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    ISO 9001:2026 Transition Gap Checklist Template

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    Five-page landscape A4 gap checklist for moving a quality management system certified to ISO 9001:2015 (with Amendment 1:2024) to ISO 9001:2026. Each row is one topic that a public source says changed: the clause number and title, what Global ACI, UKAS, ISO or ISO/TC 176 says changed, in our words and with a letter for the source, and six columns to fill in: our current state, gap, action, owner, due date and evidence. Part A holds the 15 changes the sources describe, Part B the 14 clauses UKAS rates as a minor change without saying what changed, and Part C what the transition audit also reviews. Page 1 holds the certificate and transition details and a timeline box with the Global ACI and UKAS dates read on 21 October 2026; page 5 has questions for your certification body, a readiness review and sign-off, the sources and what we could not verify. It is not a conformity checklist and reproduces no ISO text.

    What's inside

    Page 1 (landscape A4): the edition, your transition and the dates

    • Edition: checklist version 1.0, dated 21 October 2026, written for ISO 9001:2026 (edition 6, published 16 September 2026), the edition that took over from ISO 9001:2015 and its Amendment 1:2024
    • Transition details (section 1): organisation, sites and scope on the certificate, certificate number and the expiry date as printed, certification body, accreditation body and the date your certification body's accreditation was transitioned, next audit, the transition audit route (surveillance, recertification or a separate audit), on site or remote, your copy of the standard, checklist owner, review dates and version
    • Transition timeline (section 2): nine dated rows from Global ACI and UKAS, from publication on 16 September 2026 to the end of the transition on 30 September 2029, each with its source and a column for your certification body's own date

    Pages 2 to 4: the gap checklist (section 3). Nine columns: ref, topic and clause, what changed per the source, our current state, gap, action, owner, due date and evidence, with one invented example row

    • Part A, changes the sources describe (15 rows): structure and alignment, terms, documented information, 4.2, climate change, 5.1.1, 5.2.1, 6.1.1, 6.1.2, 6.1.3, 6.3, 7.3, 9.3.2, the 10.1 and 10.3 numbering, and Annexes A and B
    • Part B, clauses UKAS rates as a minor change (14 rows): 5.2.2, 5.3, 6.2.1, 7.1.5.2, 7.1.6, 7.2, 8.1, 8.2.1, 8.3.2, 8.3.5, 8.4.3, 9.1.2, 9.1.3 and 9.2.2
    • Part C, what the transition audit also looks at (3 rows): changes in your context since the last audit, other changes your system needs, and the clause references in your documents and software exports
    • Rows you add: four empty rows for changes you find in the standard or items your certification body raises

    Page 5: questions, sign-off and sources

    • Questions for your certification body (section 4): six questions, with the answer and who gave it
    • Readiness review and sign-off (section 5): rows with a gap, gaps closed and still open, the internal audit and management review that covered the transition, changes to context found, signatures of the checklist owner and top management, where the record is kept and the next review
    • Sources and what we could not verify (section 6), dated 21 October 2026

    The row order, the source letters (G, U, B, I, T), the columns and the example row are our choices; change them to suit you.

    What we could not verify (21 October 2026)

    • The text of ISO 9001:2026. ISO sells it, and ISO's online preview first asks for agreement to its terms of use, which we did not give. The rows say only what the public sources say, and Global ACI says its own list of changes is not limited to the items it names.
    • What changed in 4.2 and in the 14 clauses of Part B. UKAS rates them as changed; no source we read says how.
    • What a later revision of the sources will say. Global ACI's document list gave version 1.1 as current on 21 October 2026, although its news item still links version 1.0; UKAS's bulletin is at revision 1. Either may be revised again.
    • Other accreditation and certification bodies. We read no national accreditation body other than UKAS and no certification body's own transition plan.

    What requires or shapes this record

    ISO 9001:2026, edition 6, was published on 16 September 2026, and ISO's record shows ISO 9001:2015 and its Amendment 1:2024 as withdrawn. None of the sources opened for this page sets out a form for a transition checklist. ISO's article on the new edition puts a gap analysis second among five transition steps, after understanding the changes, and UKAS published a high-level gap analysis that rates the extent of change to each clause. For accredited certification, the transition requirements of Global ACI, which bind the accreditation bodies that sign its arrangement and the certification bodies they accredit, end the transition on 30 September 2029. A certified organisation moves either during a surveillance or recertification audit or in a transition audit of its own, and that audit reviews the changed requirements, changes to the organisation's context and whether the system needs other changes. Global ACI also says that working out those changes is the certified organisation's own responsibility, which is the job this checklist is for. The rows paraphrase what Global ACI, UKAS, ISO and an ISO/TC 176 news post say changed; the standard's text is paid and is not reproduced, so read each clause in your own copy before you fill a row in. The full dated timeline, the edition names people search and the records to check are on our ISO 9001:2026 page, linked below. Filling the checklist in proves nothing on its own: it is not a certificate and does not show conformity. This page is general information, not certification advice, and the dates that apply to you are your certification body's to set.

    • ISO 9001:2026, Quality management systems, Requirements, standard record (ISO, edition 6, opened 21 October 2026)

      The record lists ISO 9001:2026 as Published, edition 6, publication date 2026-09, stage 60.60, 36 pages, from ISO/TC 176/SC 2, and its life cycle shows ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 9001:2015/Amd 1:2024 as withdrawn. Its questions and answers say that organisations certified to the 2015 edition move to the new one within the time their certification cycle sets and should ask their certification body, and that certification is not mandatory. The checklist's edition line comes from this record. The record shows status and dates only; the standard itself is sold, and its text was not read or reproduced.

    • ISO, 'ISO 9001:2026: What businesses need to know', article with questions and answers (iso.org, opened 21 October 2026)

      ISO lists the most significant changes with their clauses: more weight on quality culture, ethical behaviour and leadership (5.1), a policy linked more explicitly to context and strategic direction (5.2), a clearer distinction between managing risks and pursuing opportunities (6.1), new awareness requirements on quality culture and ethical behaviour (7.3) and a new Annex A that explains concepts, terms and intent. It adds that smaller refinements and editorial clarifications reflect business realities such as organizational knowledge, and says the climate change consideration added by the 2024 amendment is carried forward and the harmonized structure is kept. It describes a transition in five steps, the second of which is a gap analysis, and says certified organisations will have three years and will not need to start certification again. Rows A1, A5 to A7, A10, A12, A15 and B5 use this article.

    • Global ACI-TECH-3-TR 2029-09-30 (M), Transition Requirements for ISO 9001:2026, version 1.1, issue date 4 September 2026, sections 2 to 6 (PDF, opened 21 October 2026)

      Binding on every accreditation body that has signed Global ACI's Multilateral Recognition Arrangement, and on the certification bodies those signatories accredit. Section 2 sets a three-year transition period ending on 30 September 2029. Section 3.1 lists key changes and says the list is not limited to them: alignment with Annex SL and TMB resolution 16/2025, quality-specific terms, the wording on documented information, a modified Annex A and no Annex B, and changes in 5.1.1, 5.2.1, 6.1, 6.3, 7.3 and 9.3.2; Part A of the checklist paraphrases each. Section 3.2 calls the overall changes minimal and says it is the certified organisation's responsibility to determine the changes to its context and management system. Section 4 dates each step from the last day of the publication month. Section 5.2 says the transition audit may be held with a surveillance or recertification audit or as a separate audit, reviews at least the changed requirements, changes to the organisation's context and the need for other changes, may be held remotely if its objectives can be met, and may need extra audit time, which the certification body decides. Section 6.4 says an organisation that chooses not to transition may still be audited to the 2015 edition, but its certification ends with the transition period. Global ACI's news item of 16 September 2026 (https://global-aci.org/en/news/global-aci-publishes-transition-requirements-for-iso-90012026/) gives the same dates and links the version 1.0 file; its list of transition documents (https://global-aci.org/en/global_aci-documents/?cat_id=13, opened 21 October 2026) gives version 1.1, issue date 4 September 2026, as the current version.

    • UKAS technical bulletin, Quality Management Systems (QMS) ISO 9001:2026 Transition, revision 1, 7 October 2026 (opened 21 October 2026)

      Written for the certification bodies UKAS accredits; revision 1 replaces the bulletin of 16 September 2026. It calls the revision targeted rather than fundamental and says the biggest changes concern management review, the planning of changes, risks and opportunities, interested parties, and quality culture and ethical behaviour. Its timeline gives 1 November 2026 for UKAS to start transition assessments, 31 January 2027 for a first tranche of decisions, 30 September 2027 for all UKAS decisions, 16 March 2028 as the date from which certification bodies take no new applications against the 2015 edition, and 30 September 2029 for all certified customers to be transitioned. It adds that a certificate a body issues against ISO 9001:2026 before UKAS has transitioned that body's accreditation may not be described as accredited, which is why page 1 asks for that date.

    • UKAS, High-Level Gap Analysis, ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 9001:2026, V1.0, September 2026, 2 pages (PDF linked from the bulletin, opened 21 October 2026)

      A table that pairs each clause of the 2026 edition with its 2015 counterpart and rates the extent of change to requirements. It rates seven clauses significant (4.2, 5.1.1, 6.1.2, 6.1.3, 6.3, 7.3 and 9.3.2), fifteen minor (5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.3, 6.2.1, 7.1.5.2, 7.1.6, 7.2, 8.1, 8.2.1, 8.3.2, 8.3.5, 8.4.3, 9.1.2, 9.1.3 and 9.2.2) and the rest no change, and leaves Annexes A and B not categorised. It also shows the renamed and renumbered clauses: 6.1.3 has no 2015 counterpart, 10.1 is titled continual improvement and the 2015 clause 10.3 has no 2026 counterpart, and 9.3.3 is titled management review results. It rates; it does not say what changed. Part B of the checklist holds the minor clauses that no other source we read describes, and the ratings also appear in Part A.

    • ISO/TC 176, 'ISO 9001:2026 has been released!', news post of 23 September 2026 (committee site, opened 21 October 2026)

      The committee site's post confirms publication on 16 September 2026, describes a new Annex A that clarifies key terms and the intent of requirements, and repeats Global ACI's dates. The site's disclaimer says a third party manages its content and that ISO neither controls it nor vouches for its accuracy, so the checklist uses the post only in row A15, beside Global ACI's and ISO's own wording, where the sources differ on whether Annex A is new or modified.

    Each source checked on 21 October 2026. Not legal advice; check the text in force for your site.

    Field by field

    Fill in page 1 first: the certificate, the certification body and the dates it gives you. Then work through the checklist with your copy of ISO 9001:2026 open: read the clause, compare it with your procedures and records, and fill in the six columns on the right. The middle column holds only what a public source says changed; where a source rates a clause as changed without saying how, the row says so, and finding the gap is your job. Write the evidence even where there is no gap, so that a reader can see what was compared. Your certification body's answers and the sign-off go on page 5. The checklist sets no durations: every due date comes from the audit route and date your certification body agrees with you.

    Edition and checklist version
    Why: The rows rest on ISO's record of ISO 9001:2026 and on the sources as read on 21 October 2026. Global ACI and UKAS have each revised their transition documents once already, so the version line tells a reader which reading the rows follow.
    Common mistake: Working from a copy printed before a source was revised, so a date or a row is out of step.
    Certificate number and expiry date, as printed
    Why: Global ACI ends accredited certification to the 2015 edition on 30 September 2029, whatever date a certificate shows, and says a certification body need not change the expiry date on existing certificates but may shorten it. Writing the printed date beside the transition end date shows which comes first.
    Common mistake: Planning the transition around a printed expiry date that falls after 30 September 2029.
    Your certification body's accreditation transition date
    Why: Under Global ACI's timetable a certification body may certify to the 2026 edition under accreditation once its accreditation body has transitioned it, and UKAS says a 2026 certificate issued before then must not be presented as accredited. Ask for the date before you book an early transition audit.
    Common mistake: Booking an early 2026 audit with a body that has not yet been transitioned, and receiving a certificate that cannot be presented as accredited.
    Transition audit route
    Why: Global ACI allows the transition at a surveillance audit, at recertification or at a separate transition audit, and leaves the certification body to decide whether extra audit time is needed, considering at least how much the system changed and which route is used. The agreed route fixes the date by which the gaps should be closed.
    Common mistake: Assuming the move happens by itself at the next audit, with no route or audit time agreed.
    Transition timeline
    Why: Nine dated rows from Global ACI and UKAS, each with its source, and a column for the dates your certification body gives you. Where the two differ, UKAS's 16 March 2028 for new applications and Global ACI's 31 March 2028 for new certifications, both are shown.
    Common mistake: Taking a date from a page that names no source and no date, instead of from the accreditation body or your certification body.
    Topic and clause
    Why: Each row gives the clause number and title of the 2026 edition as UKAS's table lists them, so the row can be found in the standard; where UKAS gives a subclause no title (5.2.1, 5.2.2, 6.2.1), the row names the parent clause. Titles only: the requirement itself is in the paid text.
    Common mistake: Citing a 2015 number where the 2026 numbering differs: 6.1 for actions that now sit in 6.1.2 or 6.1.3, or 10.3, which has no 2026 counterpart.
    What changed, per the source
    Why: Our paraphrase of what each source says, with its letter: G for Global ACI, U for UKAS's gap analysis, B for the UKAS bulletin, I for ISO's article and T for ISO/TC 176. Global ACI says its list is not complete and UKAS's table rates without describing, so the column points to the clause; it does not summarise the requirement.
    Common mistake: Writing the gap from this column alone, without reading the clause in the standard.
    Our current state
    Why: What your system does today on that topic, with the document or record that shows it: a procedure and its revision, a form, a register, minutes. It is the baseline the gap is measured from.
    Common mistake: Writing "compliant" or "in place" with no document named.
    Gap
    Why: What is missing between your current state and the 2026 clause: a record field, an agenda item, a clause reference that has moved, or nothing. Write "none" rather than leaving the cell empty, so that an empty cell means a row not yet checked.
    Common mistake: Leaving the cell empty when there is no gap, so nobody can tell reviewed rows from unreviewed ones.
    Action, owner and due date
    Why: One action for each gap, with a named person and a date worked back from your own transition audit. The form supplies no durations; the dates come from the route agreed with your certification body.
    Common mistake: An owner written as a department, or a due date after the transition audit.
    Evidence
    Why: The document, record or minutes, with revision or date, that show the action is done. Global ACI's transition audit reviews the changed requirements, so this column is what you can point to for each row.
    Common mistake: Evidence written as "done", which nobody else can find.
    Part B: clauses rated as a minor change
    Why: UKAS rates fourteen more clauses as a minor change (5.2.1, also minor, sits in Part A), and no source we read says what changed in them. Each has its own row so that someone reads the clause and records the result, even when the result is no gap.
    Common mistake: Skipping these rows because the change is called minor.
    Part C: what the transition audit also looks at
    Why: Global ACI says the transition audit also reviews changes to the organisation's context and whether the system needs other changes. Row C3, the clause references in your documents and software exports, is our own addition, not a source requirement.
    Common mistake: Treating the transition as clause edits only, with no look at what changed in the business since the last audit.
    Questions for your certification body
    Why: Six questions only your certification body can answer: its own accreditation transition, the audit route and date, extra audit time, a remote audit, the certificate's expiry date and the evidence it expects on the changed clauses. The form records who answered and when.
    Common mistake: Relying on a general webinar instead of a written answer about your own certificate.
    Readiness review and sign-off
    Why: Counts the rows with a gap and those closed, records the internal audit and the management review that covered the transition and the context changes found, and is signed by the checklist owner and top management.
    Common mistake: Signing off with gaps still open and no date for closing them.

    Worked example

    IllustrativeEight rows from the transition gap checklist of an invented 40-person contract electronics assembler certified to ISO 9001:2015 with Amendment 1:2024, filled in during October 2026 (invented company, documents, people and dates)

    RefTopic and clauseWhat changed, per the sourceOur current stateGapActionOwnerDue dateEvidence
    A44.2 Understanding needs and expectations of interested partiesU: significant. B: one of the most significant areas. No source read says what changed.Interested-party register IP-01 rev. 3 lists customers, the parent company, the local council and staff, reviewed once a yearClause read on 14 October: nothing in IP-01 shows how a change in a party's needs between annual reviews is picked upAdd a 'changes since last review' column to IP-01 and feed it into the management review (row A13)Quality manager2027-01-15IP-01 rev. 4
    A65.1.1 Leadership, generalG: new item on promoting quality culture and ethical behaviour; continual improvement; a second note. U: significant.Code of conduct HR-07 exists but the quality manual does not refer to it; the leadership section says nothing on quality cultureNo record of how top management promotes quality culture and ethical behaviourAdd a quality-culture item to the monthly operations review; refer to HR-07 in the manualManaging director2027-02-28Operations review minutes from March 2027; manual rev. 9
    A106.1.3 Actions to address opportunitiesG, U: a new subclause with no separate 2015 counterpart. U: significant.Risk register RR-02 keeps risks and opportunities in one list with one action columnOpportunity actions cannot be told apart from risk actions or reviewed on their ownSplit RR-02 into a risk sheet and an opportunity sheet, each with its own actions and review dateQuality manager2027-01-31RR-02 rev. 6
    A116.3 Planning of changesG: three new items: how effectiveness is monitored and evaluated, how the change is communicated, how results are reviewed. U: significant.Change form CF-01 rev. 4 records the reason, risk and approval of a changeNo field for how a change's effectiveness is checked or how its results are reviewedAdd both fields to CF-01 and brief the plannersQuality manager2027-02-15CF-01 rev. 5; briefing record
    A127.3 AwarenessG: a new awareness item on quality culture and ethical behaviour. U: significant.Induction pack IND-01 covers the quality policy, the objectives and the cost of errorsNothing on quality culture or ethical behaviour, or on how to raise an ethical concernAdd a short module to IND-01 and to the yearly refresher; record attendance in the training matrixHR lead2027-03-31IND-01 rev. 8; training matrix entries
    A139.3.2 Management review inputsG: inputs now stated as what the review includes; a new input on changes in interested parties' needs and expectations; later inputs re-ordered. U: significant.Review agenda MR-01 follows the 2015 list of inputsNo standing input on changes in interested parties' needs and expectationsAdd the input to MR-01, fed from IP-01Managing director2027-01-31MR-01 rev. 5; minutes of the April 2027 review
    B149.2.2 Internal audit programmeU: minor. No source read says what changed.Audit programme AP-2027 covers every process once a yearNone: clause compared with AP-2027 on 14 OctoberNoneQuality manager-AP-2027; comparison note in the checklist file
    C3Clause references in procedures, forms, checklists and software exportsOur own check, not a source requirement.Eleven procedures and the internal audit checklist cite 2015 clause numbers; the audit template in the QMS software uses the 2015 numberingReferences to 10.3 have no 2026 counterpart, and references to 6.1 do not show the new splitUpdate references at each document's next revision; ask the software vendor in writing which edition its template followsDocument controller2027-04-30Document register showing the new revisions; the vendor's written answer

    The company, documents, people and dates are invented to show how rows are filled in. The 'what changed' cells are shortened from the checklist and are not the text of the standard. The gaps are what this invented company found by reading its own copy of the standard against its own records; another organisation's gaps will differ. The due dates are worked back from a transition agreed for its surveillance audit in May 2027 (invented), not from any rule. Row A11 is the example row printed on the form.

    When a spreadsheet stops being enough

    On paper or in a spreadsheet, this checklist suits one site with one certificate and a quality manager who owns every row. It stops working when several sites or certificates move at different audits, when each gap becomes an action that needs reminders and a record of closure, and when every procedure, form, audit checklist and report template that cites a 2015 clause number has to be found and revised.

    A software record links each gap to a corrective action or change record with an owner and a due date, finds the documents that cite a given clause, and keeps records made under the 2015 numbering readable after the switch. Ask a vendor which edition its built-in templates, clause libraries and exports follow, and when that changes. The products listed below are chosen by the same rule as on the quality management software guide. Being listed does not mean a product follows ISO 9001:2026, so try one with three or four of your own gap rows.

    Same rule for every product: tagged “Quality Management”, with a sourced QMS, nonconformance, CAPA or document-control capability in its record, or one the vendor stated to us, labelled as vendor-stated. Documented and conditional capabilities qualify; check the linked scope before treating a module as included.

    Tekmon pays for a sponsored placement (above); its place in this list follows the same rule as every entry. How lists are ordered

    All 33 matching profiles are shown. Documentation review, not hands-on testing or a claim of compliance.

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