ISO/IEC 17029 is the international standard that sets the principles and requirements for bodies that validate or verify claims, such as greenhouse gas statements, and accreditation bodies use it to accredit them. The current edition is ISO/IEC 17029:2019, the first edition, which ISO last reviewed and confirmed in March 2025.
This guide is for managers of validation and verification bodies, and of certification or inspection bodies adding this service.
Is ISO/IEC 17029:2019 still the current edition?
Yes. ISO published the first edition in October 2019. It was prepared by CASCO, ISO's committee on conformity assessment, and runs to 30 pages.
ISO's page for the standard shows a systematic review that closed in March 2025 with the decision to confirm it. No revision project is listed, so the 2019 text stays in force.
Before 2019, the general rules for these bodies sat inside ISO 14065, a greenhouse gas standard. They now sit in ISO/IEC 17029, and ISO 14065:2020 (third edition) describes itself as a sector application that adds environmental requirements on top. ISO confirmed ISO 14065:2020 in March 2026. Our ISO 14065 guide covers that sector layer.
What is the difference between validation and verification?
Both confirm a claim, but they look in different directions. Validation checks a claim about an intended future use or projected outcome, and asks whether it is plausible. Verification checks a claim about something that has already happened, and asks whether it is truthfully stated.
A project plan that predicts emission reductions is validated. An annual emissions report is verified. A body can offer validation only, verification only, or both, and it can act as a first, second or third party.
The standard has clear limits. It does not apply when validation or verification is a step inside another conformity assessment. Method validation in a laboratory accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 is one example, and our ISO/IEC 17025 guide covers that case. Certificates and other statements of conformity are not themselves objects of validation or verification either.
What does ISO/IEC 17029 require, clause by clause?
The requirements sit in clauses 4 to 11. They follow the shape of the other conformity assessment standards, so a body already accredited to ISO/IEC 17020 or ISO/IEC 17065 will recognise most of the structure.
The table shows each clause and the records an assessor is likely to ask for. The records column is AGS's interpretation, not the standard's wording.
| Clause | What it covers | Records assessors usually ask for |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Principles: evidence-based decisions, documentation, fair presentation, impartiality, competence, confidentiality, openness, responsibility, responsiveness to complaints, risk-based approach | Policies showing how each principle is applied in practice |
| 5 | Legal entity, responsibility for statements, management of impartiality, liability | Legal registration, impartiality risk analysis, insurance or reserves |
| 6 | Organisational structure, top management, operational control | Organisation chart, authorities, control of any branch or remote offices |
| 7 | Personnel, the competence management process, outsourcing | Competence criteria per programme, evaluation and monitoring records, outsourcing agreements |
| 8 | The validation or verification programme | Programme rules and how they are built into procedures |
| 9 | Pre-engagement, engagement, planning, execution, review, decision and issue of the statement, facts discovered after issue, appeals, complaints, records | Complete engagement files from request to statement, appeal and complaint registers |
| 10 | Public information, reference to validation or verification and use of marks, confidentiality | Published process description, rules for clients' use of statements and marks |
| 11 | Management system: management review, internal audits, corrective action, risks and opportunities, documented information | Audit reports, review minutes, corrective actions, document control |
The standard also has three informative annexes. Annex A describes the elements of validation and verification programmes, Annex B maps its terms to ISO/IEC 17000, and Annex C illustrates how validation and verification are applied.
Why does the validation or verification programme matter so much?
ISO/IEC 17029 is deliberately generic. It does not say how to verify a carbon footprint or validate a project. That detail comes from the programme, and its requirements apply in addition to the standard.
A programme can be a law, a standard, a global initiative or a single agreement with a client. It sets the rules for each step and the competence validators and verifiers need. It can also define the level of assurance, for example reasonable or limited assurance.
For a greenhouse gas verifier, the programme stack is usually ISO 14065 for the body, ISO 14066 for team competence and ISO 14064-3:2019 for the verification process. Aviation verifiers add the ICAO CORSIA rules. Each programme you serve needs its own competence criteria, planning rules and statement format, so define your programmes before you write procedures.
Who accredits validation and verification bodies?
National accreditation bodies do, working to ISO/IEC 17011. A body is accredited, not certified, and the accreditation covers named programmes rather than every claim the body might check.
International recognition changed on 1 January 2026. Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI), formerly ILAC and IAF, replaced both bodies with one recognition arrangement. Accreditations recognised under the old IAF and ILAC arrangements continue to be recognised during the move.
The Global ACI list of recognised scopes includes validation and verification under ISO/IEC 17029. Its sub-scopes are built on ISO 14065, ISO 14066 and ISO 14064-3, and cover GHG statements under ISO 14064-1 and ISO 14064-2, product carbon footprints under ISO 14067, and ICAO CORSIA. This continues IAF's 2021 decision to move to a single validation and verification arrangement under ISO/IEC 17029.
In the UAE, the Emirates International Accreditation Centre (EIAC) accredits validation and verification bodies to ISO/IEC 17029:2019. It names environmental information under ISO 14065:2020 and GHG reports under ISO 14064-3:2019 among the fields it covers.
What will assessors look at in a validation or verification body?
Expect most questions on impartiality, competence and the engagement file. The points below are AGS's practical reading of clauses 5, 7 and 9, not the standard's text.
- Impartiality: a risk analysis that names real threats, such as having helped the client prepare the claim you now verify, and the safeguards you apply.
- Competence: criteria for each programme and sector, plus evidence that each validator, verifier and technical expert was evaluated against them.
- Engagement files: the request review, the plan, the evidence gathered, the review, the decision and the statement, all traceable to one engagement.
- After issue: a method for handling facts discovered after the statement was issued, and records showing it was used when needed.
- Appeals and complaints: registers showing how each case was investigated, who decided it and how it was closed.
Ask your accreditation body early whether it will witness an engagement before the decision, and plan a real or pilot engagement so you have a full file to show.
How AGS can help
The ISO17029 Management System kit contains 83 editable Microsoft Word documents. It includes a quality manual, a validation and verification scheme and 18 procedures, from impartiality and pre-engagement review to appeals and complaints. Its 46 forms include the engagement plan, execution report and review and decision report. It also has 5 checklists, including an ISO/IEC 17029:2019 gap checklist, 7 guidance documents and 3 training files.
Frequently asked questions
Does ISO/IEC 17029 replace ISO 14065?
No. ISO/IEC 17029 holds the general requirements, and ISO 14065:2020 adds requirements for bodies working with environmental information. A greenhouse gas verifier is usually assessed against both.
Can a certification body use its ISO/IEC 17021-1 system for validation and verification?
It can reuse shared processes such as document control and internal audit. Engagements, statements and programme competence still have to meet ISO/IEC 17029, and validation and verification is a separate accreditation scope.
Is a validation or verification statement the same as a certificate?
No. A statement confirms a specific claim at a point in time. A certificate attests conformity for a defined period and comes from a different conformity assessment activity.
Does buying documentation mean the body will be accredited?
No. Documents are a starting point. Accreditation depends on how the system is implemented and on the accreditation body's assessment.
AGS provides independent documentation toolkits. This guide and the referenced kit are not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by ISO, IEC, Global ACI, ILAC, IAF, ICAO, EIAC or any other accreditation body. They do not guarantee any assessment or accreditation outcome.
Reviewed October 2026. Facts checked against the sources current at publication.
