ISO/IEC 17020 Awareness

It is for inspectors, technical managers and staff of inspection bodies and in-house inspection functions. It helps every inspector work with competence and impartiality, and explains the requirements behind reliable inspection records and reports. No prior knowledge of the standard is needed, so it suits new inspectors as well as experienced teams.

It covers why competent, impartial inspection matters; impartiality and confidentiality; structural requirements, including independence types, legal entity and organisation; personnel, facilities, equipment and external providers; requests and contracts, methods, items, records and data; inspection reports and certificates, appeals and complaints; management system requirements; and what changed from ISO/IEC 17020:2012.

ISO/IEC 17020 Awareness is a set of short video modules followed by practice questions and a final exam. The course page shows the current number of modules and the approximate video runtime; allow additional time for the practice questions and the exam. With 12 months of access, you can complete it in one sitting or spread it over several sessions.

Yes. Learners who reach the 70% pass mark in the final exam receive a Sterling Academy Certificate of Completion for ISO/IEC 17020 Awareness. Each certificate carries a unique number and a QR code, and anyone can check it online using the certificate number and the holder's surname. It is a training certificate for the individual learner.

Yes. ISO/IEC 17020 Awareness is a self-paced online course made of short video modules, in English with captions. You study at your own pace during 12 months of access, and practice questions after modules help you check your understanding before the final exam. If a point is unclear, questions are answered by a Sterling consultant.

ISO/IEC 17020 Awareness is US$19 per learner. Teams save 20% for 11 to 50 learners and 30% for 51 to 200 learners; 201 or more learners are priced on request. Client administrators can track their team's progress. Prices are in US dollars, excluding taxes, and Sterling confirms final pricing and enrolment.

No. The Certificate of Completion is a training certificate: it shows that one person completed ISO/IEC 17020 Awareness and reached the pass mark in its final exam. It is not certification of an organisation to ISO/IEC 17020, and Sterling does not certify organisations. Accreditation of an inspection body is granted by an accreditation body after its own assessment; this course helps staff understand what that assessment looks for.

The 2026 edition of ISO/IEC 17020 describes independence as type A and type non-A, as part of its structural requirements alongside the legal entity and how the inspection body is organised. The course explains these independence types at awareness level and the main changes from the 2012 edition, so that inspectors understand why impartiality is protected.