Requirements for calibration certificates issued by CLAS laboratories

CLAS Requirements Document 6, October 2023

1.0 Introduction

1. 1.1 This document provides detailed requirements for calibration certificates issued by calibration laboratories under the accreditation programs of the Canadian Association for Laboratory Accreditation (CALA) and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and certified by the Calibration Laboratory Assessment Service (CLAS) of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).

   Note: These calibration certificates are sometimes called calibration reports. For purposes of this document, the word "certificate" will include both.

2. 1.2 General requirements for calibration certificates are given in ISO/IEC 17025, General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories.

2.0 Mandatory Content

In addition to the requirements in ISO/IEC 17025 each calibration certificate shall contain the following information:

1. 2.1 All the requirements from the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) policy document ILAC‑P14 ILAC Policy for Measurement Uncertainty in Calibration.
2. 2.2 The CLAS certification number.

3. 2.3 A traceability statement and a declaration of certification and accreditation.

   For example:

   "The Calibration Laboratory Assessment Service (CLAS) of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) has assessed and certified specific calibration capabilities of this laboratory and traceability to the International System of Units (SI) or to standards acceptable to the CLAS program. This certificate of calibration is issued in accordance with the conditions of certification granted by CLAS and the conditions of accreditation granted by the accreditation body. Neither CLAS nor the accreditation body guarantee the accuracy of individual calibrations by accredited laboratories."

4. 2.4 Except as permitted in 3.2, calibration certificates which are issued for services outside the laboratory's scope of CLAS certification shall not contain any reference to CLAS certification or accreditation, nor shall the calibration certificates refer to the fact that the issuing laboratory has CLAS certification or accreditation.

3.0 Optional Content

In addition to the requirements in ISO/IEC 17025 each calibration certificate may contain the following information:

1. 3.1 Since the result of a calibration is valid only at the time of execution, the predicted long-term behaviour of the measured device is generally not taken into account. At the client's request, an additional allowance for the possible effects of transportation, long-term stability or intended use may be included. If this is done, it shall be included in the calibration certificate with adequate details.
2. 3.2 A calibration laboratory certified by CLAS and accredited by an accreditation body may be permitted to report measured values outside the scope of its accreditation. However, such occurrences shall be clearly identified on the calibration certificate as being outside the scope of accreditation.
3. 3.3 Functional tests or checks that are supplementary to the calibration may also be reported under suitable headings to distinguish them from the CLAS-certified measurements.
4. 3.4 The use of the CLAS trademark is optional. The electronic file for the CLAS Trademark and the CLAS Trademark License Agreement are available through CLAS on request.
5. 3.5 The use of the accreditation body's accreditation symbol is optional. The Accreditation Symbol License Agreement is available through the accreditation body on request.
6. 3.6 The use of the ILAC MRA Mark is optional. The ILAC MRA Mark License Agreement is available through the accreditation body on request.