Standards transitions · Accreditation standards

ISO/IEC 17020:2026 and ISO/IEC 17024:2026: your own accreditation is changing

These are not client transitions. They are the first revisions since 2012 of the standards inspection bodies and persons certification bodies are accredited against, so the gap analysis, the procedures and the assessment are all yours.

Last reviewed 26 September 2026. Transition dates vary by accreditation body; we update this page as they publish.

The dates

27 March 2026

ISO/IEC 17020:2026 published

Requirements for bodies performing inspection, third edition.

31 March 2026

ISO/IEC 17024:2026 published

Requirements for bodies operating certification of persons, third edition.

Around 27 March 2029

End of the ISO/IEC 17020 transition

The international accreditation General Assembly endorsed a three-year transition from publication, and UKAS applies 27 March 2029. Some accreditation bodies set earlier intermediate dates for preparation, so check yours.

Set by your AB

End of the ISO/IEC 17024 transition

Confirm the deadline and any intermediate dates with your accreditation body before building a plan around them.

In Italy, Accredia has revised its accreditation regulations to match: RG-01-02 rev. 04 for persons certification bodies and RG-01-04 rev. 04 for inspection bodies. Both were approved on 15 April 2026 and apply from 1 November 2026.

ISO/IEC 17020:2026: what changed

Two independence types, not three. Types A, B and C become Type A and Type non-A. Every body must meet the same impartiality requirements; only the independence criteria differ by type.
Risks and opportunities replace preventive action.
Data and information control. New formal requirements, including validation of the software you use.
External providers. Wider controls on externally provided products and services, with a register of providers.
Competence. More emphasis on monitoring competence, including personnel the body has access to rather than employs.
Facilities and equipment. Controls now extend to remote inspection tools and AI systems.
Complaints and appeals. A simpler process that must be publicly available.

ISO/IEC 17024:2026: what changed

AI in certification activities. Where AI tools are used in assessment, the body must monitor and validate their outcomes, keep appropriate human oversight and be competent in their use.
Separation from training. Accredia highlights a stronger separation between certification and training activities.
Structured risk analysis. A more formal approach to risk across the certification process.
A new Annex B clarifying how the components of a certification scheme relate to each other.

What to do first

1
Get your accreditation body's dates in writing. Especially for ISO/IEC 17024, where the deadline is not yet uniform.
2
Run the gap analysis against your own procedures. Inspection bodies should restate their independence type under the new two-type model early, because it affects how the scope is described.
3
Review the software you rely on. The new data and information control requirements in ISO/IEC 17020 include software validation. If a system holds your inspection records, schedules or reports, it is in scope.
4
Record where AI is used. Both standards now address AI tools. List where they are used in inspection or assessment, and what human review sits over them.

Every transition certification bodies are running, in date order

Sources

ISO, ISO/IEC 17020:2026 and ISO/IEC 17024:2026.
UKAS, Transition arrangements for ISO/IEC 17020:2026.
Accredia, La nuova revisione della norma ISO/IEC 17020, 18 March 2026, and new ISO 17024 and 17020 and Accredia regulations, 30 April 2026.
European Accreditation, publication of the new standards.

Written by the Certyze team. The standards and your accreditation body's transition arrangements govern. This page is a planning summary.

Certyze supports inspection bodies and persons certification bodies as well as management system certification, with competence records, scheduling and a complete audit trail of every change.

Book a Demo