This European Standard specifies general requirements for a body to follow if it is to be recognized at a national or international level as competent and reliable in assessing and subsequently accrediting certification bodies or registration bodies. Conformity to the requirements of this European Standard will promote equivalence of national systems and facilitate agreements on mutual recognition of accreditations between such bodies. The primary objective of this European Standard is to describe accreditation as providing, by means of assessment and subsequent surveillance, an assurance that the market can rely on certificates issued by the accredited bodies. However, organizations other than accreditation bodies, concerned with recognition of competence, may also use it by replacing "accreditation" by "recognition".