The accreditation landscape that certification bodies and auditors have navigated for three decades has been formally consolidated. Existing accreditations issued under the ILAC MRA and/or IAF MLA will continue to be recognized as arrangements transition to the Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated MRA, with no service interruptions as accreditation bodies, conformity assessment bodies, scheme owners and regional groups continue operating as normal through the transition. The new MRA replaces the former ILAC MRA and IAF MLA, offering a single, simplified framework to support international recognition and confidence in accredited conformity assessment, and Global ACI held its first full round of committee meetings in Prague during the week commencing 20 April 2026, marking an important milestone in moving from transition to delivery. The Prague mid-term meetings brought together more than 300 representatives from accreditation bodies and regional cooperation groups to finalise the operational architecture now reaching CBs.
For certification bodies, the immediate implications are administrative but consequential. The legacy IAF MLA and ILAC MRA marks are anticipated to be phased out over three years as the Global ACI MRA mark is adopted, a behind-the-scenes change managed between accreditation bodies and certification bodies. CBs should expect updated mark-usage guidance from their AB, plan certificate template and IAF CertSearch metadata updates, and brief audit teams on the unified scope language now governing management systems, products, personnel, inspection and testing under one arrangement. Auditors working across borders gain a cleaner recognition pathway, but witnessed-assessment and surveillance cycles continue under ISO/IEC 17011 and the relevant 17021-series requirements unchanged. The unified structure also positions emerging schemes — including AI management systems under ISO/IEC 42001 and sustainability assurance — to enter international recognition through a single endorsement route rather than parallel IAF and ILAC processes.