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The Assurance Desk
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NQA review

Certification body

A UK certification body that UKAS accredits to certify ISO/IEC 42001 and ISO 27001. For organisations that want their AI management system certified.

Relevant if you want accredited ISO 42001 certification with the contract terms published before you sign

Price Not 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.

NQA scores

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

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

What NQA offers, and what it publishes

NQA is accredited by UKAS to certify AI management systems to ISO/IEC 42001, for developers, producers, providers and users of AI. It announced this on 23 January 2026, after a UKAS pilot with witnessed assessments. It publishes a named client from that pilot, Spark, a content localisation agency. Its UKAS schedule also covers ISO 27001 and ISO 27701.

NQA does not publish a price. You fill in a quote form and NQA prepares a proposal; it says it will give 'a clear indication of the costs of gaining and maintaining certification'. It does publish its full terms, payment and travel charge policies, complaints procedure and appeals process on one page.

NQA also sells training, gap analysis and readiness assessments. We found no standalone impartiality policy; its commitments sit in accreditation statements and its terms. Its own certificate directory is by enquiry only, so self-serve checks go through UKAS CertCheck. It does not publish how it uses AI itself.

Strengths

  • UKAS-accredited for ISO/IEC 42001:2023 across all four AI system roles (Developer, Producer, Provider, User) on schedule 0015, Issue 194 dated 05 May 2026
  • Unusually transparent contractual documents: full Regulations (terms), Complaints Procedure and Appeals Process are downloadable from a single public page
  • Published named ISO 42001 client outcome, the Spark case study, a pilot client certified during NQA's UKAS accreditation journey
  • Publishes a free ISO/IEC 42001 readiness checklist and a dedicated transfer route for organisations switching certification body

Things to check

  • No certification prices are published, pricing is quote-only via a quote request form.
  • Its impartiality rules sit in downloadable regulations. Read these if you also plan to buy training or a gap analysis.
  • Its own certificate directory requires contacting NQA; self-serve verification relies on the third-party UKAS CertCheck tool.

Common questions

Is NQA accredited to certify ISO/IEC 42001?

Yes. Its UKAS schedule, issue 194 dated 5 May 2026, lists ISO/IEC 42001:2023 for AI developers, producers, providers and users. NQA announced the accreditation on 23 January 2026, after a UKAS pilot.

What will NQA certification cost?

It does not publish prices. You complete a quote request form and NQA prepares a proposal. Its payment terms and travel charge policies are published on its Regulations page.

Can I switch to NQA from another certification body?

Yes. Its ISO 42001 page offers a transfer route for organisations switching certification body, and a free ISO/IEC 42001 readiness checklist.

Evidence for each NQA score

Show our working

Notes behind each thing to check

  • No certification prices are published, pricing is quote-only via a quote request form. (NQA ISO 42001 page and quote page (nqa.com/en-gb/certification/standards/iso-42001; nqa.com/en-gb/quote) contain no fee figures, checked 2026-07-16.)
  • Its impartiality rules sit in downloadable regulations. Read these if you also plan to buy training or a gap analysis. (nqa.com/en-gb/clients/accreditations and nqa.com/en-gb/clients/regulations checked 2026-07-16; NQA also sells training and gap analysis alongside certification.)
  • Its own certificate directory requires contacting NQA; self-serve verification relies on the third-party UKAS CertCheck tool. (NQA Regulations page (nqa.com/en-gb/clients/regulations) states the directory is available via enquiry and links UKAS CertCheck, checked 2026-07-16.)
Six criteria, each scored 1 to 5, with the evidence for each.
CriterionScoreEvidence
Help when things go wrong 4/5 Complaints Procedure and Appeals Process documents are published on the public Regulations page, and certificate validity is verifiable via UKAS CertCheck plus a stated public directory (via enquiry), nqa.com/en-gb/clients/regulations, checked 2026-07-16; short of 5 because self-serve verification is not on NQA's own site.
Qualifications of the people who do the work 5/5 UKAS schedule 0015 (Issue 194, 05 May 2026) verifiably lists ISO/IEC 42001:2023 AIMS under ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 42006:2025 for NQA Certification Ltd, alongside ISO 27001/27701 (ukas.com PDF checked 2026-07-16).
What it publishes about fees 3/5 Quote-based process is clearly explained (quote request form, proposal, scope of assessment) and payment terms/charges and travel-cost policy documents are published, but no fee figures anywhere (nqa.com pages checked 2026-07-16).
Knowledge of your sector 4/5 Named ISO 42001 case study (Spark, entertainment/gaming/retail content sectors) plus published industry-sector programmes, but a thinner named-AIMS portfolio than BSI (nqa.com case study checked 2026-07-16).
Independence from what it sells 3/5 Sells training, gap analysis and readiness assessment alongside certification with impartiality addressed through accreditation statements and Regulations documents rather than a standalone published impartiality policy (nqa.com pages checked 2026-07-16).
Who carries the risk if the advice is wrong 5/5 Full contract terms (Regulations Relating to Registration, including payment terms and charges), Complaints Procedure and Appeals Process are all published and downloadable from one public page (nqa.com/en-gb/clients/regulations, checked 2026-07-16).

Sources for NQA

  • UK legal entity is NQA Certification Limited: Company number 09351758, private limited company, incorporated 11 December 2014 (originally NTS Nightingale Limited until 2 March 2015), status Active, registered office Warwick House, Houghton Hall Park, Houghton Regis, Dunstable LU5 5ZX (Companies House, checked 16 July 2026)
  • UKAS schedule of accreditation for NQA Certification Ltd t/a NQA Certification and KIWA (body 0015) includes Artificial Intelligence Management Systems to ISO/IEC 42001:2023, in accordance with ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 and ISO/IEC 42006:2025, covering AI system roles Developer, Producer, Provider and User (Schedule Issue No 194, issue date 05 May 2026; schedule also covers ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO/IEC 27701:2019) (ukas.com, checked 16 July 2026)
  • NQA announced it had been granted UKAS accreditation to certify organisations against ISO 42001, following a UKAS pilot programme with witnessed assessments (News item dated 23 January 2026) (nqa.com, checked 16 July 2026)
  • NQA does not publish ISO 42001 certification prices on its public website as of 2026-07-16; its ISO 42001 page describes a quote-request process ('Complete a Quote Request Form… we will personally prepare a proposal') and promises 'a clear indication of the costs of gaining and maintaining certification' (Quote-only pricing with published process description) (nqa.com, checked 16 July 2026)
  • NQA publishes its contract terms and dispute routes on a public Regulations page: Regulations Relating to Registration (terms including payment terms and charges), a Complaints Procedure document, and an Appeals Process document for appeals against certification decisions (Published terms, complaints and appeals documents) (nqa.com, checked 16 July 2026)
  • NQA states it maintains a publicly accessible directory of valid certifications (via enquiry) and signposts the UKAS CertCheck tool for certificate validity checks (Certificate verification via directory enquiry and UKAS CertCheck) (nqa.com, checked 16 July 2026)
  • NQA publishes a named ISO 42001 client outcome: Spark, a global content adaptation and localisation agency, achieved ISO 42001 certification as a pilot-project participant supporting NQA's UKAS accreditation journey (Named client case study published) (nqa.com, checked 16 July 2026)
  • NQA sells ISO training, gap analysis and readiness assessment alongside certification; its accreditations page states accreditation ensures 'technical competence and integrity of impartiality', but no standalone impartiality policy page was found on nqa.com as of 2026-07-16 (Training and gap analysis sold alongside certification; impartiality addressed via accreditation statements and Regulations documents) (nqa.com, checked 16 July 2026)
  • NQA does not publish a statement on how it itself uses AI (no responsible-AI self-use policy) on the public pages checked (ISO 42001 page, accreditations page, regulations page) as of 2026-07-16 (No published self-use AI disclosure found on pages checked) (nqa.com, checked 16 July 2026)

UKAS 0015 (NQA Certification Ltd t/a NQA Certification and KIWA), ISO/IEC 42001:2023 AIMS under ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 + ISO/IEC 42006:2025 UKAS 0015, ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO/IEC 27701:2019 ANAB (US) accreditation (per NQA accreditations page)

Seeking ISO 42001 certificationExposed to the EU AI ActSwitching provider

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.