Dear ZhongSheng DeShang Certification (CRC) Clients and Relevant Parties,
The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNCA) officially released the "Quality Management System Certification Rules" (CNCA-QMS-01:2025) (hereinafter referred to as the "New Rules") on September 4, 2025. The New Rules will come into effect on January 1, 2026. To ensure your organization smoothly adapts to and complies with the requirements of the New Rules, and to maintain the ongoing compliance and effectiveness of certification activities, we hereby notify you of the key relevant content and changes as follows:
I. Summary of Key Relevant Content and Changes (Excerpts)
1. Certification Application Conditions (5.1.2)
When submitting a certification application, the certification client shall meet the following conditions (including but not limited to):
(1) Possess a legal entity status and be within its validity period;
(2) Have obtained the administrative licenses required by relevant laws and regulations (where applicable) and be within their validity periods;
(3) Have established a QMS according to the certification standard and have operated it for at least three months;
(4) At least one year has passed since the certification certificate was suspended or withdrawn by the original certification body due to reasons attributable to the certified organization (where applicable);
(5) At least three months have passed since the QMS certification qualification of the original QMS certification certificate issuing body was revoked by CNCA (where applicable);
(6) Is not currently ordered by administrative regulatory authorities to suspend production or business for rectification;
(7) Is not currently listed on the serious violation and dishonesty lists published by the "National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System" and "Credit China";
(8) No major quality incidents resulting in orders from administrative regulatory authorities to suspend production or business for rectification have occurred within the past year;
(9) Within the past year, products within the scope of the applied certification have not been found non-compliant in national supervision sampling inspections for product quality, or if found non-compliant, have been rectified in accordance with relevant regulations.
2. Certification Contract and Fee Payment (5.3.1)
Certification fees shall be paid directly by the certification client to the certification body and shall not be paid through a third party.
3. Responsibilities of the Certification Client (5.3.3, 5.3.4)
The organization shall provide materials truthfully, cooperate with supervision and inspection, promptly notify changes in the system and related important conditions, and bear the risk of certification activity termination and certificate invalidation resulting from the revocation of the certification body's qualification.
4. Surveillance Audit Intervals (5.4.1.4)
The first surveillance audit after initial certification and recertification shall be conducted within 12 months from the date of certification certificate issuance. Thereafter, the interval between surveillance audits shall not exceed 12 months.
5. On-site Audit Plan (5.4.5.2)
On-site audits shall be scheduled when the certification client's production or services are operating normally.
6. Opening Meeting and Requirements (5.5.3)
Top management must attend the opening meeting. If unable to attend due to special reasons, written authorization must be provided in advance, authorizing a senior management member to attend on their behalf. The reason for absence must be explained to the audit team and will be recorded.
7. Key Audit Focus on Top Management (5.5.4)
The audit team will focus, through interviews and other means, on auditing the leadership role of top management within the system and their familiarity with and promotion of the quality policy and objectives. If top management does not personally participate in and promote QMS implementation, the certification audit shall not be passed.
8. Audit Termination Circumstances (5.5.5)
(1) The certification client does not cooperate with the audit activities, making them impossible to proceed;
(2) The top management or authorized senior management member of the certification client is absent from the opening or closing meeting;
(3) There is a significant discrepancy between the actual situation of the certification client and the application materials;
(4) Other circumstances that prevent the completion of the audit process.
9. Initial Stage Audit Interval (5.6.1, 5.6.2.2)
(1) The interval between Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the initial certification audit shall be no less than 5 days and no more than 6 months. If exceeded, Stage 1 audit needs to be re-conducted.
(2) To achieve the purpose and requirements of the Stage 1 audit, except in the following cases, the Stage 1 audit shall be conducted at the certification client's site:
1) The certification client already holds a valid certification certificate in another field issued by this certification body, and the certification body has sufficient understanding of the client's QMS;
2) The certification client holds a valid QMS certification certificate issued by another certification body accredited by an accreditation body, and the purpose and requirements of the Stage 1 audit can be achieved through the review of its documents and information.
10. Recertification Audit Requirements (5.8.1, 5.8.2)
The recertification audit shall be conducted on-site at the certified organization and completed before the expiry of the original certification certificate. (If verification is not completed before the certificate expiry date, the certification certificate automatically becomes invalid upon expiry. If the certified organization applies for certification again, the certification body shall conduct at least one Stage 2 audit and issue a certification certificate as per initial certification.)
11. Use of Certification Certificate and Mark (6.1.2/6.1.3)
The certification certificate and mark shall not continue to be used during the suspension period of the certificate or after its withdrawal or cancellation. The certified organization shall correctly use the QMS certification mark in advertisements and other promotional materials. The QMS certification mark shall not be used on products alone. It may be marked on product packaging only when accompanied by a statement indicating that the certified organization has passed QMS certification and the name of the certification body.
12. Certificate Suspension, Withdrawal, and Cancellation (7.2, 7.3, 7.4)
The New Rules specify the specific circumstances, procedures, and timelines for certificate suspension (e.g., serious nonconformity of the system, administrative penalties, major accidents, etc.), withdrawal (e.g., cancellation of legal status, failure to rectify within suspension period, causing major accidents, etc.), and cancellation (organization's active application without suspension/withdrawal circumstances): The certification body shall make a suspension/withdrawal decision within 5 days after investigation and verification. Please ensure your organization pays close attention to its own status to maintain the continuous validity of the certificate.
II. Attention to Changes, Joint Compliance, and Implementation
The New Rules are regulatory documents that must be adhered to by the certification industry, setting clear and detailed requirements for certification bodies and audited organizations. All certification clients and relevant parties are requested to attach great importance to the aforementioned changes, make preparations in advance, and actively cooperate with our organization to complete relevant audit and certification work, ensuring the effective maintenance of your organization's certification certificate.
We will continue to provide support through official website announcements, online seminars, etc., to assist your organization in a smooth transition and compliance with the New Rules, helping to enhance the effectiveness of your quality management system operation. If you have any questions or require further interpretation, please contact Zhong Sheng De Shang Inspection & Certification (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. Tel: 028-83555628.
Attached to this notification are the full text and interpretation of the "Quality Management System Certification Rules" (CNCA-QMS-01:2025). Please review them in detail.
Thank you for your continued trust and close cooperation!
Attachment 1: CNCA Announcement [2025] No. 16 - Quality Management System Certification Rules.pdf
Attachment 2: CNCA Secretariat Letter [2025] No. 28 - Interpretation of the New Quality Management System Certification Rules.pdf
ZhongSheng DeShang Inspection & Certification (Chengdu) Co., Ltd.
November 6, 2025