Use of Mark and Logo Rules.

CL. 01What your certificate carries

A QSI certificate issued under accreditation carries three marks together: the QSI certification mark, the mark of the accreditation body under which that certificate was issued, and the IAF MLA mark. They appear as one combined mark on the certificate itself.

Which accreditation body’s mark appears depends on the accreditation your certificate falls under, which follows the standard and the sector of your scope. QSI holds accreditation from more than one body and the sectors covered differ between them. The accreditations page states which body covers which standard and which sectors.

The marks on the certificate identify who accredited QSI to issue it. They are not a licence for the certified organisation to reproduce them.

CL. 02What a certified client may use

QSI does not issue mark artwork to certified clients. There is no logo pack to download and no file to apply to your own materials.

Refer to your certification in words instead, naming the certified legal entity, the standard, the scope and the certificate number, so that any reader can check it against the register. A claim a buyer can verify is worth more than a graphic they cannot.

Where a client needs written confirmation for a tender or a customer audit, request it from QSI and it will be issued against the certificate on file.

CL. 03Accreditation body marks and the IAF MLA mark

The accreditation body marks, including the Saudi Accreditation Center mark and the IAS mark, belong to those bodies. They are granted to QSI for QSI’s use within QSI’s accredited scope. They do not pass to a certified organisation.

The IAF MLA mark may not be used by certified clients at all. This is not a QSI preference: SAAC’s policy on the use of the Saudi Accreditation logo and mark states that the accredited certification body shall not allow its clients to use the IAF MLA mark, and IAF’s own document on the use of the MLA mark states that the conformity assessment body shall not allow its customers to use the combined mark.

QSI is required to monitor for incorrect or misleading use of those marks, by itself and by its clients, and to act where it finds it.

CL. 04The SFDA licence is not a mark

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority is a regulator, not an accreditation body. QSI’s SFDA licence is a permission for QSI to operate as a conformity assessment body in the Kingdom. It is not an approval of any client, product, batch or facility.

A certified organisation must not display the SFDA logo on the strength of a QSI certificate, and must not describe its products as SFDA approved because it holds one. Where a product or establishment requires its own SFDA registration or licence, that is a separate matter between the organisation and the Authority.

CL. 05Scope, and what the mark does not cover

A certification reference may be made only for the legal entity, sites, standard and scope shown on the certificate. Activities, sites or standards outside that scope are not certified and must not be presented as though they were.

Certification of a management system is never certification of a product. A reference must not be applied to products, product packaging, laboratory reports, calibration reports, inspection reports or certificates of analysis in a way that implies the product, the batch or the result is certified or approved.

CL. 06Rights follow the live certificate, not the paper

Rights to refer to certification follow the current status of the certificate. Guidance on the use of the certificate in marketing and communications, referencing the applicable accreditation rules, is provided with every certificate at issuance.

During suspension, certification is temporarily not valid and must not be presented as active. On withdrawal or expiry, the organisation must stop referring to the certificate in marketing and communications. A certificate issued with conditions carries those conditions until verification is complete.

Scheme certifications carry the scheme owner’s own rules in addition to these. For FSSC 22000 and similar schemes, use of the scheme mark is governed by the scheme owner, and QSI verifies that clients understand those restrictions.

CL. 07Review, correction and client responsibility

QSI may request samples of certification references during audits, surveillance or complaint investigation. Misuse requires prompt correction and may lead to public clarification, suspension, withdrawal or legal action where necessary.

The client is responsible for controlling every certification reference it makes, in websites, proposals, signage, stationery, social media, brochures and tender documents, including those made on its behalf by agents or distributors.

Where there is any doubt about a proposed reference, ask QSI in writing before it is published.

CL. 08Sources of these rules

These rules restate the certificate-use provisions of the QSI certification decision and status procedure, together with the published requirements of the accreditation bodies under which QSI issues certificates and of the International Accreditation Forum. No separate public mark procedure exists beyond what is published here.

Where a specific case needs the exact controlling wording, request the current approved issue from QSI.

FIG.How the rules read in practice