Continual improvement
Changed in ISO 9001:2026
10.1 Continual improvement (2015's 10.1 and 10.3 merged, same substance); 10.2 Nonconformity and corrective action; no 10.3.
Checked against the published text on 27 September 2026.
Plain-language summary
Clause 10 is renumbered in the published edition. The 2015 clause 10.1 (improvement — general) and clause 10.3 (continual improvement) are folded into a single 10.1 titled 'Continual improvement'; 10.2 keeps nonconformity and corrective action, and there is no 10.3. The substance carries over: continually improve the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the QMS; use the results of monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation and of management review to determine opportunities and act on them; and make sure the actions cover improving processes, products and services, addressing future needs and expectations, and correcting, preventing or reducing undesired effects. What changes is every cross-reference to '10.3' in manuals, procedures, audit checklists and training.
What the clause is really asking
Nothing new — the same improvement discipline, now under one heading. The practical ask is housekeeping: clause maps, procedure cross-references and internal-audit checklists that still cite 10.3.
What auditors look for
Improvement evidence as before — trends, projects, objectives that ratchet — and, at the transition audit, whether your clause map and audit checklists reflect the published numbering.
Typical evidence
Improvement records fed by 9.1.3 analysis and management review results; an updated clause map and audit checklist.
How to comply — recommendations
Keep the mechanics; update the numbering at transition; treat the merged clause as one improvement loop rather than two headings.
Common nonconformities
Audit checklists and manuals still citing 10.3 after transition; Improvement claimed with no trend evidence behind it; Opportunities from 6.1 never reaching improvement
Related clauses
ISO 9001:2026 — see also 10.1 (10.3 in 2015), 9.3, 9.1.3, 6.1.1–6.1.3
In the book
Chapter 10 — Improvement — Closing Loops for a Living treats this clause family in full: what it is really asking, what auditors look for, the evidence that satisfies, how to make it work on a real floor, and where companies stumble.
Resources for this clause
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