South African National Accreditation System
SANAS is the national body responsible for accrediting conformity assessment bodies in South Africa — laboratories, inspection bodies, and certification bodies. It sits at the heart of South Africa's quality infrastructure.
What does SANAS do?
SANAS ensures that conformity assessment activities in South Africa are performed competently, impartially, and in line with international standards.
Accreditation of conformity assessment bodies
SANAS accredits laboratories, inspection bodies, and certification bodies — confirming they are competent to perform testing, calibration, inspection, and certification activities.
International recognition
SANAS is a signatory to international mutual recognition arrangements (ILAC, IAF), meaning accreditation granted by SANAS is recognised globally.
Quality infrastructure support
SANAS forms part of South Africa's technical infrastructure alongside the NMISA (metrology), the NRCS (compulsory specifications), and the SABS (standards).
Regulatory support
Government departments and regulators rely on SANAS-accredited bodies to provide trusted conformity assessment services in health, environment, safety, and trade.
How SANAS fits into South Africa's quality infrastructure
SANAS is one of four pillars of the national quality infrastructure, alongside standards, metrology, and regulation.
Standards (SABS)
The South African Bureau of Standards develops and maintains national standards that define quality requirements for products, services, and management systems.
Metrology (NMISA)
The National Metrology Institute of South Africa maintains national measurement standards and ensures measurement traceability.
Accreditation (SANAS)
SANAS accredits the bodies that test, inspect, and certify against those standards — ensuring that conformity assessments are performed competently.
Regulation (NRCS)
The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications enforces technical regulations for products in the marketplace, often relying on SANAS-accredited testing.
Types of bodies SANAS accredits
SANAS accredits conformity assessment bodies against international ISO/IEC standards.
| Type | Standard | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Testing and calibration laboratories | ISO/IEC 17025 | Labs that perform chemical, biological, mechanical, electrical, or environmental testing. |
| Medical laboratories | ISO 15189 | Pathology and clinical laboratories performing medical testing. |
| Inspection bodies | ISO/IEC 17020 | Bodies that inspect products, processes, installations, or services. |
| Certification bodies (management systems) | ISO/IEC 17021-1 | Bodies that certify organisations against standards like ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001. |
| Certification bodies (products) | ISO/IEC 17065 | Bodies that certify products, processes, or services against defined specifications. |
| Certification bodies (persons) | ISO/IEC 17024 | Bodies that certify individuals (e.g., professional competence certification). |
SANAS vs SAQA — what is the difference?
Both are national quality bodies, but they serve completely different functions. Training providers interact with SAQA, not SANAS.
| Area | SANAS | SAQA |
|---|---|---|
| Primary function | Accredits conformity assessment bodies (labs, inspection bodies, certification bodies). | Oversees the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and registers qualifications and providers. |
| What gets accredited | Laboratories, testing facilities, inspection bodies, and management system certification bodies. | Training providers and educational institutions that deliver registered qualifications. |
| Standards used | ISO/IEC 17025 (labs), ISO/IEC 17020 (inspection), ISO/IEC 17021 (certification). | NQF level descriptors, quality council criteria (QCTO, CHE, Umalusi). |
| International framework | ILAC and IAF mutual recognition arrangements. | Bilateral qualifications framework agreements with other countries. |
| Relevance to training providers | Indirect — providers are not accredited by SANAS unless they operate a conformity assessment function. | Direct — training providers register their qualifications through the NQF via SAQA. |
For training providers
Frequently asked questions
Explore accreditation for training providers
SANAS covers conformity assessment. For training provider accreditation, these pages cover the routes that matter.
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