Regulatory laboratory accreditation NABL Integrated Assessment 2026: How Testing Labs Should Prepare for Regulatory Body Requirements Updated: 13 September 2026 Short answer: NABL's integrated assessment programme provides a unified route in which testing-laboratory accreditation and the additional requirements of participating regulatory bodies can be assessed together. In August 2026 NABL amended NABL 127, the procedure for integrated assessment and regulator additional requirements, to Amendment 05, and NABL 154, the application form for integrated assessment of testing laboratories, to Amendment 07. Laboratories should therefore prepare against both ISO/IEC 17025 and the specific requirements of every regulator relevant to the scope they are seeking. A testing laboratory can be technically competent and still fail to satisfy a regulator-specific approval requirement. The reverse can also be risky. A laboratory may understand a re...

NABL surveillance and assessment NABL Annual Surveillance 2026: How Calibration Labs Should Stay Assessment-Ready Updated: 13 September 2026 Short answer: NABL now operates a four-year accreditation cycle, but accredited laboratories still need to demonstrate continued conformity throughout that period. NABL's current assessment toolkit includes NABL 218 for Desktop Surveillance, amended on 7 January 2026, NABL 218A for Annual Surveillance, and NABL 219 for ISO/IEC 17025 assessment. The best preparation is therefore continuous evidence control, not a one-week audit cleanup. Assessment problems often begin months before an assessor arrives. An overdue calibration, an unsigned competence record, a changed spreadsheet, an unreviewed uncertainty budget or a missed proficiency-testing action may remain unnoticed until someone asks for evidence. The practical purpose of surveillance is to test whether the laboratory continues to...

NABL accreditation management NABL Four-Year Accreditation Cycle 2026: What Labs Should Know Before a Premises Change Updated: 13 September 2026 Short answer: NABL announced in October 2024 that accreditation validity was increased from two years to four years. In 2026, NABL added a dedicated assessment programme for accredited conformity assessment bodies under the four-year cycle, amended NABL 100A, updated its procedure for dealing with changes in CAB premises on 31 August, and published a list of accredited laboratories whose accreditation cycle had been extended on 4 September. A four-year certificate should therefore not be interpreted as four years without oversight. Laboratories also should not treat relocation as a simple address edit. Premises, infrastructure, equipment, environmental control, scope and accreditation status need coordinated review. A longer accreditation cycle can reduce the temptation to think only in terms of a renewal ...

Defence aviation laboratory accreditation NABL-DGAQA Integrated Assessment 2026: What Defence Aviation Testing Laboratories Need to Prepare Updated: 13 September 2026 Short answer: NABL announced on 12 August 2026 that it and DGAQA had jointly initiated an Integrated Assessment Scheme for testing laboratories in the Defence Aviation sector. NABL also released two dedicated documents dated 11 August 2026: NABL 233, the application form for integrated assessment of defence-aviation laboratories with DGAQA additional requirements, and NABL 234, the corresponding procedure. Laboratories considering this route should therefore prepare for both ISO/IEC 17025-based laboratory accreditation requirements and the additional DGAQA requirements applicable to the integrated scheme. Defence aviation testing sits in a demanding quality environment. Test results may support decisions about materials, components, assemblies, airworthiness-related evidenc...