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The Assurance Desk
Centre for Assessment logo

Centre for Assessment review

Certification body

A UK certification body, UKAS-accredited for ISO 9001, 14001, 27001 and 45001, that assesses law firms for Lexcel. It was not UKAS-accredited for ISO 42001 in July 2026.

Relevant if you want UKAS-accredited ISO 9001 or 27001 certification, or a Lexcel assessment for a law firm

Price Published
Indemnity cover Not published
How it uses AI Not published
Facts last checked

Not published means we did not find it on the firm's own pages.

Centre for Assessment scores

Six scores, each 1 to 5. The evidence for each is further down.

Help when things go wrong 3/5
Qualifications of the people who do the work 2/5
What it publishes about fees 4/5
Knowledge of your sector 4/5
Independence from what it sells 5/5
Who carries the risk if the advice is wrong 3/5

What Centre for Assessment offers, and what it publishes

You get UKAS-accredited certification for four standards: ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001 and ISO 45001. ISO 42001, the AI management standard, was not on its UKAS schedule on 17 July 2026. It is also a delivery partner for The Law Society's Lexcel scheme, and says it focuses on public-sector and education certification.

Centre for Assessment publishes initial ISO 9001 audit prices from £1,125 plus VAT, with an online quote calculator. Ask for a quote for your staff, sites and scope. We did not find insurance cover or liability limits in the earlier review.

On ISO 42001, the firm says it is in a 'second tranche' of bodies 'on the way to be UKAS Accredited'. Its 'latest UKAS schedule' link served one from 4 March 2020, not the live one dated 9 June 2026. The earlier review found 4.6 out of 5 from 115 reviews on Reviews.co.uk, checked 17 July 2026.

Strengths

  • Publishes initial ISO 9001 audit prices from £1,125 plus VAT, with an online quote calculator.
  • Published impartiality policy with a named Impartiality Committee and a stated two-year separation rule between prior consultancy and certification
  • Documented complaints and appeals policy with specific response-time commitments (5 working days to acknowledge, 20 working days for a stage 1 decision)
  • Named as a delivery partner for The Law Society's Lexcel legal-sector accreditation scheme, giving it a genuine sector specialism

Things to check

  • Not UKAS-accredited for ISO/IEC 42001 (AI management systems); its own marketing describes this only as a pending 'second tranche' application
  • Its own website links to a six-year-out-of-date copy of its UKAS schedule that still shows the superseded ISO/IEC 27001:2013 standard
  • Only a narrow set of four UKAS-accredited management-system standards

Common questions

Is its ISO 42001 certification UKAS-accredited?

No. ISO 42001 was not on its UKAS schedule, Issue No. 067, dated 9 June 2026, which we checked on 17 July 2026. The firm says it is in a 'second tranche' of bodies 'on the way to be UKAS Accredited'.

Does it publish its prices?

Partly. Initial ISO 9001 audits start at £1,125 plus VAT. Its online calculator gives an estimate; ask for a quote for your organisation.

How does it handle complaints?

It publishes timescales. Its policy says it will acknowledge a complaint within 5 working days and send a written stage 1 response within 20 working days. A stage 2 review is available within another 20 working days.

Is the UKAS schedule on its own site current?

No. On 17 July 2026 its 'latest UKAS schedule' link served Issue No. 049, dated 4 March 2020. The live schedule on ukas.com was Issue No. 067, dated 9 June 2026.

Evidence for each Centre for Assessment score

Show our working

Notes behind each thing to check

  • Not UKAS-accredited for ISO/IEC 42001 (AI management systems); its own marketing describes this only as a pending 'second tranche' application (Centre for Assessment Limited's live UKAS Schedule of Accreditation (ref. 0120, Issue No. 067, issued 9 June 2026), fetched and full-text searched directly on 17 July 2026, contains no mention of ISO/IEC 42001 or AIMS; its own ISO 42001 page states it is 'part of a second tranche of certification bodies that are on the way to be UKAS Accredited')
  • Its own website links to a six-year-out-of-date copy of its UKAS schedule that still shows the superseded ISO/IEC 27001:2013 standard (Centre for Assessment's 'latest UKAS schedule' download link is Issue No. 049 dated 4 March 2020, while the live schedule fetched directly from ukas.com on 17 July 2026 is Issue No. 067 dated 9 June 2026)
  • Only a narrow set of four UKAS-accredited management-system standards (Its live UKAS Schedule of Accreditation (ref. 0120, Issue 067) lists four management-system standards, fewer than DNV, Bureau Veritas and Intertek in this comparison group)
Six criteria, each scored 1 to 5, with the evidence for each.
CriterionScoreEvidence
Help when things go wrong 3/5 A documented complaints and appeals policy with staged response timescales exists, but no named lead auditors or disclosed audit-outcome case studies were found
Qualifications of the people who do the work 2/5 Centre for Assessment's genuine UKAS scope is narrow (only four management-system standards), and it is not UKAS-accredited for ISO/IEC 42001 (AIMS), which its own site frames only as a pending 'second tranche' application
What it publishes about fees 4/5 Publishes initial ISO 9001 audit prices from £1,125 plus VAT and an online quote calculator. The final quote depends on staffing, sites and scope. Checked 2026-10-13.
Knowledge of your sector 4/5 Named as a delivery partner for The Law Society's Lexcel legal-sector scheme and states focus on public-sector and education-sector certification
Independence from what it sells 5/5 Published impartiality policy explicitly states it 'shall not offer or provide management system consultancy' and applies a two-year separation rule, overseen by a named Impartiality Committee
Who carries the risk if the advice is wrong 3/5 A published complaints/appeals policy with specific staged response timescales exists, but no professional indemnity insurance or liability-cap disclosure was found

Sources for Centre for Assessment

  • UKAS accreditation does not currently cover ISO/IEC 42001 (AIMS) (Centre for Assessment Limited's live UKAS Schedule of Accreditation (ref. 0120), Issue No. 067, issued 9 June 2026, lists only ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO 45001 as accredited scope; a full-text search of the document for '42001', 'AIMS' and 'Artificial Intelligence Management System' returns zero matches, confirmed by direct PDF fetch on 17 July 2026) (ukas.com, checked 17 July 2026)
  • Centre for Assessment's own marketing describes ISO 42001 accreditation as pending, not current (Exact quote from its ISO 42001 page: 'ISO 42001 is a new standard and Centre for Assessment is part of a second tranche of certification bodies that are on the way to be UKAS Accredited', a forward-looking claim not corroborated by any independent UKAS source naming Centre for Assessment in a specific pilot cohort) (centreforassessment.co.uk, checked 17 July 2026)
  • Companies House registration (Centre for Assessment Limited, company number 04089911, active, incorporated 13 October 2000, registered office Lee House, 90 Great Bridgewater Street, Manchester M1 5JW, SIC code 96090) (Companies House, checked 17 July 2026)
  • Pricing disclosure (Initial ISO 9001 audits start at £1,125 plus VAT. An online calculator gives an estimate; the final quote depends on staffing, sites and scope.) (centreforassessment.co.uk, checked 13 October 2026)
  • Published impartiality policy (States 'CFA shall not offer or provide management system consultancy' and will not certify within two years a management system where consultancy was provided by a related body; oversight sits with a formal Impartiality Committee) (centreforassessment.co.uk, checked 17 July 2026)
  • Published complaints policy with response timescales (Its Compliments, Comments and Complaints Policy commits to acknowledging a complaint within 5 working days and a formal 'stage 1' written response within 20 working days, with a further 'stage 2' review available within another 20 working days) (centreforassessment.co.uk, checked 17 July 2026)
  • Own website links to a stale copy of its UKAS schedule (Centre for Assessment's own 'latest UKAS schedule' link serves Issue No. 049 dated 4 March 2020, over six years out of date and still referencing the superseded ISO/IEC 27001:2013, while the current live UKAS schedule fetched directly from ukas.com is Issue No. 067, dated 9 June 2026) (centreforassessment.co.uk, checked 17 July 2026)

ISO 9001:2015 (QMS) ISO 14001:2015 (EMS) ISO/IEC 27001:2022 (ISMS) ISO 45001:2018 (HSMS, incl. SSIP sector schemes)

First DPO or AI policySeeking ISO 42001 certificationSwitching providerRegulated sectors

Where this firm appears

If you represent this firm and something here is wrong or out of date, email hello@theassurancedesk.com with the evidence.

This is an independent editorial guide, not legal advice.