Efforts to ensure quality in healthcare, to elaborate patterns and criteria have been a challenge in Brazil. This study aimed to identify the process of evaluation criteria applied to the nursing services adopted by Accreditation programs, and classify them in administrative, assistential and teaching research attributions. The study was exploratory, descriptive and quantitative. Collected data from 7 companies accredited by the National Accrediting Organization leaded into 8 models, which were divided into A, B and C groups. Seventy-nine criteria were identified; 32 from assistential, 32 administrative and 15 teaching-research processes. The nursing service was evaluated with focus in the C group. A small amount of assistential and learning research in A and B groups, showing that an increase in criteria would be necessary in order to obtain more accurate measuring.