By September 2026, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) expects to release ISO 9001:2026, amending the current Quality Management Systems standard ISO 9001:2015.

CIP clients currently certified to ISO 9001:2015 will undergo a transition audit to the 2026 edition of the standard over a 3-year period, from 2026 up to 2029, 3 years being the normal duration ISO and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) provide to enable QMS-certified organizations sufficient time to shift to the new edition as basis of their audits and certification by their certification body.

During the transition period, starting from the official release from ISO in Geneva of ISO 9001:2026, CIP will be rolling out executive briefings and public trainings to enable its current and future clients clear understanding of the requirements of the 2026 edition and how best to approach the transition and certification of their QMS from ISO 9001:2015 to ISO 9001:2026.

The forthcoming edition is intended to keep the Quality Management System used by organizations, whether at global or national levels, continually relevant and responsive to changing needs and expectations of stakeholders.

While requirements under the 2015 edition of ISO 9001 will remain, the draft edition seeks to raise further the value of the standard by providing top management a clearer road map to strengthen the role of their QMS as a governance framework to help bring their organizations towards their defined strategic direction. Several requirements in the existing edition have been clarified, reworded or slightly expanded in the planned amendments.

If the draft provisions, currently undergoing worldwide comments, are retained in the final edition of ISO 9001:2026, organizations will be reminded to consider their strategic direction when analyzing their internal context and related issue. Whether climate change is relevant to organizations and to their interested parties is expected to remain in the standard as an item to be determined by these organizations.

Leadership and commitment to the Quality Management System are to be demonstrated by top management through their promotion of a quality culture and ethical behavior, particularly in the shared values, attitudes and established practices within their organization. The current draft also reminds top management that its Quality Policy should reflect the context of the organization and be supportive of its strategic direction.

Organizational knowledge is deemed necessary, not only for the operation of the organization’s processes, but also to help achieve the intended results of the organization’s Quality Management System. Documented information that are required to be retained under the 2015 edition are now clarified as being needed as evidences of requirements under the organization’s Quality Management System being performed or complied with. “Customer perception” is reworded as “Customer satisfaction” in the draft.

Another final example of planned revisions to the standard is specifying that among the areas to be examined by continual improvement is not only the improvement of the performance and effectiveness of the organization’s Quality Management System but also its suitability and adequacy.

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