Certify to ISO 9001:2026 or ISO 9001:2015? What the official timeline says
ISO 9001:2026 was published on 16 September 2026. For a company that is not certified yet the question is no longer whether to certify, but to which edition. Short answer: directly to 2026, except in one very specific case. Here are the official dates, the two exceptions and a decision guide.
In this article
Should you certify to ISO 9001:2026 or ISO 9001:2015?
To ISO 9001:2026, unless a customer demands the certificate before mid-2027 and your certification body is not yet accredited for the new edition. The reasons are about the calendar: from 31 March 2028 no accredited body can issue an initial certificate to the 2015 edition, and any 2015 certificate, whenever it is issued, stops being valid on 30 September 2029. A typical implementation project takes 4 to 8 months, so whoever starts today reaches the certification audit when bodies are already accredited for 2026.
The official dates
| Milestone | Date | What it means for a new company |
|---|---|---|
| Publication of ISO 9001:2026 | 16 September 2026 | The 2015 edition is superseded; the transition starts |
| Accreditation bodies ready to assess the 2026 edition | 31 March 2027 | Certification bodies start transitioning their accreditation |
| Accreditation decisions for certification bodies completed | 30 September 2027 | From here every accredited body can issue 2026 certificates |
| Last date for an initial certification to ISO 9001:2015 | 31 March 2028 | After this date only 2026 certifications are issued |
| ISO 9001:2015 certificates no longer valid | 30 September 2029 | A 2015 certificate issued in 2027 lasts two years, not three |
The source is the mandatory document Global ACI-TECH-3-TR 2029-09-30, issued on 4 September 2026. Global ACI is the body that came out of the merger of the IAF and ILAC; when you read that “the IAF has not published the dates yet”, that no longer applies.
What you lose by certifying to 2015
- An incomplete cycle. A normal certificate lasts three years with annual surveillance. One issued in 2027 under the 2015 edition expires on 30 September 2029: you pay for a cycle and keep two years.
- A transition audit. You will have to demonstrate the new requirements to the certifier before 2029, with a document review you could have avoided.
- A second round of changes. Policy, risk and opportunity procedures, management of change and management review get touched twice.
What changes for a company implementing from scratch
Little in volume and quite a lot in focus. Top management must promote a quality culture and ethical behaviour and demonstrate it (5.1.1); staff must be aware of them (7.3); risks and opportunities are planned separately (6.1.2 and 6.1.3); changes are communicated, monitored and reviewed (6.3); and management review includes changes in the needs of interested parties (9.3.2). There are no artificial intelligence or digitalization requirements. The details are in ISO 9001:2026 changes clause by clause. For a company starting out none of this is harder than the 2015 edition: the system is designed that way from day one.
The two exceptions
- A contract with a date. If a customer demands the certificate before mid-2027 and your certification body has not transitioned its accreditation yet, you can certify to 2015 and transition later. Even so, design the system with the 2026 requirements: the transition is reduced to a review of the new points.
- A sector scheme. If your customer asks for IATF 16949 or AS9100, those schemes build on ISO 9001 and will adopt the 2026 edition once their bodies publish their rules. Ask your certifier which base it accepts today.
Decision guide in three questions
- When would your certification audit be ready? If after September 2027, 2026 without discussion.
- Is your certification body already accredited for ISO 9001:2026? Ask in writing before signing.
- Does any customer demand the 2015 edition? Almost none asks for it by name; tender rules usually say “valid ISO 9001”.
If the answer points to 2026, the service is ISO 9001:2026 certification: diagnosis, system design, DC-3 training, internal audit and support with the accredited body, by city and state. If your company is already certified to 2015, your path is the ISO 9001:2026 transition. And if you also need environmental management, ISO 14001:2026 certification follows the same logic: the 2015 edition stops being issued for initial certifications on 30 October 2027.
Where do you start? Get the free assessment
If you do not know the state of your quality management system, start by measuring it. Answer eight questions in the free ISO systems assessment and get your level and what to do first; or message us on WhatsApp or through the contact form. No cost, no commitment. We have already taken a trailer transport company to ISO 9001:2026 certification: read the case study.
