:

ISO/TS 16949 certificates, like other standards, have always been issued for a maximum of 3 years from the date of the certification decision. That is, after an SQA auditor “recommended” certification to the organization an Executive Certification Panel (ECP) would convene, analyze the evidence submitted by the auditor and decide to either accept or reject the recommendation. Certificate dates, (i.e., original and expiration dates) had always been tied to the ECP decision date. The ISO/TS 16949 “Rules for Achieving IATF Recognition” adopted this approach.

Discussion:

The “Rules for Achieving IATF Recognition” (Rules) section 2.5 and the Rules 2nd Edition Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) #15 specifically address the topic of this Advisory.

SQA Position:

SQA has modified its previous interpretation that ISO/TS 16949:2002 certificates will expire exactly 36 months from the last day of the Stage-2 audit or the last day of a preceding recertification audit to certificates will expire 3 years maximum from the ECP decision. Time added to these audits for corrective action closure does not count. Implementing this change on the certificates themselves will occur in any of the following situations:

1. Renewal of the certificate after a successfully closed recertification audit.
2.  Any change to the scope of the certificate after a surveillance audit.
3. Any change to the address, name or other fundamental information contained on the certificate.

This modification will also affect the expiration date of ISO 9001:2000 certificates when they have been coupled with ISO/TS 16949:2002 certificates.

Summary:

A recertification audit must occur a maximum of 3 years (to the day) from the Stage-2 audit or subsequent recertification audits. Moreover, any issued corrective actions must be officially closed and the SQA auditor must have recommended certificate renewal prior to the 36 month deadline. Consequently, it is highly recommended that recertification audits be scheduled at 33 months after the Stage-2 or the last recertification audit to permit sufficient time for Corrective Action closure and ECP review. Failure to complete these actions will result in an expired certificate. No extensions are possible. If a certificate expires, reinstatement requires a complete Stage-1 and Stage-2 audit.

Note that the expiration date on the certificate following the recertification audit will be a maximum of 3 years from the ECP decision.

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