In brief: Two things are happening simultaneously with ISO 9001, and it is worth not confusing them. The first is already real: the climate change amendment (ISO 9001:2015/Amd 1:2024) has been in force since February 2024 and applies immediately, with no transition period. The second is under way but not yet finalised: a new edition that specialist press already calls "ISO 9001:2026", currently in FDIS phase, with voting closing on 9 July 2026 and publication expected in September 2026. The changes point to greater quality culture, ethics, a clearer separation of risks and opportunities, and references to digitalisation. When it is published, the usual pattern is a transition period of around three years. Here I explain what is certain, what may still shift, and what makes sense to do now.
Why everyone is suddenly talking about "ISO 9001:2026"
If you manage a quality management system or hold ISO 9001 certification, you have spent months seeing the term "ISO 9001:2026" in newsletters, webinars, and sales pitches. The concern makes sense, but there is also a lot of noise. Before making any decision, I want to separate what is confirmed from what is still a forecast — I have seen more than one company rush to do things that were not yet needed.
The reference standard for quality management systems is still, today, ISO 9001:2015. That is the current version under which certificates are issued and maintained. What is happening is that the standard is being fully revised and, in addition, already received a small climate-related amendment in 2024. These are two different things. Mixing them up is the primary source of confusion, so let us treat them separately. If you want the full context of how the standard works, it is in my complete ISO 9001 implementation guide.
The two things happening (and they are not the same)
This is the part I am asked to clarify most often, so I will put it as simply as possible.
Thing 1: the climate amendment, which is already in force
In February 2024, ISO 9001:2015/Amd 1:2024 was published, known as "Climate action changes". It is a short amendment, immediately applicable and with no specific transition period. It is not a new version of the standard: it adds two provisions to what is called the Harmonised Structure (the common trunk shared by management system standards).
Specifically, in clause 4.1 it introduces a requirement: the organisation must determine whether climate change is a relevant issue for its management system. And in clause 4.2 it adds an informative note reminding organisations that interested parties may have climate-related requirements. It is worth being precise here: the amendment does not turn sustainability into a new, stand-alone piece of the organisational context; what it does is require you to assess whether climate change affects you and document that assessment. The same amendment was applied to around 31 management system standards, so if you also hold 14001, 45001, or 27001, this will be familiar.
The important point: this is already mandatory. If your system does not yet capture the climate change assessment required by the 2024 amendment, you have a gap that an auditor can flag. I develop this in detail in the guide on the climate change amendment.
Thing 2: the new edition, which is planned but not yet published
In parallel, ISO is revising the standard to issue a completely new edition — the one that will replace the 2015 version. That is what is already being called "ISO 9001:2026". It does not yet exist as a published standard: it is in the final stretch of the process, but you cannot buy it or certify against it. When someone tells you their company "already complies with ISO 9001:2026", be a little sceptical — the final text is not yet closed.
Which phase the revision is in and what the timeline looks like
ISO standards pass through a sequence of stages with a vote at each one. Here is a summary of where things stand without drowning you in technical jargon.
The revision has already passed the committee draft phases (CD and CD2, between January and March 2025) and the Draft International Standard, the DIS, which was published on 27 August 2025 and approved with very high support — around 97% — in December 2025. I stress this because there is outdated material around that still says the standard "is in DIS phase": that is no longer true; that phase is behind us.
Right now the standard is in FDIS phase, the final draft (ISO/FDIS 9001). It reached stage 50.20 on 14 May 2026 and the FDIS vote closes on 9 July 2026. If everything follows the expected script, the new edition would be published in September 2026, though some sources say "autumn 2026". The fact that the publication date is a forecast, not something set in stone, is precisely why I recommend caution before rewriting your entire system.
| Milestone | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Climate amendment (Amd 1:2024) | Confirmed, in force | 23 February 2024 |
| Committee drafts (CD, CD2) | Confirmed, completed | January–March 2025 |
| Draft International Standard (DIS) published | Confirmed, completed | 27 August 2025 |
| DIS approved (~97%) | Confirmed | December 2025 |
| Final draft (FDIS), stage 50.20 | Confirmed, current phase | 14 May 2026 |
| FDIS vote closes | Confirmed (in progress) | 9 July 2026 |
| Publication of new edition | Expected | September 2026 |
| End of transition period | Expected, not formally resolved | ~2029 |
Summary of expected changes
Here I must repeat the caveat: what follows comes from the draft. It is useful information for orientation, but you should not treat it as final text or cite specific clauses as if they were settled requirements. With that caution in place, these are the themes being discussed.
From the draft, the new edition places greater emphasis on quality culture and ethical behaviour, particularly in the leadership section (around clause 5.1.1). It also points to a clearer separation between risks and opportunities, which were somewhat intertwined in the 2015 version (clause 6.1). References to emerging technologies, digitalisation, and data reliability appear, and the climate amendment is integrated into the text. What I will not do is sell you confirmed requirements about artificial intelligence, knowledge management, or supply chains: with the text still unpublished, that would be speculation.
One note to calibrate expectations: the scope of changes appears moderate. A leap as large as the shift to the 2015 edition is not expected. The standard retains the Harmonised Structure (the former Annex SL), so the framework will feel familiar. When the text is official I will publish an in-depth analysis of the changes in ISO 9001:2026 compared with 2015.
What this means for your certification: the transition
If you hold ISO 9001:2015 certification, your certificate remains valid. It does not expire the day the new edition is published. What happens with these revisions is that the IAF (the International Accreditation Forum) sets a transition period during which both versions coexist and organisations migrate at their own pace.
The IAF's usual practice in these cases is a three-year period. Applied to this revision, if the standard is published in September 2026, the transition would end around 2029. I stress that this is an estimate based on precedent; the IAF has not yet set it by formal resolution, so the exact date may change. What is certain is the mechanism: at the end of the transition, certifications issued under the 2015 version cease to be valid and you must already have migrated.
If you want a sense of what these migrations look like in practice, it is useful to look at what happened with the transition from ISO 27001 to the 2022 version: the same pattern of a defined period, transition audits, and a final deadline it pays not to leave until the last minute. When the IAF publishes the specific rules for this revision, I will detail the transition to the new ISO 9001 step by step.
What to do now (and what not to do)
My recommendation, ordered by urgency, is as follows.
First, what is already mandatory: verify that your system captures the climate change assessment required by the 2024 amendment. This cannot wait, because it is already in force. It is also the quickest thing to close.
Second, what is worth preparing but without rushing: familiarise yourself with the themes of the new edition (quality culture, ethics, risks and opportunities kept separate, digitalisation), but do not rewrite your documentation against a draft that can still change. Wait for publication before touching procedures and records.
Third, planning: when publication is confirmed and the IAF sets the deadlines, mark your transition audit in the calendar with margin. Last-year-of-transition rushes make the work more expensive and more complex — I have seen this too many times. If you manage several standards at once, this is a good time to think about an integrated management system, because the climate amendment and the shared Harmonised Structure make treating them together easier.
And if you prefer a concrete road map for your company, especially if you are an SME, I have prepared a guide on how to prepare with a practical checklist.
Conclusion
Plainly put: the climate amendment is already mandatory and you should have it closed; the new edition is well advanced but not yet final, with publication expected in September 2026 and a transition pointing to around three years. There is no reason for panic or for reforming your system against a text that does not yet exist. There is reason to get up to date with what is confirmed and plan sensibly for what is coming.
If you would like to review where your system stands and plan the transition without surprises, in my ISO consultancy this is exactly the work I do. Let's talk and I'll tell you what makes sense in your specific case.