UKAS vs ANAB: what's the difference? Document control requirements for accredited labs

If you run a calibration or testing laboratory, you have probably faced a version of the question “should we seek accreditation from UKAS or ANAB, and does the choice change how we manage our documents?”

It’s a fair question, and the answer matters. Accreditation is an ongoing commitment to demonstrating technical competence, and document control sits at its heart. Get it wrong, and you risk non-conformities at assessment. Get it right, and you have a system that proves your competence every day.

The reassuring news is that the picture is simpler than it first appears. This article explains what UKAS and ANAB are, where they differ, and what each expects from your document control.

What are UKAS and ANAB?

UKAS and ANAB are accreditation bodies: independent organisations that assess laboratories against international standards and formally recognise those that meet them.

Accreditation is not the same as certification. Certification usually confirms that a management system meets a standard. Accreditation goes further, attesting to your technical competence to produce valid results within a defined scope, such as specific calibration parameters or test methods.

What is UKAS?

 UKAS, the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, is the sole national accreditation body for the UK. It is appointed by the government and sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade, and its accreditation is the only one that carries national recognition in the UK. UKAS accredits laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025, medical laboratories to ISO 15189 and inspection bodies to ISO/IEC 17020, among others. If a UK customer or regulator asks for accreditation, they almost always mean UKAS. 

What is ANAB?

ANAB, the ANSI National Accreditation Board, is the largest multidisciplinary accreditation body in the United States and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Unlike the UK, the US has several recognised bodies, including ANAB, A2LA and NVLAP, and ANAB accredits testing and calibration laboratories, inspection bodies, certification bodies, and reference material producers.

ANAB is the largest body in terms of the number of programmes available and organisational scope, with a specific focus on management systems, forensics, and product certification. A2LA has a larger presence in specific testing markets, such as general commercial and FCC-accredited testing, while NVLAP, administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is smaller, more specialised, and restricted to specific calibration and testing fields.

UKAS vs ANAB: what is the actual difference?

The main difference between UKAS and ANAB is geography and market recognition, not the technical requirements they assess against. Both accredit laboratories to the same standard: ISO/IEC 17025:2017.

But this is the point most often misunderstood. ISO/IEC 17025 is the standard; UKAS and ANAB are two of the bodies that assess you against it. The requirements you must meet, including your document control, come from the standard, not the badge.

So which should you choose? In practice, the decision usually makes itself: work with the body your market expects. A UK lab serving UK customers and regulators will need UKAS; a US lab will typically choose ANAB or another recognised US body. When you operate across borders, mutual recognition means that an accredited result is accepted in either direction.

Does document control differ between UKAS and ANAB? 

No. Because both accredit to ISO/IEC 17025:2017, the document control requirements are the same regardless of which body you work with.

The standard sets out how a competent laboratory controls its management system documents and its records. The relevant requirements sit mainly in three areas:

• Control of management system documents (clause 8.3): How you approve, review, identify, and update controlled documents such as procedures and forms, and how you ensure people work from the current version.
• Control of records (clause 8.4): How you keep records legible, retrievable, and protected from loss or unauthorised change for a defined retention period.
• Technical records (clause 7.5): The records generated by each test or calibration, so that an activity can be reconstructed and traced.

A UKAS assessor and an ANAB assessor are both checking that you meet these requirements. Their assessment style and supporting publications may differ, but the underlying expectations do not.

What document control do accredited labs actually need?

Accredited labs need a controlled, traceable way to manage every document and record that supports the validity of their results. That usually means moving beyond shared drives and spreadsheets, which struggle to prove control.

At a minimum, your document control should provide:

• Version control, so there is one current version of every procedure. For example, when you revise a calibration method, the previous version should be retired automatically rather than left in a folder for someone to open by mistake.
• Controlled approval, so documents are reviewed and approved by authorised people before use, with a record of who approved what and when.
• A complete audit trail, so every change is captured with a date, a time, and an author, letting you show an assessor the history of a procedure at a glance.
• Access control, so only authorised people can view, edit, or approve sensitive documents.
• Records management, so technical and quality records are retained, protected, and retrievable for as long as the standard and your customers require.

Document management done well reduces the burden of preparing for assessment, because your evidence is generated as you work rather than assembled in a rush beforehand.

How international recognition works

Both UKAS and ANAB are signatories to the international mutual recognition arrangement, so an accredited result from a UKAS lab is accepted in the US, and vice versa.

This arrangement was historically run by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). On 1 January 2026, ILAC merged with the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) to form the Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI), which now operates a single multilateral recognition arrangement (MRA).

Existing accreditations and the familiar ILAC MRA marks remain valid during the transition, so labs do not need to act immediately. The practical benefit remains unchanged: accredited once, accepted internationally.

Conclusion

UKAS and ANAB can feel like a choice between two very different paths, but for most laboratories, they are not. UKAS is the UK's sole national accreditation body, while ANAB is one of several recognised bodies in the US, yet both accredit laboratories to the same standard, ISO/IEC 17025:2017. That is why your document control requirements do not change with the body you choose; the requirements come from the standard, and the choice between the two is really about geography and market recognition rather than different technical rules.

What that leaves you with is a clear, practical focus. Whichever body assesses you, you need version control, controlled approval, a complete audit trail, access control, and robust records management, all built around ISO/IEC 17025. Get those right and you not only satisfy your assessor, but you also gain the reassurance of mutual recognition, now under Global ACI, so an accredited result is accepted across borders.

Ready to make document control easier?

Meeting ISO/IEC 17025 document control requirements does not have to mean adopting a heavy, complex enterprise document management system. Cognidox gives growing laboratories the version control, approval workflows, audit trails, and records management they need to support accreditation, without the bureaucracy that slows fast-moving teams down.

For a practical starting point, download our free document management ebook below, or book a demo to see how Cognidox supports accredited labs.

FAQs

1. Is ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation mandatory for laboratories?

Not universally. ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation is voluntary in principle, but many regulators, government bodies, and customers specify it as a contractual or legal requirement. Without it, a lab may be excluded from regulated testing and calibration markets, so in practice, it is often essential.

2. Can a laboratory hold both UKAS and ANAB accreditation?

Yes. A laboratory can hold accreditation from more than one body if that suits its markets, for example, a lab serving both UK and US customers who each expect their own national body. Because both assess against ISO/IEC 17025, the underlying quality and document control system is the same; the duplication is in the assessment, not in how you run the lab.

3. Does switching accreditation body mean rebuilding my document control?

No. Your document control is built around ISO/IEC 17025, not around a particular accreditation body. If you move between UKAS and ANAB, or add a second body, your controlled documents, records, and audit trail carry across. You may need to adjust to different assessment procedures and supporting publications, but you should not need to rebuild the system itself.