Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, assessment, or audit. Accreditation is a specific organization's process of certification. According to the U.S. National Council on Measurement in Education, a certification test is a credentialing test used to determine whether individuals are knowledgeable enough in a given occupational area to be labeled "competent to practice" in that area.
As a rule, certificates must be renewed and periodically reviewed by a certifying regulatory body responsible for the validity of the certificate's assessment methods. The certifying body can be either a state authority or an independent private company. Certificates may even be issued by the companies themselves that use them, primarily as a marketing gimmick, which can be characterized as "cheap talk," meaning a trick that does not guarantee trust.
