The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) have decided that assessments can be replaced by review of documentation only if on-site or remote assessment is not possible in very exceptional cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as travel restrictions, social distance, safety and health at work.
The IAF and ILAC have determined that if the on-site assessment is not possible within 12 months of the review of the documentation, for reasons not attributable to the accreditation body, the accreditation body should normally begin the process of suspending or withdrawing the accreditation of conformity assessment body
For the initial evaluation, just reviewing the documentation is not enough.