The structure, the authority for each certification function and the rules for committees must be documented and must protect impartiality.
What applies today
Certification activities must be structured and managed so that impartiality is protected. The organisation structure has to be documented, with the duties, responsibilities and authorities of management, certification personnel and any committees. Where the body sits inside a larger legal person, the chart must also show who it answers to and how it relates to the rest. Management must identify the board, group or person with overall authority for a list of functions: policy, supervision of implementation, finances, development of certification activities and requirements, evaluation, review, certification decisions, delegation, contracts, resources, complaints and appeals, personnel competence and the management system. Any committee involved in certification must have formal rules for appointment, terms of reference and operation, must be free from commercial and financial pressure, and must remain appointable and removable by the body.
Why it matters
The assessor uses this clause to test whether authority is real. A structure chart that shows a box called certification but no named person with the power to stop a certificate is not a structure. The committee rules matter because committees often hold the certification decision, and an unmanaged committee can become an independent power centre or a rubber stamp.
The public FDIS contents lists clause 5.1 as Organizational structure and top management. The FDIS requirement wording is not held, so the requirement above is the 2012 text that applies until publication.
Where this clause lands in the revision
This is a structural clause. The public contents keeps it in place, so the body and its impartiality mechanism are the first things to check in the transition. A first artefact an assessor commonly asks for here is organisation chart with functions, reporting lines and the group boundary. The party this touches first is The chief executive, the board and the certification manager.
What the assessor asks for
| Category | Artefact to have ready |
|---|---|
| Structure | Organisation chart with functions, reporting lines and the group boundary |
| Authority matrix | Table naming the owner for each function in 5.1.3 |
| Committee rules | Terms of reference, appointment letters and removal rule |
| Board record | Board minutes that establish the certification function and its authority |
One common question. ask the person who signs certificates to explain how they can refuse one. If the answer depends on a commercial discussion, the structure is not protecting impartiality.
Common failures
- The chart stops at department level and names no authority for certification decisions
- A committee exists but has no terms of reference or appointment record
- The certification manager reports to the sales director with no separate authority line
Prepare before publication
Build the authority matrix from the clause list. Leave a blank where no owner exists and treat each blank as transition work.
Dates that matter
The public record gives stage 50.20 on 4 August 2026 and voting to 27 October 2026. The planning date, 15 February 2027, is an estimate from that stage and not an ISO date, and clause 5.1 has no separate date.
Cross-references
4.2 Management of impartiality · 5.2 Mechanism for safeguarding impartiality · 7.6 Certification decision · 8.2 General management system documentation
Source
Source for 5.1: ISO/IEC 17065:2012, Clause 5.1, with the ISO/IEC FDIS 17065 public record. Our statement, not the instrument verbatim; the FDIS wording is not held.
Not legal advice; does not certify. A reading of the requirement and the evidence an assessor commonly samples, not a substitute for the standard or your accreditation body's rules.