Are you ready to apply for accreditation? Before you send your laboratory's application for review, make sure that you have completed and enclosed a complete, accurate Accreditation Agreement. Because the Agreement is a required legal document, we cannot release a final decision regarding the status of your laboratory without it. For first-time applicants, the Agreement is printed on colored paper (yellow) behind its own tab at the beginning of your accreditation binder.

Applying for reaccreditation? Approximately 12 to 15 months prior to your accreditation's expiration date, a reaccreditation notification letter will be sent to the attention of the Medical and Technical Directors. A newly completed Agreement is required in conjunction with every reaccreditation. Labs applying for reaccreditation can download the Agreement from one of the links on this page (to the right, below the Search button).

Are you using the most current version of the Agreement? The download links on this page provide the most current version of the Accreditation Agreement. If you are unsure whether the Agreement you have is the most current, feel free to download it from this page at any time.

COMPLETING THE ACCREDITATION AGREEMENT

The following items should be given particular attention when completing the document:

• The current Agreement document must be submitted.
• Photocopies or scanned computer-altered Agreements will not be accepted.
• Be certain to answer all questions.
• The Agreement must be appropriately signed and witnessed.
• The only acceptable signatures are those of the Medical Director or an officer of the corporation.
• The Technical Director or another member of the laboratory staff may sign as the witness.
• There is no need to have the signatures notarized.

To avoid any unnecessary delay in notification of, or a lapse in, your accreditation status, please take care to review each page of the Agreement before returning it and the appropriate application fees to the ICAVL.

LABORATORIES EXPERIENCING CHANGE OF NAME, CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP, OR CHANGE IN OPERATIONS

It has come to our attention that laboratories are often subject to name changes, mergers, or other changes in business structure, which may result in an agreement to transfer ownership of accreditation. In order to allow accreditation of a laboratory to transfer more smoothly from one owner to another while ensuring compliance with the relevant accreditation standards, and/or document any major changes regarding laboratory operations, the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission has provided answers to your questions, as well as sample forms. See the Change of Name/Ownership/Operations section. >>

HIPAA COMPLIANCE AND THE ACCREDITATION AGREEMENT

To ensure compliance with the regulations set forth by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the ICAVL Accreditation Agreement now includes an addendum defining the ICAVL as a "business associate" and defining its duties and obligations as such.