ISO/IEC 17025 calibration certificate checklist
Take one of your current certificates and tick what it includes. You get a list of what is missing, each with the clause it comes from and what to add.
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Have one of your issued certificates in front of you.
Identification
A title, such as "Calibration certificate"7.8.2.1 a
The name and address of the laboratory7.8.2.1 b
Where the calibration was done, including when it was at the customer's site7.8.2.1 c
A unique certificate number on every page, and a clear end to the certificate7.8.2.1 d
The customer's name and contact information7.8.2.1 e
Instrument and method
A description of the instrument that identifies it without doubt, and its condition where that matters7.8.2.1 g
The method or procedure used7.8.2.1 f
Any additions to, deviations from or exclusions from the method7.8.2.1 n
Dates
The date the instrument was received, where that affects the validity of the results7.8.2.1 h
The date or dates the calibration was performed7.8.2.1 i
The date the certificate was issued7.8.2.1 j
Results
The results, with their units7.8.2.1 m
The measurement uncertainty, in the same unit as the result or relative to it, such as percent7.8.4.1 a
The conditions that influence the results, such as temperature7.8.4.1 b
A statement of how the measurements are metrologically traceable7.8.4.1 c
Results before and after any adjustment or repair (as found and as left)7.8.4.1 d
Statements
A statement that the results relate only to the item calibrated7.8.2.1 l
Where it states pass or fail: which results that covers, which specification was applied and the decision rule used7.8.6.2
No calibration due date or recommended interval, unless the customer agreed to one7.8.4.3
Information supplied by the customer is clearly identified as theirs7.8.2.2
Sign-off and changes
Identification of the person who authorised the certificate7.8.2.1 o
Results from an external provider are clearly identified7.8.2.1 p
A reissued certificate shows what changed and refers to the original7.8.8
Gap report
ISO/IEC 17025:2017 clause 7.8, calibration certificate contents
No result yet
A self-check from your own answers, paraphrasing the standard. It is not an assessment and does not replace reading ISO/IEC 17025.
What ISO/IEC 17025 asks for on a calibration certificate
Clause 7.8 of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 covers reporting. For a calibration certificate, four parts of it matter:
- 7.8.2, common requirements. What every report carries: who issued it, for whom, what was calibrated, how, when, the results and who authorised it.
- 7.8.4, calibration certificates. The additions specific to calibration: measurement uncertainty, the conditions, metrological traceability and results before and after adjustment. It also says not to recommend a calibration interval unless the customer agreed.
- 7.8.6, statements of conformity. When you say pass or fail, you say against what and by which decision rule.
- 7.8.8, amendments. How a corrected certificate is identified and tied back to the original.
The checklist paraphrases each requirement in a line and gives its clause number. It is a guide to the standard and not a replacement for it.
How to use the result before an audit
- Pick a certificate you actually issued, not your template. Templates are complete; issued certificates are where fields get left empty.
- Answer from what is printed on it, not from what you know about the job.
- Fix each gap in the template or the software that produces the certificate, so the next one is right without anyone remembering.
- Repeat with a certificate from a different technician or a different type of instrument.
Start from a complete certificate
The free calibration certificate generator lays out these fields in order. Fill it in, then use the button above to check what you built against this list.
Questions
- Which clauses does the checklist cover?
- The reporting requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017: the common contents of a report in 7.8.2, the extra contents of a calibration certificate in 7.8.4, statements of conformity in 7.8.6 and amended reports in 7.8.8. Each item is a short paraphrase with its clause number, so you can read the full requirement in your copy of the standard.
- Is this an audit or an assessment?
- No. It is a self-check based on your own answers about one certificate. It does not look at your records, your traceability or how your uncertainty was estimated, and an assessor will. Use it to find the obvious gaps before someone else does.
- Which items are easiest to miss?
- The ones that do not come from the measurement itself: a date of issue as well as the calibration date, the measurement uncertainty in the right unit, the decision rule behind a pass or fail statement, a statement of how the results are traceable, the certificate number on every page, and a calibration due date that the customer never agreed to.
- Does every item apply to every certificate?
- No. Some only apply in certain cases, such as results before and after adjustment when no adjustment was made, or a statement of conformity when you report readings only. Mark those "not applicable" and they are left out of the result.
Other free calibration tools
As-found / as-left calibration sheet calculator
Enter range, tolerance and test points. Get the error and pass or fail for every point.
Measurement uncertainty budget calculator
List your uncertainty contributors. Get the combined and expanded uncertainty as a table.
Test uncertainty ratio (TUR) calculator
Enter the tolerance and your expanded uncertainty. Get the ratio and a check against 4:1.
Calibration certificate generator
Add lab, customer and reference standard details. Save the certificate as a PDF.
Doing this for every instrument, every month?
Probatus builds every certificate from the same fields, so the items on this list are filled in from the job: the dates, the standards used, the uncertainty, the decision rule and who approved it.