Dear Clients and Relevant Parties of NGV Measurement Management System (MMS) Certification:
To standardize certification activities for the Measurement Management System (hereinafter referred to as MMS), the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China (CNCA) has issued the new edition of Rules for Measurement Management System Certification (CNCA-MMS-01:2026), which shall come into force on September 1, 2026 (the MMS certification rules filed with CNCA by our institution shall be abolished simultaneously). Attached hereto are the full text and interpretation of the new Rules for your organization’s thorough review.
The new Rules are statutory documents that certification bodies and certified organizations must comply with. To help your organization smoothly transition to meet the requirements of the new Rules, ensure efficient follow-up certification activities and sustained validity of certification certificates, our institution has sorted out the relevant requirements of the new Rules for certification applicants/organizations and released them publicly to all certified clients. Your organization shall attach great importance to these requirements and make preparations in advance. The specific requirements are as follows:
I. Certification Application
1. Eligibility Criteria for Filing a Certification Application (See Clause 5.1.2 of the Rules for details)
(1) Possess valid legal subject qualification within the validity period; (2) Hold administrative permits prescribed by relevant laws and regulations (where applicable) within the validity period; (3) Have established an MMS in accordance with certification standards and maintained its operation for no less than three months; (4) If the original MMS certification certificate of the certified organization was suspended, cancelled or revoked by the original certification body due to the organization’s own reasons, a period of one year has elapsed (where applicable); (5) If the certification body that issued the original MMS certificate had its MMS certification qualification revoked by CNCA, a period of three months has elapsed (where applicable); (6) Not subject to an administrative order of production suspension and rectification at present; (7) Not included in the List of Seriously Illegal and Untrustworthy Entities released via the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System and Credit China at present; (8) Other applicable eligibility requirements.
2. MMS Certification Grade Standards (See Clause 5.1.4 of the Rules for details)
(1) Grade "AAA": The Measurement Management System established by the certification applicant complies with all requirements of GB/T 19022 / ISO 10012 Measurement Management System Standard upon certification by the certification body; (2) Grade "AA": The Measurement Management System established by the certification applicant only carries out planning, design, development, control, confirmation and nonconformity control for measurement processes of typical products/services; (3) Grade "A": The Measurement Management System established by the certification applicant only completes metrological confirmation for measuring equipment in measurement processes; measurement uncertainty evaluation is not adopted for measurement process confirmation, and systematic planning, design, development, control, confirmation and nonconformity control of measurement processes are not covered.
II. Signing of Certification Contract and Payment of Certification Fees (See Clause 5.3 of the Rules for details)
Your organization shall strictly perform corresponding obligations stipulated in the Certification Contract and pay certification fees directly to our institution or its branches; third-party payment is prohibited.
Note 1: Payment by the applicant’s superior entity (such as the group company, public institution, social organization or government agency to which the applicant belongs) or subordinate entity shall be accepted. Note 2: Where an individual industrial and commercial household acts as the certification applicant, the operator may pay certification fees to our institution. For all other types of applicants, individuals are not allowed to settle certification fees.
III. Preparation of Audit Documentation (See Clauses 5.1.3 and [5.6.2.4](5.6.2.4) of the Rules for details)
When submitting the certification application and prior to each surveillance audit, your organization shall provide complete, authentic and valid relevant information and documents as required by our institution. If inconsistencies or falsification between submitted application materials and actual operations are identified during Stage 1 audit, our institution shall terminate all certification activities.
IV. Audit Arrangement Requirements (See Clauses 5.4 and 5.6–5.9 of the Rules for details)
On-site audits shall cover corresponding products/services, shifts and multi-site locations in line with NGV’s audit programme planning requirements for your organization.
Your organization shall confirm the audit plan in advance and ensure normal production/service operations at audit sites.
Audit duration is calculated in man-days, with one man-day defined as 8 working hours. If the actual daily working hours of the applicant are less than 8 hours, the number of on-site audit days shall be extended to meet the required audit duration.
Initial Audit: Comprises Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits. The interval between the two stages shall be no less than 5 days and no more than 6 months. If a longer interval is required, the Stage 1 audit shall be repeated.
Surveillance Audit: The first surveillance audit shall be conducted within 12 months from the date of certificate issuance, and the second within 24 months from the date of certificate issuance. The interval between two surveillance audits shall not exceed 12 months. Except for recertification years, one surveillance audit shall be conducted per calendar year.
Recertification Audit: Organizations intending to retain valid certification certificates shall submit a recertification application to our institution 90 days prior to certificate expiry. The recertification on-site audit must be completed before the original certificate expires. If major nonconformities are identified, rectification and verification of corrective actions shall also be completed prior to expiry; otherwise recertification registration will not be granted, and a new initial audit will be required to obtain a certificate. If a recertification decision cannot be finalized before the original certificate expires, the original certificate shall automatically lapse upon expiry. The expiry date of the newly issued recertification certificate shall not exceed the original certificate expiry date plus three years.
Special Audit: In the event of complaints or scope changes related to the certified organization’s MMS certification scope, or follow-up reviews of suspended certificates, our institution will arrange audits with short advance notice after assessing potential risks to certification validity.
V. Cooperation and Implementation During Audits (See Clauses 5.5 and 5.10 of the Rules for details)
Opening and Closing Meetings: The organization’s top management and heads of MMS functional departments shall attend the opening and closing meetings per the audit schedule. If the top management is unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances, written authorization (stating reasons for absence) shall be submitted to our institution in advance to appoint another senior management representative to attend on their behalf.
Face-to-Face Interview: The organization’s top management shall attend a face-to-face interview with the audit team on-site. Focused review will be conducted on the organization’s formulated measurement management policy and objectives, as well as the top management’s personal participation and promotion of MMS implementation. Our institution will retain photographic or audio-visual records. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in non-approval of certification.
Circumstances Leading to Audit Termination: The audit shall be terminated if any of the following occurs: (1) Failure of your organization to cooperate with audit activities, rendering the audit unfeasible; (2) Absence of the top management or authorized senior management representative from the opening and closing meetings; (3) Material discrepancies between your organization’s actual operations and submitted application materials; (4) Other circumstances preventing completion of audit procedures.
Nonconformities and Verification: Your organization shall complete rectification of nonconformities and pass verification by the audit team within the specified time limit. Failure to complete rectification will result in our institution declining to grant, maintain or renew certification.
VI. Post-Certification Maintenance Requirements (See Clauses 5.12.7, 6.1, 7.2–7.4 and 10.5 of the Rules for details)
Sustained Effective Operation of the Management System: After obtaining management system certification, your organization shall maintain continuous effective operation of the corresponding system and pay close attention to conditions triggering certificate suspension (e.g., failure to complete surveillance audits on schedule, non-compliance with regulatory requirements, expired permits, see Clause 7.2 for details) and revocation (e.g., expiry of suspension period, inclusion in the List of Seriously Illegal and Untrustworthy Entities, see Clause 7.3 for details). Our institution will issue suspension/revocation decisions within 5 working days after investigation and verification. Your organization shall closely monitor its compliance status to maintain continuous certificate validity.
Proper Use of Certification Certificates and Marks: Certified organizations may use the MMS certification certificate and mark only while the certificate remains valid and shall accept supervision by our institution. Use of the certificate and mark is prohibited once the certificate is suspended, revoked or cancelled. Certified organizations may properly display the MMS certification mark in advertisements and other promotional materials, but shall not affix the MMS certification mark on sold products or product packaging.
Timely Disclosure of Updated Information: Promptly notify our institution of relevant changes as stipulated in the Certification Contract, including but not limited to: major organizational restructuring; changes or expiry of relevant qualifications; illegal acts resulting in listing on the List of Seriously Illegal and Untrustworthy Entities via the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System or Credit China; non-conforming products within the certification scope identified in national random supervision inspections.
Retention of Certification Records: Retain complete certification records for the full validity period of the certificate, including at minimum: Certification Contract, audit plan, attendance sheets for opening and closing meetings, nonconformity reports with root cause analysis and corrective actions, full audit reports, suspension/revocation notices (where applicable).
Adjustment of MMS Certification Grade: If a certified organization needs to adjust its MMS certification grade during the validity period of the MMS certification certificate, it shall resubmit a certification application, and our institution will conduct the audit in accordance with recertification procedures. Upon issuance of the MMS certification certificate for the new grade, the original MMS certification certificate of the previous grade shall be revoked simultaneously.
The new Rules set clearer obligations for both parties. Please read and fully understand the relevant requirements, and cooperate with our institution to complete all audit and certification activities. Meanwhile, our institution will continue to provide support via the official website, WeChat official account, training sessions and other channels to assist your organization in smoothly complying with the new Rules and jointly improve the operational effectiveness of your management system.
For inquiries or further interpretation of the new Rules, please contact NGV Marketing Department or local branches: Head Office Tel: 010-87531300 Head Office E-mail: Business@ngv.org.cnContact information for branches is available on our official website.
We appreciate your long-term trust and support!
Sincerely, Beijing NGV Certification Center Co., Ltd.
