Templates and records · ISO 17025 · Clause 7.1

ISO 17025 review of requests, tenders and contracts

Before accepting a job, the laboratory checks that it understands what is being asked, that it can deliver with the right method and, if conformity is to be stated, how it will handle uncertainty.

In one sentence

The review of requests, tenders and contracts records the customer’s requirements, the method selected, the laboratory’s capability and resources, any planned subcontracting, the specification and decision rule agreed when a statement of conformity is requested, and any later change, because clause 7.1 of ISO/IEC 17025 requires that review before work starts and the retention of its records, including relevant discussions with the customer (7.1.8).

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Where the standard requires it: ISO 17025 · Clause 7.1 Clauses are cited using the numbering of ISO/IEC 17025:2017, the current edition and the same one the Academy uses.
Type of information: Mandatory record Records of reviews and of significant changes (7.1.8)
Who fills it in: Customer service with the technical lead The technical side —method, decision rule— is reviewed by authorised staff
When: Before accepting the work And again if the contract changes after work has started
How long it is kept: Set by the laboratory The standard requires a retention time to be defined for each record, consistent with contractual and legal obligations (8.4.2). Covering at least the accreditation cycle lets you show the history at every reassessment.

What the standard requires

What ISO 17025 demands and what it leaves to your judgement

The standard requires a procedure for reviewing requests, tenders and contracts that ensures requirements are defined and understood, the laboratory has the capability and resources, the method is appropriate and the customer is informed if work will be subcontracted.

If the customer requests a statement of conformity to a specification, the specification and the decision rule must be clearly defined and, unless inherent in the standard or specification itself, agreed with the customer. The decision rule states how uncertainty is accounted for when declaring “pass” or “fail”.

Deviations from the contract are communicated to the customer and, if the contract changes once work has begun, the review is repeated and the staff affected are informed. For routine requests a simplified review is enough, provided it is recorded.

Read it in context: Process requirements, in the ISO 17025 Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

Customer, request and date
Items, parameters and number of samples
Proposed method and whether it is standard, modified or in-house
Capability and resources: equipment, staff, turnaround
Planned subcontracting and customer approval
Specification and decision rule agreed, if conformity is to be stated
Deviations communicated to the customer
Contract changes and repeat review
Reviewer and date

Example

Example: request to analyse an effluent discharge

Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.

Field	Content
Request	SOL-2026-0388 · 9 March 2026 · industrial customer (fictitious)
Parameters	COD, suspended solids, nickel and zinc · 12 monthly samples
Methods	Standard and accredited, except zinc by ICP-MS: validated in-house method
Capability	Available · report turnaround 10 working days
Subcontracting	None
Conformity	Against the limits in the customer’s discharge permit
Decision rule	Simple acceptance: “fail” if the result exceeds the limit, with uncertainty stated in the report · agreed in writing on 11 March
Review	Technical lead · 11 March 2026

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

Statements of conformity issued without a decision rule agreed with the customer.
No record of the review for routine orders received by email or phone.
Work subcontracted without informing the customer.
Customer changes midway through the work that are neither recorded nor passed on to staff.
The customer asks for an obsolete method and nobody warns them.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1Each request is logged on a form with its approval workflow, so no job is accepted without a technical review.
2The agreed decision rule is kept in the request record and used when the report is generated from a controlled template.
3Every item is identified and traceable from the moment it enters the laboratory.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

What is a decision rule?

The rule describing how measurement uncertainty is accounted for when stating that a result does or does not conform to a specification. ISO/IEC 17025 defines it and requires it to be documented; ILAC G8 describes the most common rules, such as simple acceptance or guard bands.

Does every routine order have to be reviewed?

Yes, although the review can be straightforward if the work is repetitive and covered by a framework agreement. What cannot be missing is evidence that it was done.

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Sources

Where each figure comes from

References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.

ISO/IEC 17025:2017 — General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories ISO/IEC · November 2017
ILAC G8 — Guidelines on Decision Rules and Statements of Conformity ILAC · Edition 09/2019