No certification is required, but you need working knowledge of ISO 9001:2015, ideally from implementing, maintaining or auditing a certified QMS. The course covers only the differences. Without prior ISO 9001 exposure, take ISO 9001 Lead Implementer or Lead Auditor first.
The ISO 9001 Transition course has no formal entry requirement, and its certification requires no professional experience. What it assumes is familiarity with ISO 9001:2015: the process approach, PDCA, risk-based thinking and the structure of clauses 4 to 10. The two days go on clause comparisons, not on quality management fundamentals.
Participants who have run, maintained or audited a certified QMS follow the comparisons easily and can judge which changes affect their own system. Those with no ISO 9001 exposure tend to struggle, because each exercise asks them to decide what an existing QMS must change.
If you are new to ISO 9001, start with ISO 9001 Lead Implementer if you will own a QMS, or ISO 9001 Lead Auditor if you will audit one. Both are four-day courses. If you already hold one of these credentials, the Transition course adds proof of competence on the 2026 edition without repeating what you know.
Unsure which route fits your role? Transition versus Lead Implementer and Lead Auditor compares the three.
“If you have sat through a 2015 surveillance audit on the receiving end, you have the background this course needs.”
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 courseTake ISO 9001 Transition if you already know ISO 9001:2015 and need to move a QMS or your own competence to the 2026 edition in two days. Take Lead Implementer to learn to build and run a QMS, or Lead Auditor to lead certification audits. Each of those is a four-day course.
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.
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 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.
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.
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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