Recertifying to ISO 9001:2015 this year? What to do about 2026

When ISO 9001:2026 was launched on 16 September 2026, ISO streamed the launch online. Transition timing was one of the most common subjects in the comments. One question summed up the uncertainty particularly well. An organisation certified to ISO 9001:2015 was due for recertification the following week and wanted to know whether it should change its plans and move immediately to the new edition.

If your organisation is in a similar position, there is no need to panic or cancel an audit that is already scheduled. The publication of ISO 9001:2026 does not automatically invalidate your existing certificate, and nobody should arrive at your next audit expecting you to comply with a standard you have not yet had time to review.

The transition is intended to give organisations enough time to understand the revised requirements, determine what needs to change and introduce those changes in a controlled way. The most useful approach is to continue operating your existing management system while planning the move to the new edition with your certification body.

Your existing certificate remains valid

Organisations certified to ISO 9001:2015 are expected to have a three year transition period, ending in September 2029. Your certificate can remain valid during this period, subject to the normal rules of your certification and the transition arrangements set by your certification body.

This means that an organisation recertifying against ISO 9001:2015 shortly after the publication of the new edition does not need to rebuild its management system or immediately arrange another complete recertification audit. In many cases, the transition assessment can be completed alongside a future surveillance or recertification audit. The exact process, timing and additional audit time will depend on the arrangements established by your certification body.

The important point is that the transition should be planned. Your current certificate does not disappear because a new edition has been published, but your organisation will need to complete the transition before the applicable deadline if it wants to maintain accredited certification.

Ask your certification body about the timing

A certification body must have the appropriate accreditation arrangements in place before it can issue accredited certification against ISO 9001:2026. Until then, it may continue conducting your certification audits against ISO 9001:2015.

ISO advises certified organisations to speak directly with their certification body about transition arrangements. This is the best source of information because the practical timing will depend on your certification body, its accreditation and your existing audit cycle.

At your next audit, or before it, ask when the certification body expects to be ready to provide accredited certification against ISO 9001:2026. You should also ask what transition arrangements it will apply, which of your scheduled audits is likely to include the transition assessment and whether additional audit time will be required.

If you are seeking certification for the first time, ask which edition the certification body will be able to certify you against on your planned audit date. The answer will depend on its accreditation status and the timing of your audit, so direct confirmation is more reliable than general guidance found online.

Once you have these answers, you can build a realistic transition plan around your existing audit programme rather than trying to guess when the change should happen.

Continue running your existing programmes

Another question raised during the launch concerned existing corrective actions, internal audit programmes and management review programmes. Organisations wanted to know whether these activities would need to be started again under the new edition.

The answer is no. Your existing management system still provides the foundation for the transition. Your process map, quality objectives, internal audit programme, management reviews and corrective action process should continue to operate.

You do not need to close existing corrective actions simply because a new edition has been published. They should continue to be managed according to your current process until they have been properly addressed and verified. The same principle applies to planned internal audits and management reviews.

The transition should involve updating and strengthening your existing system where necessary, not replacing it without a clear reason. As you review the new edition, you can add the revised requirements to your current programmes and determine whether any existing processes need to change.

What I would do this year

The organisations that struggle with a standards transition are often those that leave all the work until the final audit of the final year. They then try to understand the revised requirements, update the system, complete internal audits and prepare for certification at the same time.

If you recertify against ISO 9001:2015 this year, your transition may take place during one of the surveillance audits that follows. This gives you time to prepare properly, provided you start the process early.

The first step is to obtain a copy of ISO 9001:2026 and compare it with the management system you operate today. Do not begin by rewriting every procedure. Start by identifying which revised requirements affect your organisation and where you already have suitable processes or evidence in place.

Particular attention should be given to quality culture and ethical behaviour, the clearer treatment of risks and opportunities, organisational knowledge, change management and the continuing requirement to consider whether climate change is relevant to your management system. The revised guidance should also be reviewed to understand how the requirements may be interpreted and applied.

Once you understand the changes, decide what is relevant to your organisation. Some matters may require a larger review, while others may only need a documented discussion and a clear decision. Climate change is a useful example. You can begin by adding one question to the agenda of your next management review: is climate change a relevant issue for our organisation and our quality management system?

The answer may be yes or no, depending on your context, customers, suppliers and other interested parties. What matters is that the question has been considered and that the reasoning behind the decision can be demonstrated.

The next step is to include the revised requirements in your internal audit programme. It is better to audit these areas next year than to wait until the final months of the transition period. This gives you time to identify gaps, take corrective action and check whether any changes are working as intended.

When reviewing opportunities, open your risk and opportunity records and look for evidence of improvements that the organisation identified, evaluated and either pursued or consciously decided not to pursue. Many organisations have detailed risk registers but very little recorded evidence of opportunities.

When reviewing quality culture, speak to people throughout the organisation. Ask what happens when they identify a quality concern or stop a process because something does not look right. Their answers will often tell you more about the organisation’s culture than a policy or presentation.

By the time your certification body is ready to assess you against ISO 9001:2026, your internal audits should already have covered the revised requirements. The transition assessment then becomes a review of changes you have already considered, implemented and tested.

Ignore the pressure to rush

Some of the commentary surrounding a new edition can make organisations feel that they need a completely new management system. ISO 9001:2026 is a revision of a standard that certified organisations already operate. It does not automatically require every procedure, form and process to be replaced.

If someone recommends a complete system rewrite, ask which specific requirement makes it necessary. Changes should be based on the needs of your organisation and the requirements of the new edition, not on pressure created by the launch of a new standard.

If you are recertifying against ISO 9001:2015 this year, use the transition period calmly and productively. Continue operating your current management system, speak with your certification body, review the revised requirements and include them in your internal audit programme.

The goal is not to produce a large collection of new documents. The goal is to make sure that your management system continues to work and that you can demonstrate how the revised requirements have been understood and applied.

The ISO 9001:2015 to ISO 9001:2026 Key Changes course explains each of the main changes and helps you plan the work at your own pace, well before your transition assessment.