IAF Accreditation & Recognition Framework
IAF programme documents establish evidence-led routes for automotive education, conformity-assessment bodies and organisations operating across the mobility value chain. The result is always programme-specific and scope-bound: it applies only to the named legal entity, sites, activities, methods, programmes or outputs stated in the decision record.
Choose the route that matches the work
Select the programme by the applicant’s real responsibility and intended claim—not by the broadest or most prestigious title.
Automotive Education Accreditation & Recognition (AEAR)
For automotive education institutions, named qualification programmes and bounded assessed learning offerings.
Conformity Assessment Accreditation & Recognition (CAAR)
For laboratories, inspection, certification, calibration, audit, verification and related automotive assurance bodies.
Corporate Recognition Programmes
Five sector programmes assess implemented corporate controls for named legal entities, operational sites and activities. Recognition does not silently certify every product, report, employee or affiliated company.
| Programme | Primary audience | Programme page |
|---|---|---|
| CRP | OEMs, manufacturers and assemblers | Manufacturers & Assemblers |
| PSR | Product, system, material and production-technology suppliers | Product & System Suppliers |
| SNR | Authorised service networks, outlets, mobile units and remote operations | Service Networks |
| SDR | Automotive software, platforms, AI, data and live digital services | Software & Digital Systems |
| PPR | Professional practices, firms and legally operating sole practices | Independent Experts & Professionals |
What each route can establish
| Route | Decision concerns | It does not automatically establish |
|---|---|---|
| AEAR accreditation / recognition | A named institution or unit, qualification programme, or assessed learning offering | Degree equivalence, public operating authority, professional registration or coverage of unrelated programmes |
| CAAR ACC | Continuing capability, impartiality and reliable operation within an approved body scope | That every result is infallible, every product is certified or every authority must accept the output |
| CAAR REC | A defined project and its specifically enumerated outputs | Accreditation of the issuer or authority for unrelated future reports |
| CRP / PSR / SNR / SDR / PPR | Implemented corporate controls for the exact entity, sites and activities in the recognition schedule | Blanket product approval, whole-group coverage, a transferable personal licence or universal legal acceptance |
| IAF technical standards | Published requirements and assessment criteria for a defined technical subject | Recognition, certification or mark rights without the applicable assessment and decision route |
A common evidence-to-decision pathway
Identify the legal applicant, route, sites, activities, exclusions and exact scope.
Complete the programme form, self-evaluation, evidence index and applicable scope schedule.
Review documents, original records, competence, operational history and required physical or witnessed activity.
Contain affected work, address findings and demonstrate effective closure with objective evidence.
The assessment team records evidence and recommends; the competent independent panel makes the decision.
Control public claims, report material changes and complete programme-specific monitoring and renewal.
Continue with the right information
Standards or recognition?
Understand the difference before selecting a claim or route.
Compare pathways