Assessment and confirmation of compliance, performance, and/or actions relative to a stated commitment, policy, goal, target, or other obligation. Verification signifies that information is checked and confirmed by persons other than those involved in the operation or entity being assessed.

Related definitions include the following:

• First-party verification: Verification conducted by the company itself but carried out by personnel not involved in the design or implementation of the operations being verified.
• Second-party verification: Verification conducted by a related entity with an interest in the company or operation being assessed, such as the business customer of a production/processing operation or a contractor that also provides services other than verification.
• Third-party verification: Verification conducted by an independent entity that does not provide other services to the company.