ISO 9001:2026 was published on 16 September 2026, and the 2015 edition is withdrawn. If your checklist still cites clause 10.3, it is citing a clause that no longer exists.
This assessment scores 61 questions against the new edition, including the risk and opportunity split, the quality culture and ethical behaviour requirement, and the transition itself. It is free, it saves as you go, and you can stop and come back to it.
What this is
A clause-by-clause pass over the sixth edition, written from the 2026 structure rather than converted from a 2015 checklist. We have the background elsewhere — what changed, the transition, the transition checklist, the clause structure and the mandatory documents. Come here when you want a score.
The dates that matter
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 16 September 2026 | ISO 9001:2026 published; ISO 9001:2015 withdrawn |
| 31 March 2028 | New accredited certificates issued only against the 2026 edition |
| 30 September 2029 | All ISO 9001:2015 certificates expire |
The 2028 date is the one that usually bites first. If you are certifying for the first time, or changing certification body, that is your real deadline rather than 2029.
What it covers
| Area | Questions |
|---|---|
| Transition and scope | 4 |
| 4 — Context, interested parties, scope and processes | 5 |
| 5 — Leadership, quality culture and policy | 5 |
| 6 — Risks, opportunities, objectives and change | 5 |
| 7 — Resources, competence, awareness and documents | 12 |
| 8 — Operation, design, suppliers, production and release | 18 |
| 9 — Monitoring, audit and management review | 9 |
| 10 — Improvement and corrective action | 3 |
Four things that break a converted 2015 checklist
Clause 10.3 is gone. Continual improvement is 10.1 — the old 10.1 and 10.3 were merged. Every procedure, audit checklist and management review agenda carried over from 2015 will cite it somewhere.
Risks and opportunities have split. 6.1.2 is risks only; opportunities moved to 6.1.3 with their own action and effectiveness cycle. The split reaches clause 9 as well, so analysis and management review now need the effectiveness of risk actions and of opportunity actions as two separate results. A management pack reporting one blended figure is a finding created by the new edition rather than by anything you stopped doing.
Quality culture and ethical behaviour is a real requirement. It lands in three places — leadership, the environment for the operation of processes, and awareness. It is the one requirement with no 2015 analogue at all, so there is usually no existing document for it, and it is tested by interviewing staff rather than by reading a policy.
The counts changed. Leadership commitments, role assignments, awareness items, analysis evaluations and change considerations all grew. Any question that enumerates “the four” or “the seven” of anything needs re-checking.
How the scoring works
| Status | Weight | Means |
|---|---|---|
| Not started | 0% | No policy, process or activity exists |
| Planned | 25% | Agreed and scheduled, nothing in place yet |
| Partially implemented | 50% | In place for part of the scope, or applied inconsistently |
| Implemented, not evidenced | 75% | Operating as intended, but you could not prove it today |
| Implemented and evidenced | 100% | Operating as intended, with records someone could sample |
| Not applicable | — | A justified exclusion, removed from the score |
Free score, or the full report
The assessment and your overall score are free. The full report is a one-off $39 and gives you every question with your status and notes, the score broken down by clause, a prioritised gap list, and the documents from the ISO 9001 Toolkit that close each gap — as a PDF and a working Excel file. The toolkit was rebuilt for the 2026 edition.
How long does it take?
About 40 minutes. Clause 8 is the longest stretch; if you do not design products, several of those questions will be not applicable and it moves faster.
What to do with your score
Below 40% — work clause 4 and clause 6 first. Context, risks and opportunities are what everything downstream is assessed against.
40–70% — look at the transition section separately from the rest. A system that was solid under 2015 can score well overall and still fail on the four or five things the new edition added.
Above 70% — go after quality culture and the risk and opportunity split. Those are where a mature 2015 system has genuinely new work, and they take longer than re-pointing clause references.
Frequently asked questions
Is this assessment really free?
Yes. All 61 questions, the clause breakdown and your overall score cost nothing. The $39 report is optional.
Does it score the 2015 edition?
No. It scores ISO 9001:2026. Most of the system carries over, but the questions are written to the new structure, so use it to find what the new edition changed rather than as a 2015 checklist.
Do I have to transition now?
Your certificate runs until 30 September 2029 at the latest. But from 31 March 2028 new accredited certificates are only issued against 2026, so first-time certification and any change of certification body needs the new edition well before then.
Is climate change a new requirement?
Not really. It arrived in the 2015 edition through Amendment 1:2024 and the 2026 edition absorbs it into the main text. The requirement is a recorded determination of whether it is relevant, not a carbon programme.
What about IATF 16949 or AS9100?
Sector schemes reference ISO 9001 by edition and transition on their own timetables. Do not assume the 2026 edition applies to your IATF or AS9100 site yet — check with your scheme.
Can I use this for a client?
Yes. Run one assessment per client organisation.
What happens to my answers?
They are stored against your account so you can come back to them, and they are never shared. You can delete them at any time.