Announcement by the National Certification and Accreditation Administration on Strengthening the Management of Certification Rules (Announcement No. 9 of 2025)

Announcement of the State Administration for Market Regulation on Certification and Accreditation

Release time: 2025-03-26

2025 Year No. 9 Number

Announcement by the National Certification and Accreditation Administration on Strengthening the Management of Certification Rules

To promote the healthy and standardized development of the certification industry, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation" and the "Administrative Measures for Certification Bodies," we hereby announce the following requirements for strengthening the management of certification rules:

I. Scope of Application

The certification rules formulated and implemented by certification bodies that have been approved and obtained qualifications in the relevant certification fields, but which have not yet been formulated or jointly issued by the National Certification and Accreditation Administration together with the relevant departments of the State Council, shall apply to this announcement.

II. Principle Requirements

The certification body is the primary responsible party for certification activities and shall be accountable for the legality, compliance, authenticity, completeness, scientific soundness, and applicability of the certification rules it develops. It bears the principal responsibility for both the formulation and implementation of these certification rules and shall make a public commitment to this effect. The development of certification rules shall adhere to the following principles:

(1) It shall not conflict with national laws, administrative regulations, departmental rules, administrative normative documents, and policy provisions.

(2) It shall not conflict with existing national or local administrative licensing regulations.

(3) It shall not conflict with the basic certification standards and certification rules formulated or jointly formulated and issued by the CNCA together with relevant departments of the State Council.

(4) It shall not conflict with existing relevant mandatory national standards, and it is encouraged to set requirements that exceed those of national and industry standards.

(5) Must not violate public order and good morals or the public interest.

(6) Without the coordinated arrangement of the National Certification and Accreditation Administration, certification rules involving areas such as national security, political organizations, social customs, and ethnic religions shall not be filed for record.

(7) Do not violate relevant regulations on intellectual property and confidentiality.

(8) Do not confuse the formulation, filing, and implementation of certification rules for products, services, and management systems.

(9) Must not violate the principles of a unified national market and fair competition.

(10) Must not violate the relevant requirements of the National Certification and Accreditation Administration.

III. Management Requirements

Certification bodies that independently develop certification rules shall establish management systems covering such aspects as feasibility studies for rule development, standard drafting, self-checks for compliance, acceptance reviews, evaluation of implementation effectiveness, and dynamic maintenance. They shall also retain relevant documentary records. For certification rules whose certification results are intended solely for use outside China, the bodies may make a self-declaration committing to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.

(1) Project Proposal Justification

The proposed certification rules shall be managed on a project-by-project basis, and a project initiation and feasibility assessment procedure shall be established. This procedure will assess whether the proposed projects meet the principles outlined in this announcement and whether the certification criteria to be used are appropriate.

(2) Standardized Preparation

According to GB/T 27007 “Conformity Assessment — Guidelines for the Preparation of Normative Documents for Conformity Assessment,” GB/T 27060 “Conformity Assessment – Good Practice Guidelines,” GB/T 27067 Standards such as “Conformity Assessment—Guidelines for the Fundamentals of Product Certification and Product Certification Schemes” require the development of certification rules to ensure that requirements related to stakeholders and impartiality are met.

(3) Compliance Self-Check

After the certification rules have been finalized, the certification body shall establish a self-check procedure to verify compliance with these rules. This self-check shall cover all aspects of the certification rules—including their alignment with the principles, content requirements, and regulatory requirements set forth in this announcement—and result in the preparation of a self-check report.

(4) Acceptance Review

An acceptance review must be conducted before the certification rules are issued and implemented. The certification body shall establish an acceptance review procedure, and the acceptance review experts should be able to represent the interests of relevant stakeholders. If necessary, an appropriate proportion of external experts may be engaged. The acceptance review shall produce a conclusive opinion and generate a report.

(5) Implementation Effect Evaluation

After the certification rules are issued and implemented, certification bodies shall, based on the actual operational status of the projects, conduct periodic (no more than every two years) effectiveness assessments of the implementation of the certification rules. The assessment shall cover aspects including ongoing compliance with the principles and regulatory requirements set forth in this announcement, the resources required for certification implementation (such as qualifications, personnel, testing facilities, and technical support), the status of certified organizations, the status of certification implementation, and the acceptance of certification results, and shall result in the preparation of an assessment report.

(6) Dynamic Maintenance

The certification body shall establish a dynamic maintenance procedure for certification rules. It shall promptly monitor and identify any adjustments or changes to the laws, administrative regulations, departmental rules, administrative normative documents, standards, technical specifications, certification resources, and other relevant factors covered by the certification rules, as well as feedback from stakeholders. Based on this information, the certification body shall promptly revise and improve the certification rules, cancel their filing, or suspend their implementation, thereby ensuring that the certification rules remain lawful, compliant, scientific, and applicable.

IV. Content Requirements

(1) General Requirements

The certification rules shall include at least the following:

1. Scope of application.

2. The certification is based on technical specifications, mandatory requirements of technical specifications, or standards.

3. The certification implementation procedures—including application, application review, evaluation (including audits, inspections, testing, and examinations), reevaluation, and certification decision—also encompass, where applicable, surveillance and recertification.

4. Certification certificate and certification mark requirements.

5. Regulations and requirements for the management of certification certificate status.

(2) Special Requirements for Each Certification Category

1.  Product certification

The product certification rules should also include the certification mode and unit division (where applicable).

2. Management System Certification

The rules for management system certification should also cover aspects such as scheme planning, audit reports, correction of nonconformities, corrective actions, and their verification.

3. Service Certification

The service certification rules should also include the certification model and the division of certification domains.

(3) Other Requirements

1.  The names of certification rules shall be clear and unambiguous. Certification bodies may not, without prior authorization, arbitrarily use terms such as “China,” “Chinese,” “National,” or “State” in the names of certification rules, certification marks, or certification certificate formats. They may not, in violation of relevant national policies, employ descriptive adjectives such as “super,” “advanced,” “leading,” “top-tier,” or “first-class.” Furthermore, the names of certification rules, certification certificate names, and certification marks used by these bodies must not be identical to or similar to those used in nationally standardized certification systems.

2.  Name, number, version information, issuing organization, and publication date of the certification rules. / The implementation date is consistent with the full text of the certification rules.

3.  Name, number, issuing authority, and date of publication of the certification. / The implementation date is consistent with the full text of the certification basis information.

4.  The selection of certification criteria should be reasonable and appropriate, and the content should cover the key technical requirements, management requirements, control processes, and other aspects that are consistent with the filing and certification rules and certification characteristics.

V. Filing Requirements

(1) Filing Content

1.  Information related to certification rules: the certification category and field to which the certification rule belongs, the name of the certification rule, its number, version information, status indicator, information about the issuing entity, and the date of publication. / Implementation date, method of public disclosure, or available access channels; the technical specifications, mandatory requirements of technical specifications, or the names, numbers, issuing authorities, and dates of publication of the certification basis corresponding to the certification rules. / Implementation date; name of the certification certificate, certification certificate format, certification mark format, issuing authority, etc. For details, refer to the “Record Filing Information Table for Certification Rules” (see attachment).

2.  Full text of the certification rules. If the document is in a foreign language, a Chinese translation must be provided.

3.  The certification basis corresponding to the certification rules shall be the full text of technical specifications, mandatory requirements of technical specifications, or standards, or the accessible means to obtain them.

(2) Filing Procedure

1.  Submit for filing

The certification rules formulated by the certification body itself shall, after being published, 30 During the day, via the “Unified Reporting Platform for Certification and Accreditation Business Information” ( http://report.cnca.cn ), submit the filing using the “Certification Rule Filing” function module.

2. Revised Filing

If the registered certification rules are revised, the certification body shall, upon publication of the revision, 30 Resubmit the filing within the day; the content and requirements for the filing remain the same as before. The original filing and certification rules shall be retained.

3. Cancel the filing

If any registered certification rules are repealed, the certification body shall, after the repeal, 30 Through the “Unified Reporting Platform for Certification and Accreditation Business Information” on the same day, use the “Certification Rule Filing” function module to cancel the filing. Canceled certification rules shall be retained.

VI. Regulatory Requirements

(1) Certification bodies shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the “Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation” and the “Administrative Measures for Certification Bodies,” publicly disclose certification rules and related information through their websites or other means, and ensure that such information is authentic and valid.

(2) Certification bodies shall conduct certification activities in accordance with the certification rules that have been filed and, where applicable, revised. They shall also submit certification information to the CNCA as required by the relevant provisions of the “Administrative Measures for Certification Bodies.”

(3) After the CNCA formulates or jointly with relevant departments of the State Council formulates and issues a certification rule pertaining to a new certification field, the certification body may no longer carry out certification activities based on previously filed certification rules.

(4) Certification bodies shall accurately identify the certification field to which their self-developed certification rules belong and file these rules in the approved certification fields. If a certification body conducts certification based on certification rules that have not been filed within the scope of its approved certification fields, it shall be subject to penalties in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation," and any certification certificates issued will not have evidentiary effect.

(5) The National Certification and Accreditation Administration shall establish a risk assessment mechanism and organize inspections of certification rules. If an inspection reveals violations of the requirements set forth in this announcement, the relevant certification body shall be ordered to make rectifications until its filing is revoked. In cases where filing is revoked, the certification body shall properly handle the certification certificates it has issued.

(6) When the National Certification and Accreditation Administration and local market supervision authorities conduct supervision and inspection of the certification activities carried out by certification bodies, the filed certification rules shall serve as the basis for such inspections.

(7) Certification bodies that fail to file their certification rules—within the scope of filing requirements—as stipulated in this announcement, or that fail to carry out relevant certification activities in accordance with the filed certification rules, will be dealt with by the CNCA in accordance with provisions such as the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation" and the "Administrative Measures for Certification Bodies."

VII. Other Matters

(1) This announcement shall take effect from the date of its publication. The “Announcement of the National Certification and Accreditation Administration on Filing of Certification Rules” (Announcement of the CNCA) 2015 Year No. 18 No. ) is hereby repealed simultaneously.

(2) The certification body shall... 90 In accordance with the requirements of this announcement, those who have already filed their certification rules pursuant to the “Announcement of the National Certification and Accreditation Administration on Filing of Certification Rules” (Certification and Accreditation Administration Announcement) ... 2015 Year No. 18 No.) Conduct self-inspection of the certification rules submitted for filing, complete the identification, organization, supplementation, and refinement of the filed content, and submit the full text of the filed certification rules as well as the full text of the corresponding certification basis or information on how to obtain it—comprising all the filed content. As of the date of this announcement, the number of certified rules that have been filed exceeds... 200 If applicable, it can be further extended. 90 Day.

(3) The “National Certification and Accreditation Information Public Service Platform” on the website of the CNCA will publish the relevant information from the “Recorded Certification Rule Information Forms” that have been filed with the authorities, but will not publish the full text of the certification rules.

(4) Certification bodies implementing certification rules from other sources (including authorized sources) shall follow the provisions of this announcement.

Attachment: Attachment: Certification Rules Filing Information Form.docx   

National Certification and Accreditation Administration
2025 Year 3 Moon 17 day