The PECB Certified ISO 9001 Transition credential shows you understand the differences between ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 9001:2026 and can plan and implement the changes in a QMS. It requires a one-hour multiple-choice exam with a 70% pass mark and no professional experience.
The credential is issued by PECB and sits alongside ISO 9001 Lead Implementer and Lead Auditor rather than replacing them. It confirms current competence on the 2026 edition, which is what employers, clients and certification bodies look for as organizations start their transitions.
The exam covers two competence domains: the differences between the main clauses of ISO 9001:2026 and ISO 9001:2015, and understanding, planning and implementing the ISO 9001:2026 changes. It lasts one hour, is multiple choice, requires 70 percent to pass, is available in English and is taken online.
Unlike the Lead-level credentials, it has no professional or project experience requirement. After passing, you sign the PECB Code of Ethics and the certificate is issued. It is valid for three years with annual maintenance, and participants get a free retake within 12 months if they need one.
The exam is taken at the end of the two-day course, and the prerequisites explain what knowledge you should bring to pass it.
“The transition credential answers one question from a client: does this person know the 2026 text, or only the 2015 one?”
This course prepares participants to establish, implement, maintain, and improve a quality management system based on ISO 9001. Most QMS projects stall on the same decisions: where to draw the scope, who owns each process, which controls apply to suppliers and outsourced work, and what evidence a certification auditor will accept. Participants work through those decisions in sequence, from organizational context to certification audit readiness, using the PECB IMS2 implementation method. Abilene Academy trainers are active quality consultants who bring cases from live implementation projects. The course suits quality managers, QMS project leads, consultants, and professionals moving into quality management roles.
View courseThis three-day course teaches you how to conduct and manage management system internal audits in line with ISO 19011 guidance and related best practices. You learn internal audit concepts, auditor competence and behavior, and common requirements across management system standards.
View courseThis course prepares participants to plan, conduct, and close quality management system audits against ISO 9001, following ISO 19011 guidelines and ISO/IEC 17021-1 requirements. Certification bodies and large customers now expect audit findings backed by traceable evidence, risk-based sampling, and conclusions that hold up when the auditee disputes them. Participants run a full audit cycle on a case organization, from initiation and stage 1 through stage 2, nonconformity reporting, action plan evaluation, and audit program management. Abilene Academy trainers are practicing ISO auditors who bring findings and auditee objections from live certification audits. The course suits auditors, quality managers, consultants, and technical experts who lead or prepare for QMS audits.
View courseThe transition period is three years. ISO 9001:2026 was published on 16 September 2026, and ISO 9001:2015 certificates cease to be valid after 30 September 2029. Your transition audit, and any corrective action it raises, must be completed before that date.
ISO 9001:2026 changes clauses 4.2, 5.1.1, 6.1, 6.3, 7.1.4, 7.1.6, 7.3, parts of clause 8, 9.2.2, 9.3.2 and 10.1. The biggest shifts are quality culture and ethical behavior, separate handling of risks and opportunities, expanded planning of changes and broader organizational knowledge. The process approach and PDCA are unchanged.
The ISO 9001 Transition course runs over two days and ends with a one-hour PECB exam. Abilene Academy delivers it onsite in Morges, as virtual live training with an instructor, or as self-study with 365 days of access. All three formats lead to the same exam and credential.
ISO 9001:2026 changes clauses 4.2, 5.1.1, 6.1, 6.3, 7.1.4, 7.1.6, 7.3, parts of clause 8, 9.2.2, 9.3.2 and 10.1. The biggest shifts are quality culture and ethical behavior, separate handling of risks and opportunities, expanded planning of changes and broader organizational knowledge. The process approach and PDCA are unchanged.
The transition period is three years. ISO 9001:2026 was published on 16 September 2026, and ISO 9001:2015 certificates cease to be valid after 30 September 2029. Your transition audit, and any corrective action it raises, must be completed before that date.
The ISO 9001 Transition course runs over two days and ends with a one-hour PECB exam. Abilene Academy delivers it onsite in Morges, as virtual live training with an instructor, or as self-study with 365 days of access. All three formats lead to the same exam and credential.
Compare each changed ISO 9001:2026 requirement with your current processes and records, classify it as new, revised, reorganized or unchanged, and note whether you already meet it. Give every gap an owner, a date and the evidence that will close it, then verify through an internal audit and management review before the transition audit.
ISO 19011:2026 was published on 27 May 2026 with expanded guidance on remote auditing. What changed, what did not, and what internal auditors, lead auditors and programme managers should do.
ISO 9001:2026 was published on 16 September 2026. What changed, who must transition by September 2029, a step-by-step checklist, and the audit and certification paths.
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