ISO published ISO 9001:2026 on 16 September 2026. Certification bodies describe the extent of change as moderate and smaller than the 2015 revision. Clauses 4 to 10 keep the same layout, and the process approach and risk-based thinking remain the basis of the standard. A factory does not need to rewrite its quality manual.

Each change, however, adds evidence that an auditor can request. Our earlier article explains why the climate requirement can no longer be answered with one line. This article compares the two editions clause by clause and lists what a factory needs to update.

Clause-by-clause comparison

Clause 8 (operation) and clause 9 (performance evaluation) carry over with limited change. Some clause-by-clause reviews also mention edits to 8.1, the internal audit programme in 9.2.2 and the management review inputs in 9.3. These should be checked against the purchased standard during the gap analysis.

Changes required in the factory

1. The context and interested party record (4.1, 4.2)

The quality manager should rewrite the record with real inputs: carbon data requests in customer RFQs, supplier codes of conduct, products exported to the EU that fall under CBAM, and requests for ISO 14067 product carbon footprints. The record should show who made the assessment and when. A climate entry that is relevant should lead to at least one item in the risk or opportunity register. Whether this requires a carbon inventory is explained in a separate article.

2. Separate registers for risks and opportunities (6.1)

Some factories record opportunities only as an additional column in the risk register. The 2026 edition requires the organization to determine opportunities and plan actions for them separately from risks. A separate opportunity register, with its own actions, owners and dates, is one practical way to show that this has been done. Examples from a fabrication shop include qualifying a second welding procedure to win a new customer or offering product carbon data before the customer asks for it.

3. Additional fields on the change request form (6.3)

Typical changes in a factory are a new consumable supplier, a new CNC machine, or moving a process to a subcontractor. For each change, the form should state who will be informed, how the factory will monitor the effectiveness of the change, and how and when the results will be reviewed. A change that is closed without a recorded review of its results does not meet this requirement.

4. Retention of organizational knowledge (7.1.6)

In some factories the knowledge behind welding procedures, heat treatment set-ups or customer inspection requirements is held by one senior engineer or inspector. The factory should document this knowledge, store it where other employees can access it, and use it in training before that person retires or changes jobs.

5. Leadership evidence and awareness training (5.1, 7.3)

Quality culture is demonstrated through the behaviour of personnel. In our work as client representative inspectors, we observe whether production stops at a hold point when the inspector has not yet arrived, and whether a nonconformity is closed only after its root cause has been identified. The factory should record management decisions of this kind and add quality culture and ethical behaviour to induction training.

6. Clause references in procedures and audit documents (clause 10 and others)

Procedures, internal audit checklists and the management review agenda often cite clause numbers. The factory should update every reference to the old 10.3 and to the old 6.1 numbering, so that audit findings can be traced to the right clause.

Transition timeline

Certification bodies may set earlier cut-off dates of their own, so the factory should ask its certification body for the applicable dates in writing. A practical order of work is a gap analysis against the 2026 text, the register and form changes described above, updated training, and then an internal audit and management review on the new basis before the transition audit.

The transition audit assesses implementation as well as documentation. The new registers and form fields should therefore be in use before the audit takes place.

This article is based on published transition guidance from certification bodies (DNV, SGS, LRQA), the ISO announcement of 16 September 2026, and independent clause-by-clause reviews. Clause wording should be confirmed against the purchased ISO 9001:2026 text.