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ISO 9001:2026 transition · clause by clause · self-paced

Move your QMS to ISO 9001:2026 without rebuilding what already works.

Taught by Will Trikha, third-party registrar auditor.

Learn the six main changes ISO lists for the 2026 edition, clause by clause, and skip the vendor myths. Then build the transition file your auditor will ask for, from the gap register to a dated plan, with Coach Q beside you.

Quality managers, process owners and whoever leads the transition at an ISO 9001-certified manufacturer, distributor or service business.

Start free. Lesson 1, with Coach Q, no card.

Read the change map straight from the standard and start the first rows of your gap register.

See everything you get ↓ Lessons for life · coach included, no renewal fee
  • About 4.5 hours
  • Self-paced
  • Auditor-reviewed final case study
  • Verifiable certificate
academy.qmslearning.com
Lesson 1 of ISO 9001:2026 Transition, a real screen from the course

Our owner wants a 2026 quality manual template. Do we need it?

COACH Q · IN YOUR POCKET

No. The 2026 edition adds no mandatory documents and still doesn't require a quality manual. Start with the new 4.2 step instead.

Real screen from this courseLesson 1 is free

Sound familiar?

Your inbox says rebuild the QMS. The published standard says otherwise.

A vendor says we need a new manual.

And a validated digital QMS, and every procedure rewritten. None of that is in the published text. You'll sort each claim against the clause map as supported, contradicted or unsupported before anyone signs a PO.

I don't have a week to read the standard.

You run the QMS, the audits and the daily fires. Comparing 2015 and 2026 line by line is a week you don't have. We did it: 36 clause rows, each one sorted.

Climate change? We're a machine shop.

Clause 4.1 asks you to decide whether climate change is a relevant issue, and either answer can be right. What your auditor checks is the decision on record, with a reason, an owner and a review point.

Quality culture sounds like a poster.

5.1.1 now asks top management to promote quality culture and ethical behaviour. Expect your auditor to ask people on the floor how they raise a problem. A poster can't answer that.

What it does for you

Be the one your company asks about ISO 9001:2026.

The answer in the room

When the owner forwards the vendor email, you're the one who knows what changed and what didn't, clause by clause.

A transition you led

A gap register, a climate decision, a culture plan and a dated transition plan, built by you. That's a project with your name on it.

Reviewed by an auditor

A qualified auditor reviews your final case study, and anyone can check your certificate online.

No course can promise you a raise or a title. What you'll have is the skill, the work to show for it and a certificate anyone can verify. That's what those conversations run on.

Why it matters

The world's most widely used quality standard just changed.

1 million

More than 1 million organizations worldwide trust ISO 9001, ISO said when it published the 2026 edition on September 16, 2026.

Source: ISO, news release, September 16, 2026

If your company holds an ISO 9001 certificate, your certification body will audit you against the 2026 text during a transition of about three years. Your 2015 certificate stays valid through it. The certification body, not a vendor, decides when you're certified to 2026, after it audits you. Confirm the dates with yours.

Getting it wrong costs you either way. Rebuild what already works and you lose money and months. Skip one of the new requirements, like the new 4.2 step or objectives on every audit plan, and your auditor will find the gap. The climate decision from the 2024 amendment is now in the main text too. The real work is a short list, and it has to be right.

What you'll learn

What changed, clause by clause, and what to do about it.

One case runs through every module: Harbor Ridge, a fictional 85-person machine shop with a surveillance audit in February. You build its transition file section by section, then do the same on your own QMS.

01The change map · Clause 4

Separate real requirements from myths

Start where ISO starts: the six main changes listed in the Foreword. Check a vendor's claims against them, then sort all 36 clause rows against 2015. About half need no new work, and the two Clause 4 changes are the first an auditor checks.

  • Sort each clause row: new, reinforced, restructured, wording only or no change
  • Tell requirement text from notes and Annex A, which explain but aren't auditable
  • Record the 4.1 climate decision and add the new third step in 4.2

02Clauses 5.1.1, 7.3, 7.1.4

Build culture evidence an auditor believes

Quality culture and ethical behaviour are the headline change, and the easiest to fake. Auditors test them by asking people on the floor how they raise a problem and what happened last time. You plan leader actions that leave records, not posters.

  • Where culture now lives: 5.1.1 for leaders, 7.3 for awareness, the 7.1.4 note
  • The evidence chain an auditor follows: raised, responded, protected, reviewed
  • Handle the parts and the person: NCR, quarantine, customer told, reporter thanked

03Clauses 6.1.2 and 6.1.3

Act on risks and opportunities separately

Plenty of 2015 systems keep one list, and opportunities end up as afterthoughts. The 2026 edition splits the actions and checks each one's effectiveness separately in 9.1.3 and 9.3.2. You still don't need a formal risk method. Simple and proportionate passes.

  • Score likelihood x consequence 1 to 5 and act on 12 or more, the shop's own method
  • Catch an opportunity dressed as a risk, such as a "risk of missing growth"
  • Write the 6.1.2 disruption risk for a plating supplier that floods in storm season

04Clauses 6.3, 7.1.6 and 8

Plan changes, keep knowledge, patch Clause 8

Harbor Ridge swapped its MRP system. It went live on time, and nobody checked whether it worked. You fix the change process, protect the know-how of an expert who retires in seven months, and patch the few Clause 8 spots that changed instead of rewriting procedures.

  • 6.3's four new considerations: information, communication, monitoring, results review
  • A 7.1.6 plan for the retiring expert that uses all four forms of knowledge
  • Clause 8 patches: 8.2.1 contingency info, 8.4.3 drop-ship POs, 8.5.1 instructions used

05Clauses 9.2.2, 9.3.2, 10

Prove it: audit, review and a dated plan

Everything turns real when your own internal audit and management review test it. You write audit plans with objectives, add the new review inputs, re-map Clause 10 without rewriting it, and date a transition plan that leaves time to close findings.

  • 9.2.2: every audit plan states its objectives, criteria and scope
  • 9.3.2: interested party changes, plus separate risk and opportunity effectiveness
  • Fix an audit pace that leaves 4 of 12 processes unaudited when finding closure starts

06Module 7 · AI tools

Use AI on the transition, and check it

AI can draft a gap register in seconds, and some rows may rest on a clause number it guessed. Annex A points to reliable information and clear responsibility, so here AI drafts and a named person checks every row and decides.

  • Match each transition task to the right AI tool, starting from a prompt pack
  • Lab: find the planted errors in an AI-drafted gap register before anyone signs it
  • Write your own AI work plan for Monday, reviewed by Coach Q and never scored

Who built it

Written from the auditor's side of the table.

Will Trikha

Founder and CEO, QMS Learning · Third-party registrar auditor

Will Trikha is a third-party registrar auditor with more than 20 years in aerospace and quality. He wrote this course from the published ISO 9001:2026 text and checked it clause by clause against the 2015 edition, so you do only the work the new edition asks for.

He works the other side of the table too. He's COO of PTX Defense, an AS9100D-certified aerospace manufacturer, so he lives with a certified QMS from the supplier side. He founded QMS Leader, which implements quality management systems for manufacturers.

What an auditor will look for in your 2026 QMS

  1. Requirement text, not the note under itA nonconformity is raised against requirement text, not against a note or Annex A. Notes explain intent and give examples. Before you act on any 2026 claim, find out which of the three it comes from.
  2. A rule behind the new 4.2 decisionYour register has to show which party requirements the QMS takes on. A written rule makes that repeatable, such as: the QMS takes it on when it affects product conformity or customer satisfaction. The function that owns the rest handles it.
  3. Objectives on every internal audit plan9.2.2 adds objectives to criteria and scope. The objective says what the audit is for, such as confirming a new opportunity log feeds management review. Criteria say what you audit against. Scope says where and when.
  4. A change people actually heard about6.3 now asks how a change was communicated and how you'll monitor whether it worked. Ask operators what changed on the new screens. If they can't say, communication is the gap.

Check us before you pay

  • Take lesson 1 free. The real first lesson with Coach Q. No card.
  • Look Will up. His LinkedIn profile lists the work behind the course.
  • Check a certificate. Every certificate can be confirmed at academy.qmslearning.com/verify.
  • Keep your exit. 3 days after you buy to ask for a refund.

The usual way, and this course

Start from the standard, not the vendor email.

Here's what changes when the published text sets your to-do list.

The usual way
This course
Where you start
A vendor email, a template pack or a rewrite of the manual
The six changes ISO lists, then 36 clause rows sorted by the work each needs
What you build
Notes on what changed, filed and forgotten
A transition file: gap register, climate decision, culture plan, dated plan
How you prove it
A multiple-choice quiz
A transition package for a different company, reviewed by a qualified auditor
How it fits you
The same pace and the same examples for everyone
A study plan sized to your week, and a coach that works on your own job
When you're stuck
Email the instructor and wait for a reply
Ask Coach Q on any screen, any hour
After you finish
Access often ends after a year
Lessons for life, kept up to date, and a coach that stays with you

Not like training used to be

Short, hands-on, built around you. And the coach stays.

Training used to mean days in a classroom or hours of video. Here are real screens from ISO 9001:2026 Transition: short sessions where you make the call, a plan that fits your week, and an expert in your pocket.

Coach Q · your expert on call

Our owner wants to buy a 2026 quality manual template. Do we need it?
COACH Q

No. The 2026 edition adds no mandatory documents and still doesn't require a quality manual.

Your time is better spent on the six new requirements, starting with the 4.2 step: deciding which interested party requirements your QMS takes on.

Want a two-line note for your owner that says that?

Coaching, not decisions. You make the call. Comes with your course, no renewal fee.

Study plan: a real screen from ISO 9001:2026 Transition

Study plan · Your personal trainer

Tell it your goal date. It builds sessions around your week and shows each day whether you're on plan, so the course actually gets finished.

Focus timer: a real screen from ISO 9001:2026 Transition

Focus timer · 25 minutes, no tab-hopping

One click starts a focused session, and it follows you from lesson to lesson. Short sessions are how busy people finish.

Course Hub: a real screen from ISO 9001:2026 Transition

Course Hub · Transition documents drafted with you

Pick a template, give Coach Q your facts, get a working draft you edit and keep: 2015 to 2026 gap assessment, transition action plan, top management briefing, 2026 management review agenda.

Apply at work: a real screen from ISO 9001:2026 Transition

Apply at work · Proof your boss can see

Log what you tried, what happened and how you know. Record your manager's sign-off with their name and date, and export the log for your performance review.

Today view: a real screen from ISO 9001:2026 Transition

Today view · One look and you know what's next

Your goal, days left, lessons done, your streak and today's session.

Built around you

Give the study plan your goal date and it sizes each session to your week. Coach Q works on the facts you bring from your own job, so the examples are yours, not a textbook's.

Hands-on, not hours of video

Lessons are built around calls you make: read the record, sort the evidence, catch the mistake. Checks and labs score you on the spot, and your first win comes in the first few minutes of lesson 1.

Stays with you. Stays current.

Coach Q doesn't leave when you finish. It comes with your course, no subscription and no renewal fee, so it's there for your transition audit, and the audits after it. When the rules behind this course change, we update the lessons and the coach's setup, and we move the coach to newer AI models as we test them.

What you walk out with

You don't just learn the changes. You build the transition file.

A gap register for every clause row

Each row sorted as new, reinforced, restructured, wording only or no change, with owners and the evidence each fix will leave.

Context and interested parties, updated

The climate decision recorded with a reason, and the new step: which party requirements your QMS takes on.

A culture and ethics evidence plan

Leader actions that leave records, a speak-up path people can describe, and awareness updated.

Risks and opportunities, split

Risks scored with your own simple method, a real opportunity log, disruption risks, and effectiveness checks for both.

A change record and a knowledge plan

A change planned the 2026 way, and a plan for the expert whose know-how walks out the door when they retire.

Audit, review and a dated plan

Audit objectives on every plan, the new management review inputs, and when to tell your certification body.

Inside the course

The course, step by step.

About 4.5 hours, self-paced, in short sessions that fit your week.

Read the change map

Separate real 2026 requirements from wording changes and vendor myths, clause by clause. 2 lessons.

Context, interested parties and climate

Make and record the climate decision, and decide which interested party requirements the QMS takes on. 2 lessons.

Leadership, quality culture and ethical behaviour

Turn the new culture, ethics and awareness requirements into leader actions and records an auditor can test. 2 lessons.

Separate risks from opportunities

Act on risks (6.1.2) and opportunities (6.1.3) separately, each evaluated and each with an effectiveness check. 2 lessons.

Change, knowledge and daily operations

Plan changes with the four new 6.3 considerations, protect critical knowledge, and make the small Clause 8 updates. 2 lessons.

Prove it: audit, review and the transition plan

Audit against the changes, feed management review the new inputs, and set a transition plan your certification body can act on. 2 lessons.

Put AI to work on your transition

Give each AI tool the transition work it's good at, and check every draft before a named person decides. 2 lessons.

The itemized list

Everything you get.

Each priced line shows what a comparable item costs from another provider, with the source, so you can check it yourself. The included lines are what get the course finished. Checked October 12, 2026.

ISO 9001:2026 Transition · itemAdding up: $600
01

The ISO 9001:2026 Transition course

$350

The change map, then context and interested parties, leadership and quality culture, risks split from opportunities, change and knowledge, and audit, review and a dated plan. One continuing case, an 85-person machine shop with a surveillance audit in February, and 37 hands-on labs.

COMPARABLE · ASQ, ISO 9001:2026 Transition, non-member list price, 4 hours, live virtual, taught by DEKRA, proctored exam and DEKRA certificate included (asq.org, Oct 2026): $350

02

Course Hub with AI-drafted transition documents

Included

A 2015 to 2026 gap assessment, a transition action plan, a top management briefing and a 2026 management review agenda. Coach Q drafts each from your facts, you check every gap against the published standard and your records, then edit, save and download.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

03

Coach Q, your expert in your pocket

$250

Ask the question you'd ask an auditor, any hour. It's set up for the 2026 transition, works on your own facts, points you to the clause and the next step, and marks what's missing. Comes with your course. No subscription or renewal fee. It stays with you after the course, and we keep its setup current when the rules change.

COMPARABLE · MoreSteam, E-Learning Support, 1 hour of coaching: $250

04

A final case study a qualified auditor reviews

Included

Build a transition package for a company you haven't seen: a fastener distributor, a contract packager or an electronics repair shop. Then 12 judgment calls. A qualified auditor reviews it within 5 business days, and Coach Q only clarifies, so the work stays yours.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

05

Put AI to work on your transition

Included

Match each transition task to the right AI tool, then catch what an AI-generated gap register got wrong before anyone signs it. You leave with your own AI work plan.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

06

Your own QMS, with check-ins

Included

Write your application plan, then get check-ins on day 2, 7, 14 and 30 while you close your real gaps.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

07

Study plan, your personal trainer

Included

Built around your goal date and your week. It shows each day whether you're on plan and what today's session is.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

08

Focus timer

Included

25-minute focused sessions that carry from lesson to lesson.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

09

Apply at work log

Included

What you changed at work, with your manager's sign-off recorded, exportable for your review.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

10

A certificate of completion anyone can verify

Included

Earned when your final case study passes review. Anyone can confirm it online, and you can add it to LinkedIn in one click. It isn't a lead auditor qualification, and it doesn't certify your QMS.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

11

Lessons for life

Included

Come back whenever the job needs it. Your access doesn't expire. We keep the lessons current for the edition this course teaches.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

Priced elsewhere, piece by piece$600
Your price$149

One person, one time. $451 less than buying the comparable pieces.

People
1
Enroll for $149 →

5 or more people get 10% off every seat. Secure checkout by Stripe. 3-day refund.

Compare before you choose

Three ways to learn this. Here's the honest comparison.

Including the row where ASQ wins.

What you pay
$149, once
$350 at ASQ, $395 at Georgia Tech
Free or a monthly plan
Time away from the floor
No full days. About 4.5 hours at your pace
Half a day at ASQ, a full day at Georgia Tech
None
Live instructor
No. Lessons by a registrar auditor, plus Coach Q
Yes
No
Graded exam
No exam. A final case study a qualified auditor reviews
Yes, a proctored exam at ASQ
No
Your own transition file
Built section by section, then on your own QMS
Varies by provider
Only if you know what to ask
Help after the course
Coach Q, no renewal fee
Varies
It explains. It won't grade you or vouch for you
How long the lessons stay open
For life
The class day
Not a course

ChatGPT will explain the changes. It will not grade you, and it will not vouch for you.

Prices are published list prices, checked October 12, 2026: ASQ, ISO 9001:2026 Transition, Georgia Tech Professional Education, ISO 9001:2026: Update Workshop.

Try before you buy

Try it before you pay. Change your mind after.

Before you pay

Lesson 1 is free.

The real first lesson, with the exercises and Coach Q. Your first win comes in the first few minutes. Judge it yourself.

Try lesson 1 free ↑

After you buy

3 days to change your mind.

Email will@qmslearning.com within 3 days of purchase for a refund. A refund ends access to the course. Refund policy

Company pays

Send it to your manager.

We wrote the email for you. Job training is generally a deductible business expense for the company, so check with your accountant. Need a quote or a PO? Email will@qmslearning.com.

Send this to my manager →

Questions

Straight answers.

When do we have to transition?

ISO published ISO 9001:2026 on September 16, 2026. The transition runs about three years, per IAF and certification body guidance; confirm with your registrar. Your 2015 certificate stays valid through the transition period, your certification body decides after it audits you, and the course shows you how to plan the timing.

Is this a certification?

No. You earn a certificate of completion after a final case study that a qualified auditor reviews. There's no final exam on this course. It isn't a lead auditor qualification, and your certification body certifies your QMS, not the course.

How fast is the final case study reviewed?

A qualified auditor reviews it within 5 business days. If it needs another pass, you get specific feedback and a fresh case.

What does Coach Q do, and what doesn't it?

Coach Q, your private AI coach, comes with your course. No subscription or renewal fee. It's set up for the 2026 transition, works on the facts you give it, and marks what's missing. It doesn't approve your plan or make the call. AI output can be wrong, so you and your organization own the review and the decision. It isn't on-demand access to a human consultant.

Do I need to buy the standard?

It helps. The course paraphrases and cites clause numbers instead of copying ISO's text, so keep your own licensed copy open beside it.

Does it fit a small shop, a distributor or a service business?

Yes. ISO 9001 applies to any size and sector, and so does the course. The main case is an 85-person machine shop, and the final case study can be a distributor, a contract packager or a repair shop.

Why not just ask ChatGPT?

ChatGPT will explain the changes. It will not grade you, and it will not vouch for you. In this course you check every gap against the published standard and your own records, so nothing in your plan rests on a clause number an AI guessed.

How long do I keep access?

The lessons are yours for life, and Coach Q comes with your course and stays with you after you finish. There's no subscription or renewal fee.

Does the course keep up when the rules change?

Yes, for the edition it teaches. When the rules or guidance behind this course change, we update the lessons and the coach's setup, and you get the update at no extra charge. When a new edition replaces the standard, we point you to the transition training. Your conversations with Coach Q aren't used to train AI models.

Can my company pay?

Yes. Use a company card at checkout. Job training is generally a deductible business expense for the company, so check with your accountant. Need a quote or a PO first? Email will@qmslearning.com.

What if it isn't for me?

Try lesson 1 free before you pay. After you buy, email will@qmslearning.com within 3 days of purchase for a refund. A refund ends access to the course.

Training a team?

Pick how many people before you check out and pay once by card. Five or more people get 10% off every seat, applied at checkout. After checkout you add each person's name and email, and each of them gets their own login, private AI coach, study plan and certificate. More than 50 people, or need an invoice instead? Email will@qmslearning.com for a quote.

Everything, one more time

Do the new work. Skip the rest.

  • The ISO 9001:2026 Transition course$350
  • Course Hub with AI-drafted transition documentsIncluded
  • Coach Q, your expert in your pocket$250
  • A final case study a qualified auditor reviewsIncluded
  • Put AI to work on your transitionIncluded
  • Your own QMS, with check-insIncluded
  • Study plan, your personal trainerIncluded
  • Focus timerIncluded
  • Apply at work logIncluded
  • A certificate of completion anyone can verifyIncluded
  • Lessons for lifeIncluded

Priced elsewhere, piece by piece: $600

$149

Per person, one time. Lessons for life. Coach Q included, no renewal fee.

About 4.5 hours. That's 9 half-hour lunch breaks.

People
1
Enroll for $149 →

5 or more people get 10% off every seat. Secure checkout by Stripe. 3-day refund.

Not ready to buy? Try lesson 1 free.

Read the change map straight from the standard and start the first rows of your gap register.