The certificate must identify the body, the client, the scope, the grant date, any expiry and the scheme information, and must be authorised.
What applies today
The body must give the client a formal certificate that states, or makes it possible to identify, the body's name and address, the date certification is granted, the client's name and address, the scope of certification and, where certification expires after a set period, the term or expiry date. It must also include any other information the scheme requires. The grant date must not be earlier than the date the certification decision was completed. Where the standards or normative documents named in the scope refer to other documents, those do not have to be repeated in the certificate. The documentation must carry the signature or another defined authorisation of the person assigned that responsibility. It may be issued only after, or at the same time as, the decision to award or widen the scope, fulfilment of the certification requirements and completion or signature of the certification agreement.
Why it matters
A certificate is a public claim, and the clause fixes the minimum content so that a reader can tell what is certified, by whom, for how long and on what basis. The date rule is a common defect: a certificate dated before the decision makes the decision look like an afterthought. The authorisation rule matters when certificates are generated automatically. A defined authorisation can be a named responsible person on record, not necessarily a wet signature.
The public FDIS contents lists clause 7.7 as Certification documentation. 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 process clause. The public record confirms the number and title, and the process as described today is what an assessment uses until publication. A first artefact an assessor commonly asks for here is certificate template with all required fields and the scheme additions. The party this touches first is The certificate issuer and the person with defined authorisation for certification documents.
What the assessor asks for
| Category | Artefact to have ready |
|---|---|
| Template | Certificate template with all required fields and the scheme additions |
| Authorisation | Named person or defined authorisation with the scope of that authority |
| Issue control | Check that decision date precedes or equals the grant date |
| Sample | Issued certificates reviewed for scope, dates and edition |
One common question. compare a certificate's grant date with the decision record and the agreement signature. A certificate issued before the agreement was signed is a finding.
Common failures
- The certificate does not state the edition of the standard
- The grant date is the date the client paid
- Certificates are generated from a template that no one is authorised to approve
Prepare before publication
Pull ten certificates across schemes and check each field against the decision record and the agreement. Correct the template before reissuing anything.
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 7.7 has no separate date.
Cross-references
7.6 Certification decision · 7.8 Directory of certified products · 4.1.2 Certification agreement · 7.10 Changes affecting certification
Source
Source for 7.7: ISO/IEC 17065:2012, Clause 7.7, 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.