From application to certificate

There is no fixed minimum period, but there is a fixed minimum of evidence. You need at least one complete cycle of internal audits covering the full scope, and at least one management review with the inputs and outputs the standard requires. In practice that means around three months of genuine operation as an absolute floor, and most organisations need longer.

Yes, and it is usually the efficient route. Standards sharing the High Level Structure — ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, 27001, 22301, 50001 and others — can be operated as one integrated management system and audited together. Integrated audits attract permitted audit-day reductions, so two standards audited together cost meaningfully less than two separate certifications.

No. Many organisations certify without one, particularly where someone internal has been through an implementation before. A consultant buys pace and helps avoid known pitfalls. What a consultant cannot supply is internal ownership, and a system built entirely by an external party without internal engagement tends to fail its first surveillance audit.

Yes. Transfer is a defined process under IAF MD 2. We review your current certificate, the accreditation status of the issuing body, your most recent audit reports and the status of any open nonconformities. Where the existing certification is accredited and in good standing, transfer is usually straightforward and does not require a full initial certification audit.

Cost is driven by audit days, which are calculated under IAF MD 5 from your effective headcount and the risk category of your activity — not set commercially. That means we cannot quote meaningfully without your headcount, scope and number of sites, and any body that quotes a flat price without asking for those is not calculating audit days properly. Our quotations show the calculation, cover the full three-year cycle including both surveillance audits, and state travel separately at cost.

For an organisation with a working system, typically eight to twelve weeks from application to certificate: two to three days for the quotation, about a week to contract and plan, Stage 1, a gap of two to four weeks, Stage 2, then nonconformity closure and the certification decision. If the system still has to be built, add three to six months of implementation before any of that starts.

Three reasons, in order of importance. First, whether the certification is accredited — unaccredited certificates cost less because they are worth less. Second, whether the audit days match the IAF MD 5 calculation. Third, whether surveillance audits are included in the quoted figure or charged separately later. Compare the three-year total for accredited certification with correctly calculated audit days, and the range narrows considerably.