Use of certification bodies and their selection

Answer:
I am not aware of any restriction on the continued use of a certification body over several years. I believe that normal organizations do not change the certification body unless there is a deep dissatisfaction. Most certification bodies, to avoid systematic errors and too much familiarity between auditors and organizations, change auditors from certification cycle to the certification cycle.

“Is it recommended to use a certain certification body which is familiar with the particular project's activities/processes for the entire life of the project?”

Answer:
That depends on what an organization wants from certification. If an organization wants to use certification as a long-term business tool I recommend, when choosing a certification body, considering main criteria such as reputation; accreditation body used; and specialization.

Your question is about specialization. If you are a bank, it is actually not a v ery good idea to have a certification body that has, until now, certified only manufacturing companies. This auditor may have a lot of experience, but if he has audited only manufacturing companies, you will lose too much time explaining to him how the bank works. As a result, he will be learning as much from you as you are from him. So, in principle, using a certification body familiar with the activities and processes is a way of ensuring more useful audits with less theoretical interpretations of the standard, or less bureaucracy.

The following material will provide you information about choosing a certification body:
- How to choose a certification body - https://advisera.com/blog/2021/01/11/how-to-choose-an-iso-certification-body/
- How should you pick an ISO 9001 certification body? - https://advisera.com/blog/2021/01/11/how-to-choose-an-iso-certification-body/
- How to choose a certification body for ISO 14001 - https://advisera.com/blog/2021/01/11/how-to-choose-an-iso-certification-body/
- Free course – ISO 9001:2015 Internal Auditor Course - https://advisera.com/training/iso-9001-internal-auditor-course/
- Book - Discover ISO 9001:2015 Through Practical Examples - https://advisera.com/books/discover-iso-9001-2015-through-practical-examples/

Thank you very much Carlos for your time and helpfull answers.