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.”
ISO 9001 Lead Implementer is a four-day intensive course to build the expertise to establish, implement, manage, and maintain a Quality Management System (QMS) based on ISO 9001:2015.
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 ISO 9001 Lead Auditor course is designed for professionals who must conduct audits that withstand certification scrutiny and deliver operational value. In a context where quality audits are increasingly challenged for being procedural rather than insightful, this training focuses on evidence-.
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.
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