Status authority
The Public Certificate Register is the authoritative source of current ICEQC certification status. A status action takes effect on the date authorized by the competent certification decision function and is implemented across the certificate record, register entry, mark permissions and related public communications.
Internal workflow stages, evidence requests, findings, corrective-action activity, assessment methods and risk classifications are not public certification statuses. Public status is not a score, grade, rank, award or indication of relative performance.
Active
Active means that certification is current for the legal holder, certification object, scope, applicable ICEQC basis and validity period shown in the register. It authorizes accurate certification claims only within those boundaries and subject to the applicable certificate and mark rules.
Active status remains subject to continuing conformity, surveillance, material-change notification, complaint and incident review, public-claim controls and any later effective certification decision. It is not a guarantee that conditions will remain unchanged throughout the certification cycle.
Active — Scope Reduced
Certification remains active only for the narrower scope currently shown in the register. The reduction may concern a site, programme, service, platform function, delivery mode, product, model, version, jurisdiction or another defined scope component.
The holder must cease claims concerning removed scope and correct certificates, marks, websites, directories, contracts or other representations as required. An earlier certificate copy cannot be used to restore or imply the former broader scope.
Suspended
Suspended means certification is temporarily inactive for the affected scope from the stated effective date. During suspension, the holder must not represent the affected certification as active and must comply with the claim, mark, notification and corrective controls stated in the effective decision.
Suspension does not guarantee restoration. Restoration requires completion of the authorized conditions, sufficient verification and an independent restoration decision. The register shows the effective restoration date; restoration is not backdated to remove the historical suspension period.
Withdrawn
Withdrawn means ICEQC has ended the certification through an effective adverse status decision. The certificate is not current and the holder must cease current-certification claims and use of the mark for the affected scope.
A withdrawn record may remain publicly visible for the period necessary to prevent misleading reliance, distinguish former from current status and preserve verification history. Historical display does not reinstate certification.
Expired
Expired means the registered validity period ended without an effective renewed certificate. Expiry occurs automatically at the end of the stated expiry date and does not require a separate adverse finding.
A renewal application, assessment or pending decision does not extend the previous certificate. If certification is later renewed, the new effective dates and any discontinuity are controlled by the implemented renewal decision and public record.
Maintained and restored events
Maintained is a status-history event recording that an authorized continuing-certification decision preserved active certification. It is not a higher level of certification. Restored records the return from suspension to the active status authorized by the restoration decision.
Event labels explain how the status developed over time. The current status badge remains the controlling statement for present reliance.
Status history and corrections
An individual record may show certification granted, maintained, suspended, restored, scope reduced, withdrawn, expired or corrected, together with the relevant effective dates. History allows a reader to determine what status applied at a stated time and prevents a former certificate from being presented as continuously current.
A clerical correction does not change the merits of a certification decision. Where a correction would alter the holder, object, substantive scope, status or effective date, the review and authorization required by the applicable certification rules must occur before the register is changed.
Consequences for public claims
- Use the status displayed in the live register, not the appearance or expiry date of a saved certificate copy.
- State the exact active scope and do not conceal a scope reduction, suspension period or former status.
- Stop current-certification and mark use when certification is suspended, withdrawn or expired to the extent stated in the record.
- Correct websites, directories, advertisements, proposals, contracts, profiles, badges and social-media claims without delay where they no longer match the register.
- Report a representation that remains broader, more current or more official than the register supports.