After more than a decade, ISO 9001 is being updated. The new version – ISO 9001:2026 – is expected to be officially published in September 2026, and organisations certified to the current 2015 standard will have until September 2029 to transition. That’s three years, which sounds comfortable, until you factor in audit cycles and internal change management.
Having supported SMEs through the 2015 revision, we know that the organisations who start early transition smoothly. The good news is that ISO 9001:2026 is not a reinvention of the wheel, but it does ask some important questions of your leadership team and your quality culture that are worth taking seriously now.
The first thing to say is: this is not a radical overhaul. The Annex SL structure that underpins ISO 9001:2015 is staying, which means the overall framework your QMS is built on remains intact. The revision is focused on clarity, modernisation, and emphasis.
That said, a few areas stand out as genuinely meaningful:
What is not changing significantly: Operational requirements (Clause 8) and performance evaluation (Clause 9) remain largely consistent with 2015. If your QMS is well-established, these areas will need little adjustment.
In Switzerland, the majority of ISO 9001 certifications are issued by SQS (Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems), with the SAQ (Swiss Association for Quality) playing an active role in training and professional development. Swiss SMEs in precision manufacturing, medtech, life sciences, and professional services have long used ISO 9001 as a prerequisite for entering supply chains or responding to tenders, both domestically and internationally. The 2026 revision’s emphasis on quality culture aligns well with the high standards Swiss businesses already hold themselves to; the task is largely one of formalisation.
In France, AFNOR (Association française de normalisation) is the national body that publishes ISO standards, and COFRAC oversees the accreditation of certification bodies. ISO 9001 certification is increasingly expected, and in some sectors required for participation in public procurement. For French SMEs in industry, services, and the public sector supply chain, the transition to ISO 9001:2026 will also be an opportunity to align with updated requirements from customers and purchasing organisations who themselves will be updating their supplier qualification criteria.
Our take: In both countries, the organisations most at risk during the transition are not those who are poorly managed, they are those who have let their QMS drift into a paper exercise. ISO 9001:2026 is a useful prompt to reconnect your system with how your business actually works today.
The three-year transition window (September 2026 to September 2029) gives organisations time to plan, but it rewards those who start early:
One practical note: your certification body, whether SQS, Bureau Veritas, SGS, AFNOR Certification, or another accredited body, will begin offering transition audits once the standard is published. It is worth discussing the timing with them early, particularly if your recertification audit falls within the transition window.
Before the standard is even published, there are actions worth taking today:
None of these require the 2026 standard to be in your hands. They are good QMS practice regardless, and addressing them now means your formal transition will be faster and less disruptive.
At Qualinea Solutions, we have been supporting SMEs across Switzerland and France with ISO certification and QMS consulting for years. We know what auditors look for, what proportionate implementation looks like for smaller organisations, and how to make your quality system a genuine business asset rather than a compliance burden.
As ISO 9001:2026 approaches, we offer:
Whether you are in Geneva, Zurich, Basel, Lyon, Paris, or anywhere in between, we work with you at your pace and in your language.
Contact us to book a free 30-minute readiness call. [link https://calendly.com/margarita-qualinea-solutions/30min]