CASCO publications

Within ISO, CASCO is responsible for developing both International Standards and Guides produced as joint ISO/IEC publications covering the various aspects of conformity assessment activities and the organizations that carry them out. CASCO publications are available from the ISO member body in your country or from the ISO Webstore.

Standards and guides

An International Standard developed by CASCO provides rules, criteria or characteristics for conformity assessment activities. It is intended:

- to be prescriptive
- to determine an organization's competence to perform defined functions, or intended
- to provide equivalent results among organizations applying the document.

Any other CASCO document that is descriptive rather than prescriptive is normally published as Guides.

List of CASCO Guides and Standards falling into principal fields of application as follows:

• Vocabulary
• Standards and conformity assessment
• Code of good practice for conformity assessment
• Supplier's declaration of conformity
• Accreditation
• Testing/calibration
• Inspection
• Product certification
• System certification.

Informative document

• Development Manual 2: Conformity Assessment (published as one of the series of ISO Development Manuals for developing countries)

Policy statements, MoU, Communiqués and news

CASCO Policy statements:

• Policy on conformity assessment terminology



• Policy on the inclusion of reference of QMS requirements in CASCO Standards



• Policy on common elements in CASCO standards.

Memorandum of Understanding:

• IAF, ILAC and ISO Joint Communiqué: Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) concerning co-operation and mutual assistance on Accreditation as part of Conformity Assessment
• IAF, ILAC and ISO Memorandum of Understanding (PDF, 832 KB)

Communiqués:

• Joint Communiqué of IAF, ISO/TC 176 and ISO/CASCO (July 2003):
  Objectives and roles of "Accrediation" and "Certification" of laboratories
  
  
• Joint Communiqué of IAF, ISO/TC 176 and ISO/CASCO (July 2003):
  Approaching the end of the ISO 9001:2000 "Transition" period
• Joint Communiqué IAF, ILAC, ISO/CASCO Joint Working Group on Image and Integrity of Conformité Assessment (April 2002):
  Co-operation between ISO/CASCO, IAF, and ILAC for protecting Image and Integrity of Conformity Assessment
• Framework for continuing coordination between ISO/CASCO, ISO Committee on Conformity Assessment, and ISO/TC 176, Quality Management and Quality Assurance

• Framework for continuing coordination between ISO/CASCO, ISO Committee on Conformity Assessment, and ISO/TC 207, Environmental Management
• Results of a one-day CASCO meeting on "Guidance documentation of CASCO normative documents" (January 2000)
• Results of a joint session between CASCO, ISO/TC 176 and the International Accreditation Forum on "Transition planning for the year 2000 ISO 9000 standards" (September 1999)

News:

• Information on CASCO, information leaflet published in 2001, (PDF, 441 KB)
• Articles on CASCO-related subjects are also often published in the ISO Focus, ISO Bulletin and ISO Management Systems
• Article of ISO Bulletin, on Conformity Assessment (October 2002)