The formal determination or confirmation of accreditation rules by the Accreditation Advisory Board (AKB) ensures transparency and the involvement of stakeholders. According to § 5 (2) of the Accreditation Body Act (AkkStelleG), determination refers to general and sectoral rules which specify or supplement the requirements, in particular those of legislation, relating to conformity assessment bodies or for accreditation activities.

Rules for the purpose of § 5 (2) of the AkkStelleG may comprise

DAkkS rules

The DAkkS Rules include requirements developed by the German Accreditation Body (DAkkS) itself or by the Sectoral Committees of the DAkkS and serve as a base for accreditation. All DAkkS Rules determined or confirmed by the AKB are published in full on the DAkkS Homepage. The status of determination or confirmation by the AKB is indicated accordingly by the DAkkS on a cover sheet. In addition, all rules formally determined by the AKB are published in full in the Federal Gazette.

According to the decisions taken previously by the AKB (AKB 24/11 and AKB 22/12), harmonized European standards published by the international organizations EA (European Co-operation for Accreditation), IAF (International Accreditation Forum), and ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation) claim validity as rules in accordance with the AkkStelleG without prior determination for the individual case.

Standards

Drafts of new or revised standards can be accessed on the Draft Standards Portal of the German Institute for Standardization (DIN Norm-Entwurfsportal) within the deadline period for objections by the public.
Published standards are displayed at the public DIN standard locations or can be ordered via the Beuth Verlag.
Information on standardization activities including contact persons for committees as well as instructions on the use of standards can be found on the DIN homepage.

EA / IAF / ILAC

European and internationally harmonized requirements relating to accreditation of conformity assessment bodies are provided in EA, IAF, and ILAC rules.