Quality managersInternal auditorsSHEQ managersManufacturingProcess plants

    ISO 9001:2026 Internal Audit Checklist and Transition Checklist

    A clause-by-clause internal audit checklist for a quality management system, with a second checklist for moving from ISO 9001:2015 to ISO 9001:2026. The 2026 edition was published on 16 September 2026 and keeps clauses 4 to 10, so the audit checklist works against either edition while you transition.

    At the intervals your audit programme sets, so that every clause is covered at least once a year; and once, before the transition audit, to find the gaps between your 2015 system and the 2026 edition.

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    What is in the template

    Transition from ISO 9001:2015 to ISO 9001:2026

    Columns: Clause · What changed · Evidence in our system · Gap (Y/N) · Action and owner

    • 4.1 · Decide whether climate change is a relevant issue for the system
    • 4.2 · Decide which requirements of interested parties the system will address
    • 5.1.1 · Top management promotes a culture of quality and ethical conduct
    • 6.1.2 and 6.1.3 · Risks (6.1.2) and opportunities (6.1.3) are planned for separately
    • 6.3 · Planning of changes considers more factors than before
    • 7.3 · Awareness covers quality culture and ethical conduct
    • 9.2.2 · Each audit programme has defined objectives
    • 9.3.2 and 9.3.3 · Review inputs include changes in interested parties' needs; "outputs" become "results"
    • 10.1 · Former clauses 10.1 and 10.3 (continual improvement) combined

    The changes as published summaries of the 2026 edition describe them; some summaries disagree on details, so confirm each against your copy of ISO 9001:2026 before you rely on it. Annex B of the 2015 edition has been removed. Certification bodies give 30 September 2029 as the end of the transition, after which 2015 certificates lapse; confirm the date with yours.

    Clauses 4 to 6: context, leadership and planning

    Columns: Clause · Requirement in short · Evidence seen · Finding (C/OFI/NC) · Action owner · 8 rows per page

    Clause 4 asks whether the organisation has worked out its context, its interested parties, the scope of the system, and the processes with their inputs, outputs, owners and measures. Clause 5 asks whether top management leads it, with customer focus, a quality policy and assigned roles. Clause 6 asks whether risks and opportunities are planned for, quality objectives set with plans to reach them, and changes to the system planned. Finding: C complies, OFI opportunity for improvement, minor NC or major NC.

    Clauses 7 and 8: support and operation

    Columns: Clause · Requirement in short · Evidence seen · Finding (C/OFI/NC) · Action owner · 8 rows per page

    Clause 7 asks whether there are resources, including calibrated measuring equipment and organisational knowledge, competent and aware people, communication and controlled documented information. Clause 8 asks whether operations are planned and controlled: customer requirements, design and development where it applies, control of suppliers and outsourced processes, production or service provision with traceability, release of products and services, and control of nonconforming outputs.

    Clauses 9 and 10: performance evaluation and improvement

    Columns: Clause · Requirement in short · Evidence seen · Finding (C/OFI/NC) · Action owner · 8 rows per page

    Clause 9 asks whether performance is monitored and measured, including customer satisfaction and the analysis of data, whether internal audits run to a programme and whether management reviews happen with the required inputs and results. Clause 10 asks whether nonconformities are corrected, their causes removed and the effectiveness of the action reviewed, and whether the system improves continually.

    Summary and sign-off

    • Number of findings (C / OFI / minor NC / major NC)
    • Nonconformities (clause and one line each)
    • Corrective actions due by
    • Auditor signature and date
    • Auditee signature and date

    How to fill it in

    1. 1Before the transition audit, work through the transition checklist once: for each changed clause, record what your system already has and whether there is a gap.
    2. 2For each internal audit, agree the scope and the date with the auditee beforehand, and read the last audit report and the open corrective actions.
    3. 3Take each clause group in turn. Write the sub-clause you are checking in the clause column, and what it asks for in a few words.
    4. 4Record only evidence you saw or were shown: the document number, the record, the person interviewed, the place. Grade each line C, OFI, minor NC or major NC.
    5. 5Close with the summary, agree an owner and a due date for every nonconformity, and move them to the corrective-action register.

    A general template, not certification advice. ISO 9001 is a voluntary standard published by the International Organization for Standardization; this checklist names its clauses and summarises their topics without reproducing the text, so audit against your own copy. ISO 9001:2026 was published on 16 September 2026 and replaces ISO 9001:2015. Clause 9.2 requires internal audits at planned intervals, and clause 10.2 requires nonconformities to be corrected and the effectiveness of the action reviewed.

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    The same record in Inspecable

    On paper the register is only as current as the last person who updated it. In Inspecable the same record keeps going:

    Do it in InspecableCorrective actionsThe longer readCorrective action under ISO 45001: what clause 10.2 asks you to prove

    Questions

    What changed in ISO 9001:2026?

    The clause structure stays the same. Published summaries list the main changes as climate change and interested-party requirements in clause 4, quality culture and ethics in leadership and awareness, risks and opportunities split in 6.1, a wider planning of changes, objectives for each audit programme, and continual improvement merged into 10.1.

    When do we have to move to ISO 9001:2026?

    Certification bodies give a three-year transition ending on 30 September 2029, after which ISO 9001:2015 certificates are no longer valid. Most will move you over at a surveillance or recertification audit; ask yours when it will audit against the 2026 edition, and do your gap analysis before then.

    How often must ISO 9001 internal audits be done?

    At planned intervals that your audit programme sets; the standard does not fix a frequency. Most organisations cover every clause at least once a year and audit important or troubled processes more often. Under the 2026 edition each audit programme also needs defined objectives.

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