ANAB's Certificate Accreditation Program Issues Transition Plan for Latest Version of ANSI/ASTM E2659 Standard

Certificate Issuers Have One Year to Adopt Revised Standard Practice for Certificate Programs

NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) Certificate Accreditation Program (CAP) has released a one-year transition plan for certificate issuers to undergo full migration from ANSI/ASTM E2659-18, Standard Practice for Certificate Programs, to the revised and newly released version of the standard, ANSI/ASTM E2659-24.

About ANSI/ASTM E2659-24

Published in February 2025, ANSI/ASTM E2659-24, Standard Practice for Certificate Programs, provides guidance to certificate issuers on developing and administering quality certificate programs, and guidelines to stakeholders for determining the quality of certificate programs.

Compared to the 2018 version, the new revision defines five additional terms and includes changes to improve clarity. Substantive changes address exam security, use of AI, learner accommodations, personnel impartiality, and program evaluation.

The American National Standard and international standard was developed in accordance with the ANSI Essential Requirements and the practices established by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee's "Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations."

ANAB will conduct ongoing workshops and webinars regarding the requirements under ANSI/ASTM E2659-24, and encourages certificate issuers to analyze and familiarize themselves with the requirements of the revised standard without delay. Certificate issuers are also advised to create a transition plan to determine both the required changes and the timeframe required to execute them to conform to ANSI/ASTM E2659-24 requirements.

Transition Timeline for Implementation

To support accredited certificate issuers, ANAB-CAP has developed a one-year transition period, from February 2025 to January 2026, to allow for full migration to ANSI/ASTM E2659-24.

Applicants

• The application materials corresponding with ANSI/ASTM E2659-24 will be made available to the public by June 15, 2025.
  
  
• Organizations can apply under ANSI/ASTM E2659-24 after June 15, 2025; however, ANAB will continue to accept applications under ANSI/ASTM E2659-18 until December 31, 2025.
  
  
• Applications submitted after January 1, 2026, must be based upon ANSI/ASTM E2659-24.

Accredited Organizations

• ANAB will publish the corresponding annual surveillance self-assessment that includes the requirements under ANSI/ASTM E2659-24 by June 15, 2025.
  
  
• All accredited organizations must demonstrate compliance to ANSI/ASTM E2659-24 by December 31, 2026. This will be done during the annual surveillance/reaccreditation assessment from January 1 to December 31, 2026.

ANAB's Certificate Accreditation Program follows the accreditation process outlined in ISO/IEC 17011, General Requirements for Accreditation Bodies Accrediting Conformity Assessment Bodies.

To learn more about the ANAB Certificate Accreditation Program, which adheres to ISO/IEC 17011, General Requirements for Accreditation Bodies Accrediting Conformity Assessment Bodies, contact Caitlin O'Connell, senior accreditation manager, at [email protected], or visit the CAP webpage.

About ANAB

The ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), a wholly owned subsidiary of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is the largest multi-disciplinary ISO/IEC 17011 accreditation body in North America, with comprehensive signatory status across the multilateral recognition arrangements of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). The ANAB accreditation portfolio includes management systems certification bodies, calibration and testing labs, product certification bodies, personnel credentialing organizations, forensic test and calibration service providers, inspection bodies, police crime units, greenhouse gas validation and verification bodies, reference material producers, and proficiency test providers. For more information, visit www.anab.org.

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations.

The Institute represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org and access the latest news and content on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook.

SOURCE American National Standards Institute