Accreditations

A laboratory's technical competence is measured by the ISO/IEC 17025 standard. When a lab meets the standard's criteria, it can become accredited by an International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) member. ILAC provides mutual recognition and acceptance between members of their test and calibration data.

It is important to note that some laboratories are accredited to ISO 9000, but as this standard relates to the quality management system, not technical competences, it is not an alternative to ISO/IEC 17025.

Instron® is ISO/IEC 17025 accredited and has a long history of technical excellence

Our service and support personnel are supported by an engineering staff experienced in the design and calibration of materials testing related instruments and an international team of metrology experts. We are also actively involved in ISO and ASTM committees worldwide that write the standards for calibration.

Our calibration and verification equipment is certified and traceable to the International System of Units (SI) through a National Metrology Institute (NMI), such as NIST or NPL. The calibration software we use is rigorously tested and validated before deployment to our service and support personnel.

We maintain the highest standards of integrity so that you can have confidence in the calibration of your equipment. We also understand that you may often have unique needs so we offer a range of standard and tailored calibration services to provide the services needed to address your specific needs.

View Instron's Accreditations

What is Accreditation?

Laboratory accreditation is an independent, third party evaluation of a laboratory’s competence to perform calibrations within their Scope of Accreditation. An integral part of the accreditation process is the technical evaluation of the laboratory’s capability. This includes confirmation that the laboratory provides measurement results traceable to recognized NMIs, such as the NPL in the UK, NIST in the USA, and PTB in Germany.


Although there are a number of organizations that approve calibration laboratories, only organizations that are members of ILAC are recognized as having an international standing.

Why is Accreditation Important?

Accreditation demonstrates the competence, impartiality, and performance capability of a laboratory. It gives you the confidence that your calibration provider has demonstrated its competence to an independent body and that it is regularly audited to ensure that this level of competence is maintained.

What Are the Recognized Accreditation Bodies?

Most countries have a national accreditation body, which is typically a member of the ILAC. It is important that the calibration laboratory you use is accredited by an ILAC member to ensure that you will have a recognized certificate of calibration, of international standing, supporting your business and satisfying your customers locally and globally.

ILAC members include:

  • NVLAP and A2LA (USA)
  • UKAS (UK)
  • COFRAC (France)
  • ENAC (Spain)
  • DakkS (Germany)

View a complete list of ILAC members.

Do I Need to Use the National Accreditation Service from My Own Country?

No, provided you use a laboratory that is accredited by an ILAC member, you and your customers can be confident that the service provided meets all of the standards required. ILAC is the world’s principal international forum for the development of laboratory accreditation practices and the recognition of competent test and calibration facilities. It builds cooperation among various laboratory accreditation bodies, such as UKAS, DKD, NVLAP, and NATA with the goal to promote trade between countries through mutual acceptance of accredited test and calibration results.