Handling complaints and appeals well protects the body, its clients and the public from error, omission and unreasonable behaviour.
What applies today
A complaint or appeal handled well shields the body, its clients and everyone else who relies on a certificate from mistakes, gaps and unfair conduct. Trust in certification holds up when these cases are handled well.
Why it matters
The principle reframes a complaint as a protective mechanism rather than a threat. A body that treats every complaint as a reputational problem learns nothing and eventually loses the confidence the system depends on. The appeal route also protects the client from a decision that was wrong. The clause 7.13 requirements are the machinery; this annex states why it matters.
The public FDIS contents lists Annex A and Annex B as informative annexes and does not number A.5 Responsiveness to complaints and appeals separately. The FDIS wording is not held; the principle above is the 2012 text.
Where this clause lands in the revision
Annex A.5 is the responsiveness to complaints and appeals principle. The FDIS keeps Annex A, and this principle still explains how the normative clauses are read. It creates no new obligation and carries no separate FDIS date. A first artefact an assessor commonly asks for here is complaint and appeal route with addresses. The party this touches first is The complaints handler and top management, who own the route.
What the assessor asks for
| Category | Artefact to have ready |
|---|---|
| Published route | Complaint and appeal route with addresses |
| Pattern review | Analysis of complaints by theme and the action taken |
| Independence | Decision maker separated from the original activity |
| Closure | A closing letter that states the result and confirms the route is closed |
One common question. ask what the body learned from complaints in the last year. A log with no pattern review suggests the route is administrative only.
Common failures
- Complaints are handled case by case with no trend review
- The route is hard to find on the website
- The same person decides every appeal
Prepare before publication
Review the last two years of complaints for themes. Bring the themes to management review.
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 A.5 has no separate date.
Cross-references
7.13 Complaints and appeals · 8.5 Management review · 8.7 Corrective actions
Source
Source for A.5: ISO/IEC 17065:2012, Annex A.5, 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.