Quality
ISO 9001:2026
Quality management systems
ISO 9001 sets out requirements for a quality management system: the way an organisation plans, runs, checks and improves the work that delivers its products and services.
A certified organisation has shown an independent certification body that it understands what its customers need, controls the processes that meet those needs, and learns from its results and its mistakes. ISO 9001:2026 is the current edition.
Who it suits
Organisations of any size and in any sector that want a consistent, documented way of working and need to show it to customers, tender panels or regulators. It is often the first management system standard an organisation adopts. Most other ISO management system standards share its structure, so further requirements can later be added to the same system and audited together.
What certification involves
The organisation applies to ISAO, or to a certification body accredited for ISO 9001. Stage 1 of the initial audit reviews the documented system, the scope and the organisation's readiness; stage 2 tests on site whether the system works in practice, through interviews, records and observation of work. Major nonconformities must be corrected before certification is granted. The certificate names the organisation, the products and services in scope, the sites and the edition of the standard. Certificates are normally valid for three years, with surveillance audits at least once a year and a recertification audit before expiry. ISAO carries out this certification itself, and also accredits certification bodies to do it. Every certificate ISAO issues, and every certificate issued under ISAO accreditation, is recorded on the public register.
Key themes
- Understanding the organisation's context, its customers and other interested parties
- Leadership that promotes a culture of quality and ethical behaviour, a new emphasis in 2026
- Planning to deal with risks and, separately, to take up opportunities
- Control of how products and services are designed and delivered, including work done by suppliers
- Planned, controlled changes to the system
- Measurement, internal audit, management review, corrective action and continual improvement
Edition and transition
- Current edition
- ISO 9001:2026
- Replaces
- ISO 9001:2015Previous edition, in transition
- Transition period under ISAO accreditation
- Contact us
ISO 9001:2026, the sixth edition, was published on 16 September 2026. It replaces ISO 9001:2015 and that edition's 2024 climate change amendment. The main changes:
- Leaders are now expected to foster a culture of quality and ethical conduct, and staff awareness covers it too
- Actions on risks and actions on opportunities are planned separately
- Changes to the quality management system must be planned and controlled more thoroughly
- Clause 3 now defines a few core management system terms; ISO 9000 still holds the rest of the vocabulary
A certificate to ISO 9001:2015 can stay valid during the transition period, but not beyond its own expiry date and only while it is not suspended or withdrawn. An organisation moves to the new edition through an audit by its certification body, usually combined with a surveillance or recertification audit.
Check a certificate for ISO 9001:2026
- Enter the certificate number or verification code at Verify a certificate, or scan the QR code on the certificate. The record shows the certificate's status today, for example valid, suspended, withdrawn or expired.
- Compare the organisation name, scope and sites on the record with the copy you were given. Check that the scope covers the products or services you are buying.
- Check who issued the certificate, as named on the record. Where a certification body accredited by ISAO issued it, the record shows the status of that accreditation and its accreditation number, and says so if the accreditation did not cover ISO 9001:2026 when the certificate was issued.
- During the transition a valid certificate may still name ISO 9001:2015, the previous edition: check it in the same way.
- ISO publishes the standard but does not certify organisations, and the ISO logo must not be used on certificates.
- If the certificate is not on the register, ISAO cannot confirm it: it may have been issued under another accreditation, or a detail may be wrong. Ask the issuing body, and report a concern if something does not look right.
Related standards
- ISO 14001:2026 Environmental management systems Often combined with ISO 9001 in one integrated system
- ISO 45001:2018 Occupational health and safety management systems Often combined with ISO 9001 in one integrated system
- ISO 13485:2016 Quality management systems for medical devices
- ISO 21001:2025 Management systems for educational organisations A management system for educational organisations, aligned with ISO 9001
This is ISAO’s own summary, not the text of the standard. Copies of ISO 9001:2026 can be bought from ISO or from national standards bodies.