IAF codes explained: the 39 scopes and how they drive auditor allocation
IAF codes explained for audit planners: the 39 sector codes from IAF ID 1, how they differ from technical areas and how they decide who can audit a client.
Key takeaways
- There are 39 IAF codes, published in IAF ID 1 and mapped to NACE Rev. 2 economic activities.
- The codes define accreditation scope; they are usually too broad to serve as technical areas for auditor competence.
- An allocation must pass two checks: the body is accredited for the code and the auditor is competent for the client's technical area.
- Accreditation bodies group codes into technical clusters to plan witnessing, which affects which audits you schedule for witnessing.
IAF codes are 39 economic sector codes, listed in IAF ID 1 and mapped to NACE Rev. 2, that accreditation bodies use to define the scope of accreditation for quality and environmental management system certification. Certification bodies use them to classify clients and scope certificates, but IAF ID 1 says they have limited use as technical areas, so auditor competence is usually recorded at a finer level.
What are IAF codes?
IAF codes are the 39 sector headings that the International Accreditation Forum publishes in IAF ID 1, its informative document for QMS and EMS scopes of accreditation. The current issue is IAF ID 1:2023 (Issue 3, Version 2). Each code maps to divisions of NACE Rev. 2, the European statistical classification of economic activities.
The document exists to support consistent application of clause 7.1.2 of ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 and clause 7.2.1 of ISO/IEC 17011:2017. In practice, the codes are how accreditation bodies describe what a certification body may certify, and how certification bodies label a client's activity.
A number from 1 to 39 identifying an economic sector for quality and environmental management system accreditation scopes, defined in IAF ID 1 by reference to NACE Rev. 2.
The full IAF code list
These are the 39 headings as they appear in IAF ID 1:2023. Check the current issue on iaf.nu before relying on the wording in a procedure.
| Code | Sector |
|---|---|
| 1 | Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
| 2 | Mining and quarrying |
| 3 | Food products, beverages and tobacco |
| 4 | Textiles and textile products |
| 5 | Leather and leather products |
| 6 | Wood and wood products |
| 7 | Pulp, paper and paper products |
| 8 | Publishing companies |
| 9 | Printing companies |
| 10 | Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products |
| 11 | Nuclear fuel |
| 12 | Chemicals, chemical products and fibres |
| 13 | Pharmaceuticals |
| 14 | Rubber and plastic products |
| 15 | Non-metallic mineral products |
| 16 | Concrete, cement, lime, plaster etc. |
| 17 | Basic metals and fabricated metal products |
| 18 | Machinery and equipment |
| 19 | Electrical and optical equipment |
| 20 | Shipbuilding |
| 21 | Aerospace |
| 22 | Other transport equipment |
| 23 | Manufacturing not elsewhere classified |
| 24 | Recycling |
| 25 | Electricity supply |
| 26 | Gas supply |
| 27 | Water supply |
| 28 | Construction |
| 29 | Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods |
| 30 | Hotels and restaurants |
| 31 | Transport, storage and communication |
| 32 | Financial intermediation; real estate; renting |
| 33 | Information technology |
| 34 | Engineering services |
| 35 | Other services |
| 36 | Public administration |
| 37 | Education |
| 38 | Health and social work |
| 39 | Other social services |
Are IAF codes the same as technical areas?
No, and this is the most common source of confusion. ISO/IEC 17021-1 asks for competence criteria per technical area, meaning an area with common processes for a given type of management system. IAF ID 1 states that using the scope headings as technical areas is limited. It notes that nuclear fuel might work as a technical area descriptor, but few of the other headings would.
Code 17 shows why. It covers basic metals and fabricated metal products, from a steelworks to a small machine shop. An auditor who knows welding and machining may know little about smelting. Most bodies split codes into narrower technical areas and keep the link back to the code for scope purposes. See auditor competence under ISO/IEC 17021-1.
How do IAF codes drive auditor allocation?
Each IAF code on a client record triggers a chain of checks before any auditor can be placed.
Classify the client
At application review, assign every code that applies to the certified activities, including support activities such as design (often code 34).
Check accreditation
Confirm the body holds accreditation for that code, for that standard, with the accreditation body named on the certificate.
Match competence
Find auditors authorised for the technical area behind the code. A team may combine people to cover several codes.
Plan witnessing
Accreditation bodies witness by technical cluster, so some audits in a code need an observer seat. See witness assessment planning.
How do codes affect witnessing and accreditation scope?
IAF MD 17 sets how accreditation bodies witness management system certification bodies. It groups the codes into technical clusters per management system: for quality, the food cluster covers codes 1, 3 and 30 and the construction cluster covers codes 28 and 34. It also identifies critical codes, where the audit team needs a higher level of competence, caution or diligence.
For planners, this means that extending accreditation to a new code or cluster usually requires witnessed audits in it. Those audits need a competent team, a client willing to host an assessor and a date the accreditation body can attend. Check the current issue of IAF MD 17 and your accreditation body's own rules.
Worked example: a client with two codes
A client fabricates steel structures and also designs them for customers. The application reviewer assigns code 17 for fabrication and code 34 for engineering services, and sets a 3-day ISO 9001 surveillance.
- Accreditation checkThe body is accredited for ISO 9001 in codes 17 and 34 with its accreditation body. Both pass.
- Competence checkAuditor A holds structural fabrication; nobody on the local team holds design services.
- Team optionsAdd Auditor B, authorised for engineering design, for the design day, or find one auditor holding both areas.
- DecisionThe planner books A for 3 days and B for 1 day, and records why that combination covers both codes.
The same logic scales to integrated audits, where each standard can carry different codes; see integrated audit time under IAF MD 11.
Common mistakes with IAF codes in scheduling
MythIf the auditor holds the code, the allocation is fine.
RealityThe code only tells you the sector. Check the technical area and the accreditation for the standard.
MythOne code per client is enough.
RealityAssign every code for the certified activities. Missing a code can hide a competence or scope gap.
MythIAF codes apply to every scheme.
RealityIAF ID 1 covers quality and environmental scopes. Food safety uses the categories in ISO 22003-1, and other schemes have their own structures.
Codes stored as free text in a spreadsheet drift quickly. Holding them as structured data is the first step in migrating scheduling data.
How ScheduleAI uses sector codes
ScheduleAI holds IAF codes and the finer technical areas beneath them as separate parameters, together with the accreditation body per standard. Every proposed allocation is checked against both, and the reason is recorded for the planner to review.
ScheduleAI is the audit scheduling software certification bodies use to plan ISO programmes from stage 1 to recertification.
ScheduleAI checks IAF codes, technical areas and the accreditation body for each standard on every allocation, then shows planners which rule decided each choice.
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How many IAF codes are there?
There are 39 IAF codes, listed in IAF ID 1.
What is IAF ID 1?
The IAF informative document for QMS and EMS scopes of accreditation. It lists the 39 codes and maps them to NACE Rev. 2.
Can I use IAF codes as technical areas?
Only to a limited extent. IAF ID 1 says few headings work as technical areas, so most bodies define narrower areas for their competence matrix.
Which IAF code is information technology?
Code 33 is information technology; code 34 is engineering services.
Do food safety audits use IAF codes?
FSSC 22000 and ISO 22000 certification use the food chain categories of ISO 22003-1. See food safety auditor qualification.
Why do the codes matter for scheduling?
They decide whether the body can issue an accredited certificate and which auditors can be considered, so they filter every allocation.