Does my certification body have to be accredited by the accreditation authority in my country?

The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) is the world association of Conformity Assessment Accreditation Bodies. Some certification bodies such as PECB work globally, and undergoing accreditation audits in every country in which they operate would be too complex. Therefore, all IAF members recognize each other, and it is a requirement for accreditation authorities to do so, as iterated from IAF: “Accreditation body members must declare their common intention to join the IAF Multilateral Recognition Agreement (MLA) recognizing the equivalence of other members’ accreditations to their own.”

Hence, as long as your certification body is accredited by a member of the IAF, the accredited certifications it will issue will be accepted globally.