Certification body in the railroad sector; application for recognition as an ECM certification body.

If your company is active in the railroad sector and would like to work as a so-called ECM certification body (ECMZ), it requires the corresponding recognition by the Federal Railway Authority (EBA).

Description

You want to operate as a certification body in the railroad sector? Then you must have yourself recognized by the Federal Railway Authority (EBA) as an ECM certification body (ECMZ). In your application, you can also limit yourself to a selection of vehicle categories and maintenance functions.

ECM certification bodies are conformity assessment bodies. An ECM certification body (ECMZ) certifies a body or bodies responsible for the maintenance of vehicles.

ECM certification bodies (ECMZ)

ECMZs issue maintenance center certificates. As an ECMZ, you thus certify other bodies responsible for the maintenance of railroad vehicles. This includes for example

  • the railroads,
  • owners of railroad vehicles and
  • contractually commissioned third parties.

The tasks of a certification include evaluation, assessment and certification decision. The audits cover, among others, the following maintenance activities to be certified:

Vehicle categories:

  • Freight cars and cars specifically for the transport of dangerous goods,
  • Locomotives, multiple units, high-speed vehicles, control cars,
  • auxiliary vehicles and
  • Passenger coaches.

Maintenance functions:

  • Maintenance development,
  • fleet maintenance management and
  • maintenance provision.

Recognition ECMZ

Recognition as an ECMZ is valid for a maximum of 5 years. You can extend it for another 5 years. Your recognition as ECMZ will be reported by EBA to the European Railway Agency (ERA) and published in the database of the European Union Agency for Railway Interoperability and Safety (ERADIS).

Recognized ECM certification bodies are regularly monitored by the EBA.

Prerequisites

To be recognized as an ECMZ, you must

  • have your registered office in the Federal Republic of Germany
  • have the number of staff members with technical knowledge and sufficient relevant experience as specified in European law
  • have the relevant descriptions of procedures according to which conformity assessment is carried out, in order to ensure transparency and the possibility of applying these procedures,
  • have appropriate policies and procedures that distinguish between the tasks you perform as a conformity assessment body and other activities.
  • have appropriate procedures for carrying out your activities; the procedures shall take into account
    • the size of your organization
    • the industry in which you operate
    • your company structure, and
    • the degree of complexity of the product technology in question.
  • Have the necessary resources to adequately perform the technical and administrative tasks associated with conformity assessment. In addition, you must have access to any required equipment or facilities.
  • Have liability insurance for personal injury, property damage and financial loss, which must have a minimum insured amount of EUR 2.5 million for each insured event and at least double coverage for the entire year.
  • be impartial, which means
    • that the ECM certification body must be organizationally and functionally independent in its decision making from railroad undertakings, infrastructure managers, keepers, manufacturers and entities in charge of maintenance and must not provide similar services.
    • if you and the organization, or the manufacturer, belong to the same trade or professional association:
      • there must be no conflict of interest.
    • for ECMZ the requirements for independence according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17065 chapter 4.2 apply.

Procedure

You can apply for recognition as an ECMZ online. Before submitting your application, you can arrange a free informational interview with the EBA if needed.

If you wish to apply for recognition as an ECMZ, the following steps are required:

  • Download the application forms F09c, F09c1 and F10c from the Federal Railway Authority's website and fill them out completely.
  • Access the eService portal of the EBA.
  • Log in with your user data.
    • If you do not yet have a user account for the e-Service portal, you must register once.
  • Select the procedure and the type of job.
  • The application wizard will guide you step by step through the required information.
  • Upload the required documents as a file and submit the application,
    • Supported file formats: PDF, DOCX, DOC, XLSX, XLS, maximum 30 megabytes per file.
  • You will receive an automated confirmation of receipt by EMail when the application has been received.
  • If necessary, the EBA will ask you by EMail to submit further documents.
  • The EBA confirms the completeness and verifiability of your application for recognition and puts together an assessment team.
  • After completion of the substantive examination, you will receive a list of assessment questions to answer.
  • Submit the answered assessment questionnaire as a subsequent submission via the eService.
  • The EBA will check the content of the documents you have submitted.
  • If the results of the review are not satisfactory, the EBA will conduct an on-site review with you.
  • After completion of the assessment, the assessment team submits an assessment report to the recognition committee and makes a proposal regarding recognition.
  • The recognition committee at the EBA decides on the recognition. If the recognition is granted, the EBA sends you the draft of the recognition certificate including the annexes with the request to submit a statement on it within 2 weeks.
  • If you do not submit an opinion or if the certificate of recognition has been agreed between the EBA and you as a result of the opinion, the EBA will finalize the notice of recognition and the certificate and send you both by mail together with the assessment report.
  • You will also receive a cost notification by mail. Pay the fees.

Deadlines

The recognition is valid for a maximum of 5 years and can be extended for another 5 years.

Processing time

6 to 24 months

Required documents

  • Required Documents

    • eine Beschreibung
      • Ihrer Tätigkeiten als Zertifizierungsstelle und
      • Ihrer Verfahren im Rahmen der Zertifizierungsdurchführung
    • ausgefülltes Formular "F10c" – Checkliste nach EN ISO/IEC 17065 und Sektorales Schema.
    • zusätzlich zum Antragsformular F09c: Formular "F09c1" – Fachkompetenz hinsichtlich der zu zertifizierenden Instandhaltungstätigkeiten
    • gegebenenfalls aktuelle Urkunde der Akkreditierung nach DIN EN ISO/IEC 17065
    • gegebenenfalls aktuelle Urkunde der Zertifizierung nach ISO 9001
    • gegebenenfalls Nachweise als EBA-anerkannte sachverständige Person
    • sonstige Kompetenznachweise

Forms

  • Form, Bavaria-wide: Antragsformulare für Anerkennung von ECM-Zertifizierungsstellen
    Please note

    This form has to be signed and sent to the responsible authority. You can sign the form manually and send it by email/fax or sign the form electronically with your qualified electronic signature an send it by (secure) email. If the responsible authority has set up a De-Mail account, you can also send the form by De-Mail using an sender-confirmed message.

Online procedures

  • e-Service-Portal des Eisenbahn-Bundesamts

    After successful registration, the e-Service Portal of the Federal Railway Authority offers you the possibility to submit applications online. If a particular application is not yet displayed to you, you can have it activated if necessary.

Fees

  • The fees you have to pay are calculated according to the time spent processing your application:

    • Hourly rate: 120.00 EUR
    • for each quarter of an hour or part thereof: 30,00 EUR.

    Method of payment: SEPA bank transfer

Legal bases

Remedy

  • Objection
  • Detailed information on how to file an objection can be found in the notice.
  • Action before the administrative court

Links to more information

Related issues

Status:30.07.2023

Responsible for editing:Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr

Contains machine translated content. Show the original content

  • Online transactions, Bavaria-wide
  • Online transactions, locally limited
  • Form, Bavaria-wide
  • Form, locally limited
  • Prefillable Form, Bavaria-wide
  • Legal bases, Bavaria-wide
  • Legal bases, locally limited
  • Fees, Bavaria-wide
  • Fees, locally limited
Information

Responsible for you

If you select a location under "Localization" the contact details of the responsible authority and, if applicable, locally valid information will be displayed.

Top of page