• Activity increases by 3%, strengthening the accredited conformity assessment infrastructure for another year.
• Accreditation provides security and trust in public policies and supports administrative simplification processes being properly implemented.

ENAC presented its 2025 Activity Report during the meeting of its General Assembly, where José Manuel Prieto, the president of the organization, highlighted the role of accreditation as “an essential tool to ensure public policies are properly implemented, to strengthen competitiveness, and to provide trust in an international context characterized by technological acceleration, the shift towards more sustainable models, and evolving European regulations”. Specifically, he pointed out that “there is a continuing trend of accreditation being increasingly integrated in European and national regulatory developments, with around 400 provisions that include accreditation requirements as a way to guarantee technical competence, optimize public resources, and support administrative simplification processes”.

For her part, Beatriz Rivera, ENAC’s General Director, reported the positive evolution of the Spanish accreditation system, with growing activity and expansion into new areas, surpassing 2,000 accredited bodies and 2,500 active accreditations, meaning an increase of nearly 3% compared to the previous year.

2025 ended with 1,197 accreditations for testing laboratories, 167 for calibration laboratories, 135 for clinical laboratories and other diagnostic services, 528 for inspection bodies, 256 for product certification bodies, 136 for management systems certification, 37 for personnel certification, 27 for validation and inspection, among others. 

Among the areas with the most growth, validation and inspection activities stand out, having experienced an increase of over 20%, driven especially by regulatory developments related to sustainability, energy efficiency, and the management of public funds. Proficiency testing providers have also seen growth of around 12%, while management systems and people certification as well as clinical laboratories certification have shown increases of about 9%.

Rivera also pointed out the gradual expansion of accreditation into new technological and scientific areas: “Alongside traditional sectors like industrial, agri-food, or environmental, new activities are being added, such as taking environmental DNA samples in aquatic ecosystems, advanced allergen detection techniques, or performance testing of batteries for electric vehicles; while emerging areas linked to digital transformation and sustainability continue to grow, such as ICT product certification under the EUCC European scheme, digital accessibility, information privacy, or sustainable building within the EU Taxonomy framework”.

Accreditation: a tool serving the regulator

Beatriz Rivera emphasized that ENAC's collaboration with European, national, regional, and local level public administrations has continued to be a central element of its activity:

 “Throughout the year, we worked closely with different ministries, such as Industry and Tourism; Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge; Defence or Health, as well as with organizations like the National Cryptologic Centre (CCN-CERT), the Centre for the Development of Technology and Innovation (CDTI), the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD), the State Railway Safety Agency (AESF), or the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT), among others. Also, strengthening cooperation with the Autonomous Communities and local bodies, promoting a uniform application of requirements and supporting the effectiveness of public policies”.

The growing international push for administrative simplification and improving regulatory quality highlighted accreditation’s value as a support tool for Public Administrations. “This is reflected in the reports published in 2025 by the OECD and the World Bank, which are highlighted in ENAC’s report, and which emphasize its contribution to reducing administrative burdens, eliminating redundancies, and improving regulatory efficiency. These recommendations fully align with the vision promoted by the European Commission which identifies administrative simplification as a priority to strengthen European competitiveness,” said ENAC’s General Director.

ENAC has prepared a document aimed at Public Administrations showing how accreditation can help optimize resources and improve assessment and control activity effectiveness in supporting public policies.

Transformation of the international accreditation system

Another highlight of the year, internationally, was the launch of the new organization Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI), which brings together the activities previously carried out by ILAC and IAF and will shape the future evolution of the international accreditation system.

“The publication of the new European Accreditation multilateral agreement (EA MLA) mark will help boost the visibility and trust in accredited services across Europe. ENAC continues to be a signatory of all international multilateral recognition agreements, which means that certificates and reports issued by accredited bodies are accepted in over 120 economies, making it easier for companies to access international markets,” concluded Beatriz Rivera.

Consult ENAC's full report