DAR Handbook

The DAR Handbook describes basic rules for accreditations granted within the DAR till 31 December 2009.
Changes to the DAR Handbook will no longer be made.

Handbook of DAR - 2. Organisation and Operation of the DAR
4th Edition As of 31 December 2009
The DAR was founded in March 1991. It is a Board with coordinating tasks jointly supported by State and industry.

The DAR operates according to harmonised Rules of Procedure documented in the Annex DAR-2-GL-01 (50 kB).

Members of the DAR may be: accreditation/recognition bodies as well as other institutions which actively influence the accreditation policy in Germany and contribute to the coordination of the German accreditation system and its representation abroad.

The Members of the DAR apply the Rules and Procedures of the German Accreditation Council.

Preconditions for a membership in the DAR are laid down in DAR-2-GL-01 (50 kB).

The Members of the DAR are named in Annex DAR-2-GL-02 (29 kB).

The membership in the DAR is honorary.

The DAR coordinates the activities in the field of accreditation and recognition of testing laboratories, certification and inspection bodies and conformity assessment bodies with the aim to efficiently arrange the procedures on a common high quality level.

The DAR carries out in particular the following tasks:
  • Coordinating the activities in Germany in the field of accreditation and recognition of testing and calibration laboratories, certification and inspection bodies in Germany
  • Providing a central registration of German accreditations / recognitions granted
  • Developing the DAR Rules and Procedures.
The DAR itself does not carry out any accreditations or recognitions.

As to coordinate the various tasks in a better way, DAR Subcommittees have been established.
They currently exist in the following areas:
  • DAR - ABT (Committee for Training of Assessors)
  • DAR - ATF (Committee for Technical Issues).
The Committee ABT checks on a regular basis its training program for assessors (see Annex DAR-2-GL-05 (35 kB) and realizes necessary modifications/changes and amendments.

The Committee ATF supports the DAR in developing technical recommendations on horizontal technical tasks (see Annex DAR-2-GL-07 (68 kB).

An Accreditation Advisory Board has been established at the BMWi (German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology) which provides advice to and supports in accreditation-related issues, in particular in representing them abroad. In its activities, this Board takes into consideration the European and international developments.

The DAR Secretariat is located in the Departmental Section S.2 "Accreditation and Conformity Assessment" at the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Berlin.

The DAR Secretariat assists the Chairman. It is furthermore responsible for the preparation and management of meetings of the DAR and its Committees. It is a central joint consultation body for all kinds of questions related to the German accreditation system and it runs the central registration of accreditations (database) carried out and granted within the German accreditation system.

DAR resolutions are passed by consensus, if possible, either based on decisions taken during the run-up to the meeting and provided in the Agenda or based on the results or decisions taken during the meeting. If a voting is exceptionally required, a simple majority of the members being present decides.

The members from the mandatory area have a joint power veto which they can only excercise in consensus.

As far as DAR resolutions affect the tasks of the accreditation and recognition bodies represented by their members, implementation is a matter of these bodies acting on their own authority and within the constraints of their particular situation.

All accreditation bodies represented in the DAR operate on the basis of the EN 45000 and EN ISO/IEC 17000 standard series and DAR resolutions. Upon approval of the DAR, they may therefore use DAR certificates for accreditation.

Structure of DAR (Organisation chart)