About us
Historical background
The process of accreditation in Armenia was triggered in 1993 with the department for quality systems, certification and accreditation of laboratories at the Agency for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (ARMENIAN STATE STANDARDS).
Later in accordance with the RA Government decision N2042-N, December 19, 2002 on "Reorganization of the Agency for Standardization, Metrology and Certification", the Agency for Standardization, Metrology and Certification operating under Government of the Republic of Armenia was reorganized by merging into the Staff of the Ministry of the Republic of Armenia of Commerce and Economic Development state administrative body as Accreditation Agency of the Republic of Armenia, which was granted a status of a independent department within the Staff of the Ministry of the Republic of Armenia of Commerce and Economic Development state administrative body.
The accreditation was performed by the Accreditation Council and Accreditation Agency based on the RA Law HO-18 on Verification of Produce and Services Compliance to Normative Requirements, December 3, 1999, and the decision N238 of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, May 12, 2000, on Accrediting Compliance Verification Certification Bodies and Testing Laboratories.
Further, the accreditation was performed according to the RA Law HO-82-N "On Assessment of Conformity", June 19, 2004, and the RA Government decision "On Approving the Individual Staff of the Council of Certification Bodies and Testing Laboratories in the Scope of Conformity Assessment and the Conditions of Their Activities"; and the decision N 1630-N on declaring of the RA Government decision N 238, May 12, 2000, invalid.
According to the RA Law on Accreditation, the only agency rendering services of accreditation to conformity assessment bodies is the National Accreditation Body SNCO, which was established upon the RA Government decision N 890-N, July 19, 2012, and started its operation in December 2012. With the authority given to it, the National Accreditation Body SNCO works in accordance to ISO/IEC 17011 (latest version).
The NAB issues and registers the accreditation certificates, and reissues accreditation certificates, ensures surveillance of the accredited CABs, trains and certifies accreditation experts (assessors) and technical experts, as well as ensures the establishment and maintenance of registers for Conformity Assessment Bodies accredited as prescribed by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, those for accreditation experts (assessors) and technical experts, for conformity certificates and registered conformity declerations, as well as for the provision of information from the mentioned registers.
The NAB has the status of a legal entity registered by the district authority of the Yerevan State Registry, Certificate N03A839686, 2012-09-03. The organization has in its possession separated assets and owes own property for undertaken obligations, signs contracts in its own name, obtains and entertains property and non-property rights, undertakes obligations, appears as plaintiff and as defendant before the court.
The NAB possesses its own bank account, a round seal with the depiction of the code of the arms of the Republic of Armenia, and the name of the organization, further stamps, blanks, and other means of identification, a fee structure and calculates its revenues and expenses.
International Cooperation
The first step towards international recognition of ARMNAB was taken in November 2016, when agreement on its associate membership with the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) was signed. Further integration would require passing of an equality-based peer assessment by the EA that would lead, if successful, to signing of a Bi-Lateral Recognition Agreement with the EA (BLA). The latter allows signatories to conclude Multilateral recognition agreements (MLA) with the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and International Accreditation Forum (IAF) without additional re-evaluation.