ISO 9001: 2015 vs 2026
Every clause of ISO 9001, compared across the two editions and checked against the published text. 11 clauses changed — in substance or in numbering — and have a full side-by-side breakdown; the remaining 38 carried over, each with a one-line note of what the published edition does, so you can see at a glance that nothing was missed.
Checked against the published text on 27 September 2026
ISO 9001:2026 was published on 16 September 2026. Every row below was checked against the published standard (SANS 9001:2026 Ed. 6, the identical South African adoption of ISO 9001:2026) on 27 September 2026. Three rows moved from “carried” to “changed” as a result: clause 10 is renumbered (there is no 10.3 — continual improvement is folded into 10.1), management review gained an explicit input and its outputs are now called results (9.3), and Annex A is described as it actually is. See the dated update.
Changed in 2026 — 11 clauses
Twenty core terms are defined inside clause 3 itself (ISO 9000 stays the full vocabulary); 'conformance' is deprecated in favour of 'conformity'; 'opportunity' remains undefined. Annex A.2 clarifies the words the requirements hinge on.
Same requirement, plus: determine whether climate change is a relevant issue and record a conclusion either way (already in force via the 2024 amendment).
Same, with explicit recognition that parties can have climate-related requirements (in force via the 2024 amendment) — plus one new determination: which of the interested-party requirements your QMS will address.
Twelve commitments instead of ten: promoting a quality culture and ethical behaviour is new (with a light evidence trail expected), and promoting risk-based thinking is now paired with promoting opportunity-based thinking.
Restructured into three sub-clauses — 6.1.1 determining risks and opportunities, 6.1.2 actions to address risks, 6.1.3 actions to address opportunities. Each half is determined, analysed and evaluated, then planned with its own integration and effectiveness check; risk actions are proportionate to their potential impact, opportunity actions appropriate to your context. 'Opportunity' itself remains undefined — define it yourself.
Still numbered 6.3, confirmed in the published text. Same four considerations, plus three planned up front: communication of the change, how its effectiveness will be monitored and evaluated, and how the results will be reviewed — the loop closes.
Extended to the quality-culture and ethical-behaviour expectations of 5.1.1 — the culture requirement reaches the whole workforce.
Eight inputs: a new one on changes in interested-party needs and expectations, and risks and opportunities evaluated as two separate verdicts; the outputs are renamed 'results', with unchanged content.
10.1 Continual improvement (2015's 10.1 and 10.3 merged, same substance); 10.2 Nonconformity and corrective action; no 10.3.
Removed as a number; the requirement continues inside 10.1 Continual improvement.
One expanded informative Annex A — word clarifications, applicability, and clause-by-clause intent for clauses 4–10 with pointers to the ISO 10000-series guidance — replaces both; Annex B is removed. No new requirements, no worked examples.
Carried over unchanged — 38 clauses
Checked against the published text — determining the scope of the QMS is unchanged.
Checked — the process approach and its nine determinations are unchanged; the documented-information paragraph now names its two purposes (supporting operation; evidencing that processes run as planned).
Checked — customer focus is unchanged; the adjacent 5.1.1 culture and ethics addition colours leadership interviews.
Checked — the policy requirements are unchanged in substance; 2015's first criterion is now two lines (appropriate to purpose; takes context into account and supports strategic direction). A policy referencing culture and ethics reads naturally against 5.1.1 but is not required.
Checked — six assigned responsibilities instead of five: reporting on QMS performance and reporting on opportunities for improvement are now separate lines. No new duty.
Checked — quality objectives are unchanged in substance; the criteria list now carries 'available as documented information' as an item. Objectives arising from distinctly managed opportunities (6.1.3) are a natural link auditors may follow.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged; the note now frames the infrastructure examples for all types of work, on site or remote.
Checked — unchanged as a requirement; the note on social, psychological and physical factors gains a closing sentence that some of them can be influenced by the organisation's quality culture and ethical behaviour — the culture thread reaches the process environment as guidance, not as a requirement.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged; a single note now lists the forms knowledge can take, including digital systems and other media.
Checked — unchanged in substance; the evidence-of-competence duty is now a sentence rather than a lettered item. Competence for newly planned changes (6.3) is the practical link.
Checked — unchanged; 6.3 now explicitly expects the communication of changes to be planned.
Checked — the 'keep what you need' philosophy carries straight over. Vocabulary shift across the whole edition: 'shall be available as documented information' (documents) and 'documented information shall be available as evidence of' (records) replace 2015's maintain/retain pairing — Annex A.2 explains the two phrasings.
Checked — substantively unchanged, but the lettering shifts: item e) is now the resources determination, and the two documented-information duties (confidence that processes ran as planned; evidence of conformity) are separate sentences. Re-check any checklist that cites '8.1 e)'.
Checked — unchanged; a new note recognises indirect channels (website content, publications, social media, FAQs). Climate-related customer requirements (4.2) may surface here in practice.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged; a new note allows for iterative cycles of review, verification and validation.
Checked — unchanged; a new note says inputs can evolve as the design progresses.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged; the strengthened 6.3 loop is the adjacent discipline.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged in substance; the requirements are now lettered a) to d).
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged, but read together with the strengthened 6.3: the effectiveness-and-review discipline now runs through both.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged.
Checked — unchanged; social media joins the note's list of satisfaction sources.
Checked — the evaluation list grows from seven items to eight: the effectiveness of actions on risks and on opportunities are now separate evaluations, matching the split in 6.1.
Checked — unchanged in substance; 9.2.2 now carries the title 'Internal audit programme'. Scope your transition audits to cover every changed area, including the clause-10 renumbering.
Checked — nonconformity and corrective action are unchanged; note that 10.2 is now the last clause of the standard (there is no 10.3).
49 clauses covered in total.
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Checked against the published text of ISO 9001:2026 (SANS 9001:2026 Ed. 6, the identical South African adoption of ISO 9001:2026) on 27 September 2026. Qlause provides interpretive guidance only and is not a substitute for the standard — refer to your licensed copy of ISO 9001:2026 for the authoritative text.