Persons or bodies accredited under this Directive shall be accredited by an accreditation body appointed by the Member State concerned. The accreditation process shall be based on criteria of independence, competence and impartiality, such as the relevant EN 45 000 series European standards and on the evaluation of a dossier submitted by candidates which provides appropriate evidence of their skills in the area in question.

As an alternative to the accreditation provided for in paragraph 1, a Member State may provide that persons or bodies recognised under this Directive shall be recognised by the competent authority or a body appointed by the Member State concerned. Recognition shall be based on criteria of independence, competence and impartiality. However, in cases when the particular competence sought is extremely rare, an exception to this rule shall be allowed after a positive opinion is given by the Commission in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 32(2).

The criterion of independence does not apply in the case of the training referred to in Article 23(5) and (6).

The competent authority shall ensure the publication and updating of a register of persons and bodies which have been accredited or recognised under this Directive.