This document specifies requirements for certified reference materials (CRMs) of higher metrological order and the content of the supporting documentation and the calibration hierarchies as described in ISO 17511:2020, 5.2.1, 5.3.1, 5.4.1, 5.5.1, 5.6.1, 5.7.1. It is applicable to CRMs intended for use as either primary reference materials (PRMs), secondary calibrators or international conventional calibrators within calibration hierarchies appropriate for measurands used in laboratory medicine, or for applications as trueness controls. It also specifies requirements for determining the certified value of a CRM, including evaluation, and reporting of the assigned uncertainty.

This document is applicable primarily to CRMs with assigned property values where the property has a magnitude that can be expressed as a quantitative scalar number or ratio to a reference or refers to a counting scale as also described in ISO 17511:2020, Clause 1.

When a CRM includes multiple measurands, this document is applied to each of the certified quantity values present in the CRM.

Although intended to be applicable to producers of CRMs, this document is also useful for reference materials (RMs) that are not in conformity with the full metrological requirements of CRMs. For example, this document does not apply to an RM created by an in vitro diagnostic medical device (IVD MD) manufacturer for use as working calibrator or end-user calibrator within a calibration hierarchy traceable to a CRM, although some content can be useful in assessing its performance.