by Tim Alcock

ISO/IEC 17025:2017 – General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories is the principal international standard for the accreditation of laboratories performing testing (including sampling) and/or calibration. Originating from ISO/IEC Guide 25, the standard has been through several iterations culminating in the latest version released in November 2017.  

ISO/IEC 17025:2017 enables laboratories to demonstrate competent operation, validity and confidence in results.

This article provides a brief background to the application of ISO/IEC 17025 together with an overview of the new standard, highlighting the major changes.

Laboratory Accreditation in Forensics

Accreditation is the independent evaluation of conformity assessment bodies (in this case Forensic Laboratories working to ISO/IEC 17025 and crime scene investigation units working to a ‘sister’ standard ISO/IEC 17020).  Accreditation bodies are normally themselves peer assessed through an international system administered by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).  Accreditation bodies…