At a meeting convened during the 6th European Conference on NDT held in Nice, France, during 1994, the representatives of member bodies of the then European Council for Non-Destructive Testing (ECNDT) – now the European Federation (EFNDT) – signed a declaration of intent to establish Multilateral Mutual Recognition of Certification within the membership of the ECNDT.

The work of developing a Multilateral Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) was entrusted to a Working Group on EU/EFTA matters. This group has subsequently been renamed the Working Group on Qualification and Certification, and has produced and implemented for the EFNDT a Multilateral Recognition Agreement for NDT personnel certification.

The objectives of this Agreement are:

1. To promote harmonisation of the operations of the independent NDT personnel certification schemes nominated by the national NDT societies of European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries.
2. To facilitate recognition of qualifications and certification of NDT personnel in Europe and internationally in order to facilitate the free movement of plant, equipment and personnel and to avoid uneconomic re-inspection.

The Agreement is open to NDT Personnel Qualification and Certification schemes which are:

• Nominated by national NDT Societies that have signed the agreement.
• Accredited by an EFNDT recognised accreditation agency or government department.

Each scheme which is party to and a signatory of this Agreement accepts that each party registered under the Agreement meets the requirements of European Standards and associated technical documents for which they hold current accreditation.

What are the obligations following registration?

Being signatory to the MRA involves discharging a number of obligations. Each party to the Agreement has agreed to:

• publish in its own national language(s) a notice advising of this Agreement and listing the participant certification schemes
• publish details of certification requirements which are additional to those of the European Standards
• commit itself to the pursuance of the objectives of the group
• assist the others in their effort to give a clear overview of the certification activities in its own country.

Who is bound to recognise registered certification?

The following national NDT Societies have signed the EFNDT Agreement on Multilateral Recognition of NDT Personnel Certification schemes and have thereby agreed to recognise certificates issued by the particular Certification Schemes registered by EFNDT in accordance with the Agreement

Australia is the first country in the Asia/Pacific region to register under this agreement and, in so doing, has provided Australia’s manufacturing industry with an important advantage in their efforts to gain access to the European market place.