Accreditation Body Act published in Federal Law Gazette

No change for BG-PRÜFZERT customers

27-Aug-2009

The "Akkreditierungsstellengesetz" (Accreditation Body Act) came into force on 6 August 2009 upon its publication in Federal Law Gazette issue no. 51.

The Act stipulates that Germany will only have one accreditation body in future, organised under private law, which will be commissioned by the state. This national accreditation body will be funded to an equal extent by the national government, the federal states and industry. It will begin work on 1 January 2010.

The Act also specifies that an accreditation advisory board is to be set up to advise the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, ensure stakeholder involvement and draw up accreditation rules.

Each BG-PRÜFZERT testing and certification body holds valid accreditation, granted by the "Zentralstelle der Länder für Sicherheitstechnik" (Federal States' Central Office for Safety Technology). This accreditation will continue to be valid for the period for which it was granted, even beyond 1 January 2010.

The BG-PRÜFZERT testing and certification bodies will thus be able to continue offering services in the area of product testing and certification after 1 January 2010 as well.

All BG-PRÜFZERT testing and certification bodies that test products in accordance with the Machinery Directive already have accreditation for the testing and certification specified in the new Machinery Directive, 2006/42/EC.

Links

Accreditation Body Act

Federal Law Gazette