ISO 9001:2026:What Has Changed and How to Make the Transition

On 16 September 2026, ISO published the sixth edition of ISO 9001, the world’s most widely used standard for quality management systems. It replaces ISO 9001:2015, which has been the reference for more than a decade, together with its 2024 climate change amendment.

The new edition is an evolution, not a rewrite. The structure and the core requirements stay the same. The changes focus on how an organization is led, how it handles risk and change, and how quality becomes part of everyday behaviours rather than a set of procedures.

Transition dates

Global ACI, the international body that replaced IAF and ILAC in 2026, has confirmed the transition arrangements:

Milestone Date

ISO 9001:2026 published 16 September 2026

Last date for new certifications to ISO 9001:2015 31 March 2028

End of transition: ISO 9001:2015 certificates no longer valid 30 September 2029

Organizations already certified can move to the new edition at a surveillance or recertification audit at any point before the deadline. Certification bodies will decide whether extra audit time is needed, depending on how much the organization’s system has changed.

Why the standard was revised

ISO reviews every standard regularly. The 2026 revision responds to how organizations now operate:

• recognition that procedures alone do not deliver quality: culture and leadership behaviour do
• a need for clearer, more practical handling of risks and opportunities
• faster organizational change, which needs to be planned and controlled
• climate change as a business issue, first added by the 2024 amendment
• the growing value of organizational knowledge

What has stayed the same

• The high-level structure (clauses 4 to 10), shared with ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and other management system standards. Integrated management systems remain straightforward.
• The process approach, the PDCA cycle and risk-based thinking
• The seven quality management principles
• The core requirements for operation (clause 8), performance evaluation (clause 9) and improvement (clause 10)
• Flexibility on documentation: the standard still defines what must be achieved, not how to document it

The key changes, clause by clause

Clause ISO 9001:2015 ISO 9001:2026

3 Terms and definitions | Referred to ISO 9000 for | Includes the key QMS terms within the standard itself, so it is easier | definitions | to use on its own

4 Context | Climate change added by | Climate change is fully integrated: organisations must decide | the 2024 amendment | whether it is a relevant issue and whether interested parties have | climate-related requirements

5.1 Leadership | Leadership and | Top management must also promote a quality culture and ethical | commitment to the QMS | behaviour across the organisation. This is the most significant | conceptual change

5.2 Quality policy | Appropriate to purpose | More explicitly linked to the organisation’s strategic direction and | and context | external context

6.1 Risks and opportunities Risks and opportunities Separated into distinct subclauses, so actions for risks and actions

Clause ISO 9001:2015 ISO 9001:2026

addressed together for opportunities are planned in their own right

6.3 Planning of changes | Changes carried out in a | Expanded to include communicating changes, monitoring them, and | planned manner | evaluating and reviewing their effectiveness

7.1.6 Organisational | Determine and maintain | Stronger emphasis on retaining, sharing and using knowledge, not
knowledge | knowledge | only holding it

7.3 Awareness | Awareness of policy, | Extended to awareness of quality culture and ethical behaviour | objectives and | contribution

8 Operation — Minimal change, mainly wording and layout

9 Performance evaluation — Largely unchanged, with continued focus on performance and trends

10 Improvement Continual improvement More clearly tied to leadership’s active role in driving improvement

Annex A | Short clarification of new | Significantly expanded guidance on applying clauses 4 to 10, | structure and concepts | including quality culture and risk

What the changes mean in practice

Quality culture and ethics. This is the change auditors will look at most closely. Certificates, procedures and KPIs are no longer enough. An organization needs to show that its leaders actively shape behaviour. Typical evidence includes:

• leadership communication and visible involvement
• how mistakes and nonconformities are reported and handled without blame
• ethics included in training and induction
• quality culture reflected in objectives or management review

Risks and opportunities. Many organizations keep a single register that lists risks and adds “opportunities” as an afterthought. The 2026 edition expects opportunities to be identified, evaluated and acted on deliberately, such as new markets, technologies, partnerships or process improvements, not just risk mitigation.

Change management. A new system, a reorganization, a new supplier, a change of site or product: each should be planned, communicated to those affected, monitored during implementation and reviewed afterwards to confirm it achieved what was intended.

Knowledge. The question shifts from “do we have the knowledge?” to “is it available to the people who need it, and is it being used?” Lessons learned, technical know-how held by experienced staff, and succession planning all become relevant.

Climate change. It is not a requirement to act on climate in every case. It is a requirement to consider whether climate change is relevant to your context and to your interested parties, and to address it in the QMS where it is.

How to make the transition: a step-by-step plan

Step 1: Get the standard and build awareness. Obtain the official ISO 9001:2026 text. Brief top management first. The leadership and culture changes need their ownership from the start.

Step 2: Appoint a transition owner and team. Usually this is the quality manager, supported by process owners from key functions.

Step 3: Carry out a gap analysis. Compare the current QMS with the 2026 requirements, clause by clause. Focus on clauses 4, 5, 6, 7.1.6, 7.3 and 10, where the changes are concentrated.

Step 4: Prepare a transition plan. List each gap, the action needed, the owner and the target date. Agree with the timing with your certification body. Most organizations plan to transition at their next surveillance or recertification audit.

Step 5: Update the system. Typical updates:

• Context analysis: confirm climate change has been considered, and record the conclusion
• Quality policy: check its link to strategic direction
• Leadership: define how quality culture and ethical behaviour are promoted and demonstrated
• Risk and opportunity register: separate the two, with actions for each
• Change control: add communication, monitoring and effectiveness review
• Knowledge management: define how critical knowledge is captured, shared and used
• Documentation: update clause references and terminology to the new edition

Step 6: Train people. Train top management on their new responsibilities. Train internal auditors on the 2026 requirements. Refresh awareness training for all staff, including quality culture and ethics.

Step 7: Run an internal audit against ISO 9001:2026. Use it to confirm that the changes are implemented and effective, not only documented.

Step 8: Hold a management review. Review transition readiness, the internal audit results and any remaining gaps. Record the decision that the organization is ready.

Step 9: Complete the transition audit. The certification body audits against the 2026 edition. Once nonconformities are closed, it issues a certificate to ISO 9001:2026.

Avoid the common transition mistakes

• Waiting until 2029, when certification bodies will be busiest
• Treating the transition as a documentation exercise, rewriting the manual without changing practice
• Leaving quality culture to the quality department instead of top management
• Renaming the risk register without actually identifying and acting on opportunities
• Not retraining internal auditors, who then audit against the old edition