What are the accreditation body deadlines?
The ISO technical committee’s transition announcement identifies two key accreditation body milestones: readiness to assess ISO 9001:2026 by 31 March 2027 and completion of transition decisions by 30 September 2027. A related milestone requires accredited certification bodies to submit declarations and supporting information by 30 June 2027.
These dates concern the assurance infrastructure. They are not the deadline for every certified organisation to finish implementing its QMS changes. Existing ISO 9001:2015 certified organisations have a published transition endpoint of 30 September 2029.
The transition guide explains company preparation. This article separates accreditation milestones from client certification so providers and certificate holders can interpret the timeline accurately.
Who does what in the assurance chain?
ISO publishes the QMS standard. Certification bodies assess organisations and issue certification decisions. Accreditation bodies assess the relevant competence and capability of certification bodies under their arrangements. ISO does not perform the company’s certification.
An accreditation transition decision therefore concerns a provider’s approved capability for the revised service. A client transition decision concerns an organisation’s QMS. Completing the first makes an accredited service available; it does not automatically transition every customer using that provider.
The certification body rules article explains the provider’s implementation responsibilities. Clients should understand this division before asking why their issuer’s accreditation date differs from their own audit date.
The committee milestones by event
| Date | Event | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2027 | Readiness to assess the revised standard | Accreditation body |
| 30 June 2027 | Declaration and supporting information submitted | Accredited certification body |
| 30 September 2027 | Transition decisions complete | Accreditation body |
The table gives the public committee milestones, not the complete technical rules of every accreditation programme. Providers must check the applicable documents and their accreditation body’s instructions for the evidence and processes required.
A body ready to assess earlier than March 2027 need not wait until that date. Likewise, the September endpoint is not an instruction to delay all decisions until the final day. Understanding milestones as latest programme points helps explain local schemes with earlier assessment and approval activity.
UKAS has its own detailed timetable
The UKAS bulletin checked for this article is Revision 1, dated 7 October 2026. It replaces the original September bulletin and adopts a two tranche transition approach for the bodies under UKAS accreditation.
| UKAS date | Local arrangement |
|---|---|
| 16 September 2026 | Acceptance of declarations and evidence |
| 1 November 2026 | Start of transition assessment activity |
| 31 January 2027 | First tranche of decisions completed |
| From 1 February 2027 | Subsequent decisions based on readiness and completed activities |
| 30 September 2027 | All transition decisions completed |
These are UKAS accreditation arrangements. Another accreditation body may organise its own assessment activity differently while addressing applicable international arrangements. Always identify which body and document a date comes from.
What happens in a UKAS transition assessment?
UKAS describes a declaration supported by evidence, including a documented gap analysis and implementation of necessary changes. It reviews understanding and implementation to support a recommendation and independent accreditation decision, with effectiveness followed up through routine assessment activity.
This is not a client QMS audit performed directly by UKAS. The organisation holding an ISO 9001 certificate normally works through its certification body. Confusing those levels can lead a company to prepare the wrong submission or misinterpret provider assessment estimates as its own audit duration.
The bulletin includes estimates for UKAS assessment effort. They concern UKAS’s work on a certification body, not a universal amount of time to assess each certified business. Obtain a client proposal from the issuer for the actual scope and circumstances.
Why does accreditation timing matter to clients?
UKAS states that a body cannot represent new edition certification as accredited before UKAS has made its accreditation transition decision. A client with a contract requiring accredited certification should check that position when selecting its assessment route.
A provider’s announcement that it offers training or has updated auditors does not by itself confirm accreditation approval. Ask for current information relevant to the service and scope, and verify through the appropriate accreditation source where necessary.
Early planning remains useful before the provider is approved. An organisation can read the final standard, assess gaps and implement changes without waiting for its issuer’s accreditation transition. What must be clear is the status of the eventual certification claim.
Keep later client milestones separate
UKAS directs its bodies to stop accepting new applications to the previous edition from 16 March 2028. The committee identifies 31 March 2028 for new and initial accredited certificate issuance only to the revised edition. Application acceptance and certificate issuance are different events.
For existing certified organisations, completion by 30 September 2029 remains the published transition endpoint. Their own certificate expiry can impose a separate earlier constraint. Record all relevant dates with an event, audience, source and confirmation status so the project does not collapse several different obligations into one misleading deadline.