Preparing for the Change – Transition to ISO 9001:2026

As everyone in the quality game is aware, the world now has a new version of ISO 9001. ISO standards touch almost everything we do, and they help to make the world a safer and more efficient place. This drives the need to evaluate the effectiveness of the standard and make changes to drive continual improvement within our own organizations and industrywide.

The task of understanding the revised standard’s effect on your organization can be overwhelming. We at PJR want to ease our clients and potential clients into this new standard and have composed this simplified FAQ to address some of the most pressing questions and address what steps can be taken now to prepare for the coming change. In addition to this FAQ, PJR also offers an overview of changes via our ISO 9001:2026 webinar, with easy registration available at https://www.pjr.com/upcoming-webinars.

ISO 9001:2026 FAQs

Why is the ISO 9001 standard changing again?

The primary reason for the revision to ISO 9001 on this occasion is the update that took place earlier to the High-Level Outline (Annex SL) by the ISO. The most important change that took place at that level was the introduction of the concept of “culture.” In ISO 9001 this concept manifests as “Quality Culture.” This requirement has been sprinkled throughout ISO 9001 (appearing 13 times overall including 4 references in the auditable portion.) The basic concept can be boiled down to the idea that an ISO 9001 certified company should seek to make their quality management activities a “culture” or an embedded part of company life. The other significant update on this revision is the introduction of climate change language in the high-level outline. We’ve provided a separate Q&A below for this item.

What is the expected timeline?

The new standard was published on September 16, 2026. The GAC (this is the organization that manages ISO 9001 certifications from a high-level perspective) has indicated that they will allow a three-year transition period and will use the “end of the month” markers for the important deadlines. This means that the ISO 9001:2015 standard will become obsolete on September 30, 2029. As a result, all ISO 9001:2015 certifications issued in late 2026 and beyond will have to bear an expiry date of September 30, 2029.

Companies will be permitted to gain a new certification (either through a Stage 2 or Recertification audit) to ISO 9001:2015 through March 30, 2028 (this represents the halfway point of the transition timeline.) Companies will technically be permitted to perform surveillance audits to ISO 9001:2015 through September 30, 2029 – but PJR will cease offering audits of any kind to ISO 9001:2015 on June 30, 2029.

My audits are normally due in late July, and the transition period ends in September. Why can’t my company have its transition audit in late July 2029?

While it is true that the transition period does not end until September 30, 2029, it is not just required that your audit is conducted by this date. If any nonconformities are discovered during the audit, they must be addressed with corrective action, and PJR’s Executive Committee (decision-making body) must review and approve the audit package by the transition deadline. A late July 2029 audit likely does not provide enough time for this to happen. Thus, your organization could transition in July 2027, July 2028 or choose to have an earlier audit in 2029, perhaps May or June, to allow adequate time for completion of the post-audit process.

All transition audits must be completed within 90 days of the transition end date of September 30, 2029. Thus, all transition audits must be completed by June 30, 2029.

My organization is not yet certified. We have been working at implementing ISO 9001:2015 for a while. Can we still seek certification to the 2015 version of the standard and then transition later?

PJR appreciates that a lot of work may have gone into preparing for certification to ISO 9001:2015. Per the GAC requirements we will allow initial audits to the 2015 version of the standard until eighteen months into the transition period, or March 30, 2028.

Keep in mind that ISO 9001:2015 will be obsolete on September 30, 2029. Therefore, the expiration date on any 2015 certificate issued after the publication of ISO 9001:2015 will be September 30, 2029. Thus, it may appear that your organization is not being granted a full, three-year certificate. However, after successful transition to ISO 9001:2026, the expiry date of your certificate will be amended to reflect a full three-year certification.

What if we have a Recertification audit in early 2027, should we just plan on performing that audit to ISO 9001:2026?

This will be a strategic decision that each company makes on its own, but there are a few key points to bear in mind.

• If you have had a chance to examine your quality system against the revised requirements and feel that you are ready, you can certainly request that your upcoming recertification audit be performed to ISO 9001:2026.
• Timing the transition to your regular recertification audit is ideal, but not in any way mandatory.
• You could certainly perform your 2027 Recertification Audit to ISO 9001:2015 and then complete a transition audit to ISO 9001:2026 in 2028 or 2029.

Is it better to transition earlier?

As described in the question above, it is important to avoid waiting until the last minute. However, there is no difference if you transition in April 2027, April 2028 or April 2029, for example. An ISO 9001:2015 certificate is still valid until the end of the transition period. In no way should an ISO 9001:2026 certificate be perceived as better than an ISO 9001:2015 certificate until the obsolescence date of that standard.

What happens if my organization doesn’t transition on time?

If your organization does not have a transition audit prior to the end of the transition period/obsolescence date of ISO 9001:2015, then you will no longer be certified as of the end of the transition period. To become certified to ISO 9001:2026, you will need to start over with an initial audit (Stage 1 and Stage 2).

If your organization does have its transition audit but the audit package is not closed prior to the end of the transition period/obsolescence date of ISO 9001:2015, then an ISO 9001:2026 certificate will be issued as soon as the package can be closed. This means that there will be a lapse in your certification status. Our Scheduling Department will work with you to ensure the timely scheduling of any transition audits that occur later in the transition period to avoid this unfortunate situation.

What are the critical changes?

PJR has prepared a separate presentation showing an overview of the changes to the standard. The summation of that report can be stated as follows: “nothing of significance.” The Quality Culture and Climate Change updates are frankly the only updates of any minor impact. There are other more nuanced changes, but none of these should have any significant impact for a company already certified to ISO 9001:2015.

What is Annex SL, and what does it have to do with ISO 9001?

Annex SL is a portion of the “ISO/IEC Directives Part 1 – Procedures for the technical work – Consolidated ISO Supplement – Procedures specific to ISO” document. This standard regulates and controls the process of developing, updating, and issuing ISO published standards.

The full text of Directives Part 1, including the Annex SL portion can be found here: https://www.iso.org/sites/directives/current/consolidated/index.html

Annex SL can be thought of as a ten-section blueprint to be used for all ISO standards. It promotes (among other things) common terms and core definitions for many of the terms used in the ISO family of standards. It is through the mandatory structure of Annex SL that organizations will be better enabled to achieve multiple certifications such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001, because each of these standards will have the same 10 sections and the same core terms and definitions.

We’ve already been certified for a long time, and our procedures are well implemented, do we have to change them?

PJR’s analysis has concluded that for the average ISO 9001:2015 certified company, the impact of the revised standard will be minimal and quite manageable. It is important to bear in mind that the ISO is seeking greater inclusion for the ISO 9001 standard. They want to see it continue to grow into new sectors and be even more user friendly than it is now. Requiring a company to aggressively overhaul their current ISO 9001:2015 system is not consistent with this objective.

Tell me more about the new “Climate Change” requirement

This requirement actually isn’t new. It was originally published as an officially binding addendum to ISO 9001:2015 in 2024. Despite what some sources are claiming, the “climate change” requirements are very minimal in ISO 9001:2026. They can be summarized thusly:
All ISO 9001 certified companies must consider Climate Change as a potentially relevant issue to their quality management system and act accordingly.

Note that it is absolutely possible for an organization to conclude that climate change has no bearing on them or their interested parties – PJR just needs to be able to see evidence of how that decision was reached.

Will our staff have to complete transition training?

It will depend on the extent of revisions that you make to your quality management system, but generally yes, you will be expected to provide some form of transition training to your staff.

At a minimum, PJR would expect that awareness training of the new standard would be provided, as well as an assessment of the new standard’s impact on the various processes and personnel. However, it is entirely conceivable that the majority of your staff will feel no effect from your company’s transition to ISO 9001:2026.

What about our internal auditors, will they have to complete transitional training?

Internal auditing is viewed in the same light as any other required competency within a quality management system. Namely, the organization is responsible for determining what competencies are required for its internal auditors, as well as the methods to be used to achieve those competencies.

To put it more plainly, each organization will have to decide on its own the extent to which transition training will be needed. It is conceivable that a seasoned team of internal auditors could complete a period of self-study and successfully transition to auditing ISO 9001:2026. As has always been the case, the competency of your internal auditors will be judged by the overall effectiveness of your internal audit process.

Will the other standards (AS9100, IATF 16949, etc.) be updated also?

All of the major sector specific standards, including IATF 16949, AS9100, and TL9000 have indicated their intentions to transition and continue their alignment with ISO 9001. The timelines for these other standard updates are not fully known at this time, but a 2026 or 2027 publication date seems likely for all three. At present the only major standard that is not planning to update is ISO 13485:2016.

What steps can we take right now?

PJR recommends the following steps be taken in a transition to ISO 9001:2026:

1. A full review of the ISO 9001:2026 standard should be performed by Top Management to identify the gaps that need to be addressed.
2. A plan of implementation should be developed with assigned responsibilities.
3. All quality management system documents (including the quality and procedures manual, if applicable) should be updated to reflect any new or revised processes.
4. All necessary awareness and transition training should be completed.
5. A full system internal audit followed by a Management Review should be complete.
6. Corrective Actions for all internal audit findings should be in process or complete.
7. Coordinate with PJR for planning of transition arrangements.

Will extra audit time be needed for my transition audit?

Potentially and only if you plan on transitioning on a surveillance audit. This is based on guidance provided by the GAC which states the following: “In determining if additional audit time is needed, the certification body shall consider, at a minimum, the degree of change to the client’s management system.”

If you plan to transition as part of a surveillance audit you can expect to receive a short pre-audit questionnaire from PJR that will enable us to ascertain how much of an impact ISO 9001:2026 has had on your quality management system. Because surveillance audits are typically shorter in duration than recertification audits, and based on what we learn from the questionnaire, we may conclude that a small measure of added time is needed.

If you plan to transition as part of a recertification audit PJR has concluded that no additional time will be needed.

Our organization is considering transferring our accredited ISO 9001:2015 certification to PJR. How does the transition timeline impact our plans to transfer?

The requirements will be the same whether you are a currently certified PJR client or a transfer candidate. PJR will transfer an ISO 9001:2015 certificate until March 30, 2028. Subsequent to this date, we cannot guarantee that all transition activities will be completed prior to the transition deadline.

These helpful ISO 9001 transition FAQ’s are also be available via download.

Should you have further questions or require assistance please contact PJR for a Project Manager.
Website: www.pjr.com • Phone: (248) 358-3388 • Email: pjr@pjr.com