ISO 17100 CERTIFICATION

The Language Industry Certification System LICS® is a certification for International Standards like ISO 17100 and ISO 13611.

Your partner for the ISO 17100 certification

The Language Industry Certification System LICS® is a certification for International Standards like ISO 17100 and ISO 13611. It's a brand owned by Austrian Standards and is a service provided together with the International Network for Terminology - TermNet.

The mission of LICS® is to provide independent, third-party conformity assessment services for the language industry (translation, interpretation and related services) based on International Standards. LICS® certification processes have been designed specifically to meet the requirements of small and medium-sized enterprises. It is a lean process, which eliminates unnecessary paperwork and minimizes the amount of time that an auditor has to spend on-site.

How to obtain a LICS ISO 17100 certificate

LICS® specifies the procedure to certify a service provider in the standard specific certification schemes. Each ISO 1700 or ISO 13611 certification process involves the following steps:

Submitted using the certification form provided by the local certification partner.

The service provider must file documentation containing basic information about the company, along with a self-declaration describing how the service provider complies with the requirements of applicable standard.

The core of the certification process is the audit, the purpose of which is to gather evidences that the service provider meets the requirements of the standard. This evidence includes, for example, interviews with relevant staff, checking records and client jobs undertaken and monitoring activities. The audit is performed by a qualified auditor who has been trained specifically to conduct LICS audits.

Following the audit, the auditor sends his/her report to Austrian Standards, which will then assess the audit report. If the assessment is positive, a certificate is issued that is valid for 6 years.

In order to maintain the certificate, surveillance audits shall be carried out on a 2-year cycle.

Relevant Standards

ISO 17100 "TRANSLATION SERVICE PROVIDERS"

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Since the European Standard EN 15038 “Translation services – Service requirements” was published in 2006, the market for certifying Translation Service Providers (TSPs) has been constantly developing. By 1st May 2015 EN 15038 was replaced by the International Standard ISO 17100.

ISO 17100 specifies requirements for all aspects of the translation process directly affecting the quality and delivery of translation services. It includes provisions concerning the management of core processes, minimum qualification requirements, and the availability of resources.

The standard is intended for implementation by TSPs of any size. Certification according to ISO 17100 requires all the provisions to be met, but the methods of implementation may differ depending on the size and complexity of the organization and, in some cases, on the volume and complexity of the translation service being requested of the TSP.

LICS® ISO 17100 certification is therefore suitable for:

  • translation agencies (without internal translators),
  • translation companies (with employed translators),
  • individual translators who collaborate with others translators.

ISO 13611 "COMMUNITY INTERPRETING"

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Community interpreting is bi-directional interpreting that takes place in the course of communication among speakers of different languages.

ISO 13611 establishes criteria and recommendations for community interpreting during oral and signed communication that enables access to services for people who have limited proficiency in the language of such services. The standard also provides guidance for the provision of community interpreting services. It establishes and provides the principles and practices necessary to ensure quality community interpreting services for all language communities, for end users, as well as for requesters, and service providers.

The LICS® certification scheme endorses the criteria and recommendations of ISO 13611 and thus enables community interpreting service providers (CISP) to achieve certification.

Get in touch

We will be pleased to assist and answer your questions! 

Peter Jonas, Director Certification

Peter Jonas

Director Certification

For queries from the Middle-East region please contact our representative

Dr. Mohamed-Ali Ibrahim, Manager & Lead Auditor, [email protected]