The transition to Global ACI caught many professionals by surprise, even though the change was announced at the beginning of 2026. It has also raised questions about the future of accredited certifications and whether certified organizations need to make any changes.
This is understandable. The transition from the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) to Global ACI represents one of the most significant developments in recent years within the international accreditation and conformity assessment infrastructure.
Although the change may raise concerns about its potential impact on certified organizations, its primary purpose is to strengthen the market. By creating a more integrated structure, the international infrastructure supporting confidence in accredited conformity assessment is expected to become more consistent, transparent, and effective.
So, what exactly is changing? What remains the same? And, most importantly, does your organization need to take any action?
Let’s take a closer look.
Understanding the Change: IAF and ILAC
Before understanding the transition to Global ACI, it is important to understand the two international organizations behind it: the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).
Both have played fundamental roles in the global accreditation and conformity assessment infrastructure.
In simple terms:
- IAF focused on accreditation activities involving certification and validation/verification bodies, including areas such as management systems, products, processes, services, and persons. Its international arrangements supported confidence in accredited conformity assessment results across different countries and markets.
- ILAC focused primarily on accreditation involving laboratories, inspection bodies, proficiency testing providers, reference material producers, and other conformity assessment activities within its arrangements. Its work supported international confidence in results produced by accredited organizations.
For many years, these two international organizations have played complementary roles in strengthening the global accreditation infrastructure.
Although they operated in different areas, they shared a common objective: supporting competence, impartiality, consistency, and confidence in conformity assessment.
What Is the Transition to Global ACI?
The major change is the creation of a unified international organization bringing together the activities historically associated with IAF and ILAC under Global ACI.
The purpose of this consolidation is to strengthen the global accreditation infrastructure through greater integration across conformity assessment sectors.
The new structure is intended to promote greater consistency, transparency, efficiency, and coordination in areas involving accreditation, certification, inspection, laboratories, and other conformity assessment activities.
This consolidation also reflects the increasingly interconnected nature of global supply chains.
Organizations around the world rely on accredited conformity assessment for management systems, products, services, laboratories, inspection activities, and many other areas. Bringing the international accreditation infrastructure under a more unified structure can therefore strengthen confidence across markets and borders.
For organizations holding accredited certifications, the transition represents an evolution of the infrastructure that supports the credibility and international recognition of conformity assessment.
What Does Your Organization Need to Do?
When a management system standard is revised, certified organizations typically need to understand the changes and determine what adjustments are required.
The transition to Global ACI is different.
Certified organizations generally do not need to make immediate changes to their management systems solely because of the transition.
The restructuring of IAF and ILAC does not, by itself, introduce new management system requirements for certified organizations or automatically require transition audits, specific employee training, or changes to existing management system documentation.
In practical terms, the change primarily occurs within the international accreditation infrastructure supporting accredited conformity assessment.
Organizations should, however, continue to verify that their certification has been issued within a recognized accreditation framework.
This includes checking the accreditation information displayed on the certificate and verifying the certification through appropriate official databases and accreditation sources when applicable.
This traceability helps demonstrate the chain of confidence behind an accredited certification—from the certified organization through the certification and accreditation infrastructure.
A New Chapter for International Accreditation
Global ACI represents a new chapter in the evolution of the international accreditation infrastructure.
The transition is intended to strengthen confidence in accredited conformity assessment and create a more integrated, transparent, and globally coordinated system.
For organizations that already hold accredited management system certifications, the key message is straightforward: the transition does not, by itself, mean that your management system must be changed or that an additional transition audit is required.
What is changing is the international structure supporting the credibility and recognition of accredited conformity assessment.
For organizations selecting a certification body, the fundamental principle also remains the same: understand the accreditation behind your certification and ensure that it provides the recognition required by your customers, markets, regulators, or other interested parties.
Ultimately, the transition to Global ACI is not simply an administrative change. It represents an important evolution in the international conformity assessment infrastructure and its mission to promote competence, impartiality, consistency, and confidence across global markets.
