Certificate suspension and withdrawal.

Grounds

A certificate may be suspended, wholly or in part, in particular where:

• a major nonconformity has not been cleared by the set deadline;
• a surveillance or renewal audit cannot take place on time because of the organisation;
• the organisation refuses access to sites, people or documents, or obstructs an additional audit;
• the certificate or mark is used in a misleading way and the misuse is not corrected when requested;
• a significant change that could affect conformity has not been reported;
• a substantiated complaint reveals a serious failure to meet the standard;
• fees due under the agreement remain unpaid after a reminder;
• the organisation itself asks for a suspension, for instance during a temporary halt in its activity.

The certificate is withdrawn where the cause of a suspension is not resolved within the period allowed, in the event of a serious breach (falsified evidence, deliberately false statements, fraudulent use of the certificate), when the certified activity ceases permanently, or at the organisation's request. For Qualiopi, a major nonconformity not cleared within 3 months leads to suspension or withdrawal of the certificate (order of 6 June 2019 as amended by the order of 31 May 2023).

Procedure

1. Establishing the facts. The ground is established and documented: an audit report, an investigated complaint, or information received from the organisation or a third party.
2. Notice. Gardiant Certification informs the organisation in writing of the facts identified, the evidence relied on and the measure being considered.
3. Right to respond. The organisation has a period, specified in the notice, to submit written comments and evidence, and may ask to be heard.
4. Decision. Someone who took part neither in the audit nor in investigating the ground takes the decision. It is written and reasoned, and states how long the suspension lasts, what is needed to lift it and how it can be challenged.

Where a breach poses an immediate risk to confidence in the certification, a suspension may take effect at once; the organisation then responds after being notified. A suspension is limited in time; its duration is specified in the notice of decision.

The decision can be contested: see complaints and appeals.

Consequences

During a suspension or after a withdrawal, the organisation may no longer refer to its certification or use the certificate (see the rules for using the certificate and logo).

• The Qualiopi mark and any reference to the certification are removed from materials, the website and sales documents for the whole scope concerned.
• The “suspended” or “withdrawn” status is shown on its page in the directory of certified organisations, and the public list is updated.
• For Qualiopi, losing certification affects access to public or pooled funding; information passed to the public authorities is that required by the applicable regulations.
• On withdrawal, copies of the certificate are returned or destroyed.

Reinstatement

A suspension is lifted once Gardiant Certification has verified that its cause has gone, either by reviewing the evidence supplied or through an additional audit, depending on the ground. Reinstatement is decided by someone independent of that verification. The status returns to “valid” in the directory, and the certificate's expiry date stays the same.

If the cause is not resolved within the set period, the certificate is withdrawn, or its scope reduced where the failure affects only part of it.

Final withdrawal

Withdrawal ends the certificate and cannot be reversed. An organisation wishing to be certified again must submit a new application, handled as an initial application with a full initial audit.

Scope reduction

Where a failure concerns only part of the scope — one Qualiopi category of actions, say, or one site covered by ISO 53001 — Gardiant Certification may reduce the scope rather than suspend the whole certificate. The same right to respond applies. An updated certificate is issued and the organisation stops all reference to the part removed.