Get Accredited · International

Full Accreditation Pathway

International recognition. 3-year accreditation cycle. Independent ADC decision. Gold badge. Global registry. Available in every country — no local partner required.

Who it is for: Any healthcare facility that wants internationally recognised accreditation against ASF standards. No local NAP partner required. Available in every country. Facilities that have completed ASF Certification transfer their 12-month record — not starting from zero.

What Full Accreditation Means

ASF Accreditation is a formal, independently decided recognition that a healthcare facility meets international quality and patient safety standards. It is awarded by the ASF Accreditation Decision Committee — a body with an external majority and no financial relationship with the facility — after a full 3-year cycle of quarterly self-assessment, annual Monitor virtual milestone reviews, and a full in-facility verification at renewal (ASF-MON-STD-v1.1, Standard B3).

The credential is the same regardless of country, income tier, or facility size. A Gold badge from a primary health clinic in Mali means the same as a Gold badge from a hospital in Paris: the facility has met every Non-Negotiable criterion, at least 85% of Core criteria, and at least 70% of Standard criteria, verified by an independent Monitor and confirmed by an ASF supervisor.

Thresholds Required

Tier	Threshold	Consequence of failure
Non-Negotiable (weight 3×)	100% — all must be met	Any single failure bars accreditation regardless of overall score
Core (weight 2×)	≥85% of weighted Core points	Below threshold = Deferred or Conditionally Accredited
Standard (weight 1×)	≥70% of weighted Standard points	Below threshold = Conditionally Accredited with 60-day correction window

Non-Negotiable criteria are patient safety absolutes — hand hygiene infrastructure, medication reconciliation, infection control, informed consent. They cannot be traded off against strong performance elsewhere. This is the design feature that distinguishes ASF from scoring-based systems where a facility can pass overall while failing a critical safety criterion.

Decision Options

Decision	Conditions	What happens next
Accredited	All thresholds met	Certificate within 3 working days. Public registry updated. Gold badge issued.
Conditionally Accredited	Non-Negotiable met; minor Core/Standard gaps; documented plan	60-day correction window. Coordinator submits evidence of gap closure. ADC reviews. Full accreditation if closed.
Deferred	Non-Negotiable gaps	New full in-facility verification and new renewal visit within 6 months. Fee for the additional visit only.
Not Accredited	Fundamental failures or evidence of falsification	Full cycle restart. Appeal available within 30 days. If falsification: Monitor credential investigated.

3-Year Renewal

Accreditation is renewed every 3 years. The quarterly Coordinator cycle and the annual Monitor virtual milestone reviews continue throughout the cycle; the full in-facility verification at the close of year 3 is the renewal decision point. There is no separate renewal application — the ongoing cycle itself is the renewal. If a facility fails to submit a quarterly report, its accreditation status changes to “Lapsed” on the public registry after 60 days of non-submission, and the facility receives written notice.

Frequently Asked

Can we start full accreditation without going through certification first?

Yes. Certification is an entry pathway, not a prerequisite. Facilities that already have strong quality systems — or that are in countries without a NAP partner — go directly to full accreditation.

What if we already hold JCI, Accreditation Canada, or another international accreditation?

Your existing accreditation is recognised as evidence. Many Non-Negotiable and Core criteria will already be met and documented. Your Coordinator maps existing evidence to ASF criteria during Q1. The 3-year cycle still applies — ASF verifies current practice, not historical certificates.

Is the ADC decision appealable?

Yes. Any Not Accredited or Deferred decision may be appealed within 30 days. The appeals panel is 3 members, none from the original decision panel. It reviews process compliance — whether ASF followed its own rules — not clinical merit. Decision within 60 days. See ADC governance.

How long does the whole process take?

A full 3-year cycle from registration to the ADC decision at renewal — this is a deliberate design choice, not a delay: quarterly evidence and annual milestones build a genuine track record before the full verification, rather than assessing a facility against a single snapshot. The free self-assessment tells you how much preparation you need before you register.

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Want to understand the model behind this?

The Four Named Roles · The Quarterly Cycle · The Annual Visit · The ADC · Quality Assurance · Theory of Change — read the complete ASF Model →