how to get ISO certification

How to get ISO Certification A Detailed Description

Online Legal India LogoBy Online Legal India Published On 28 Jan 2025 Category ISO

ISO, or the International Organization for Standardization, is a foreign non-government organization created with national bodies that establishes and circulates a wide range of industrial, commercial, and proprietary standards. It was founded in 1947 and its headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland. An authentic certificate validating a business’s requirements, concerning the quality process standards defined by the International Standards Organization is known as an ISO Certificate.

ISO also circulates and publishes publicly available specifications, technical specifications, technical corrigenda, and technical reports. It plays a crucial role in promoting world trade by coming up with common standards among other countries. ISO catalog has over 24,362 standards divided into multiple segments, railway engineering, clothing, healthcare, jewelry, weapons, civil engineering, aircraft, and agriculture. It can be very beneficial for businesses and organizations to get ISO certified.

This written piece will help you understand the importance of ISO and how to get ISO certification in detail.

How to get ISO Certification?

The procedure on how to apply for ISO Certification is as follows:

File an Application

Fill in your information and the documents required for the ISO application in the online form. The form should have the rights and obligations of the candidate and will include info and data like the company address, nature of the business, and years of operation.

Documents Review

After the submission of the application, the ISO certification entity will review all the information and documents related to the different procedures and policies that an organization follows. This will help in identifying gaps or incorrect details filled by the applicant.

Make an Action Plan

You should prepare an action plan when the ISO auditor notifies you of any existing gaps in your application form or organization that need to be eliminated. Making a list of tasks that need to be fulfilled and bring changes to the organization such as required training for employees and adapting new procedures.

Onsite Inspection

A physical inspection will be conducted by the ISO registrar to audit any changes made in the organization. If the registrar finds anything during the audit that doesn’t meet the requirements of the ISO certification, the registrar will determine the severity and issue finding.

Final Audit

The registration can only proceed after all the significant formalities have been done and verified by the ISO registrar. It involves the re-auditing of the damaged areas and the costs associated with it. The auditor will prepare and provide the final audit report if satisfied, to the registrar for the last step.

Get ISO Certification

After all the findings are inserted in the ISO report and the disapprovals have been addressed, the ISO registrar will allow the certification to the applicants. You can then download your ISO certificate from the website and also verify the validity of the ISO certificate.

Surveillance Audits

The audit needs to be surveilled to ensure that the quality and standards of ISO are being maintained by the company or organization. It can be conducted frequently and at any time. This will help ensure that the organizations are following the standards.

The cost involved in the ISO certification

The cost for each company and organization differs and the price isn’t fixed. Every ISO certification agency calculates costs separately and considers them through different parameters. They are:

  • Number of processes
  • Number of employees
  • The complexity of the management system
  • The number of working shifts
  • Level of risk associated with the scope of services of the organization

How long does the ISO certification process take?

The entire process starting from filing to getting an ISO certificate, it takes some time depending on various factors. They are mentioned below:

  • Small organizations take around 6 to 8 months.
  • Medium organizations take around 8 to 12 months.
  • Large organizations take around 12 to 15 months.

Validity of ISO Certification

ISO certification is valid for 3 years. To continue the certification, you must renew it after the expiry date. To make it hassle-free, you must apply to renew it before the end of the validity period.  

Documents required for ISO Certification

  • Aadhar card
  • Company address proof
  • Company PAN card
  • Business registration proof
  • Passport-size photographs
  • Company letterhead or visiting card
  • Copy of sales and purchase bill
  • GST Registration
  • MSME certificate
  • Details of invoice
  • Scope of business
  • Organization chart

Who Can Get an ISO Certification?

Any company or organization can get ISO certification, regardless of the size or the type of industry. Getting ISO certification will prove the credibility, efficiency, and operation of a company.

  • Multinational Conglomerates
  • One person Companies
  • Tech Companies
  • Community Service Organizations, and more

Types of ISO Certifications

There are many types of ISO Certifications and it is as follows.

  1. Quality
  • ISO 10004:2012 Customer satisfaction
  • ISO 13485:2016 Medical devices
  • ISO 10006:2017 Projects
  • ISO 18091 Local government
  • ISO/TS 16949:2009 Automotive
  • ISO 17582:2014 Electoral Organizations
  • ISO 19443:2018 NUCLEAR energy
  • ISO/TS 29001 petrochemical, Petroleum, and natural gas industries
  • ISO 20001 Educational Organizations
  • ISO/TS 22163:2017 Business management system requirements for rail Organizations
  • ISO/IEC 90003 Software engineering
  1. Environmental and Energy
  • ISO 14002-1:2019 - Environmental management systems guide
  • ISO 14005:2010 Environmental management systems-guidelines for phased implementation
  • ISO 14004:2016 Environmental Management Systems-General guidelines on the implementation of environmental management systems
  • ISO 14006:2011 Environmental management systems: Ensures for incorporation of eco-design
  • ISO 50001:2018 Energy management systems
  • ISO 14009 Environmental management systems guidelines for incorporating redesign of products and components to improve material circulation
  • ISO 50004:2014 Energy management systems guidelines for implementation, improvement, and maintenance
  1. General management
  • ISO 26000 Social Responsibility
  • ISO 19600:2014 Compliance Management Systems
  • ISO 30401 Human Resource
  • ISO 30301:2011 Information and Documentation
  • ISO 31000 Risk Management
  • ISO 37002 Whistleblowing
  • ISO 37001:2016 Anti-bribery
  • ISO 37101:2016 Sustainable Development in Communities
  • ISO 41001 Facility Management
  • ISO 37301 Compliance Management
  • ISO 44001:2017 Collaborative Business Relationship Management
  • ISO 44002 Guidelines on the implementation of ISO 44001
  • ISO 55002:2014 Guidelines for the application of ISO 55001
  • ISO 55001:2014 Asset management
  • ISO 56002 Innovation management
  1. Safety and Security
  • ISO 22000 Food safety management systems
  • ISO 10393:2013 Consumer product recall
  • ISO 22004:2014 Guidance on the application of ISO 22000
  • ISO 10377:2013 Consumer Product Safety
  • ISO 18788:2015 Private security operations
  • ISO 24518:2015 Crisis management of water utilities
  • ISO 22301:2012 Societal Security-Business continuity management systems
  • ISO 28007-1:2015 Ships and Marine Technology
  • ISO/DIS 45001 Occupational health and safety
  • ISO 29001:2012 Road traffic safety
  • ISO/IEC 80079-34:2011 Explosive atmospheres
  • ISO/TS 34700:2016 Animal welfare management
  • ISO/NP 35001 Laboratory Biorisk
  1. Information Technology
  • ISO/IEC 20000-1 Service Management Part 1
  • ISO/IEC 20000-2 Service Management Part 2
  • ISO/IEC 20000-1 Enhancement to ISO/IEC 27001 for privacy management
  • ISO/IEC 27003:2017 Security techniques
  • ISO/IEC DIS 19770-1 IT asset management
  • ISO/IEC 90003:2014 Software engineering
  • ISO/IEC 27013:2015 Guidance on the integrated implementation of ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 20000-1
  • ISO/IEC 27010:2015 Information security management for inter-sector and inter-organizational communications
  1. Industry
  • ISO 16000-40 Indoor air
  • ISO 15378:2017 Primary packaging materials for medicinal goods and products
  • ISO 14298:2013 Graphic Technology: Management of security in printing processes
  • ISO 34101-1 Sustainable and Traceable Cocoa
  1. Services
  • ISO 24526 Water efficiency
  • ISO 21101:2014 Adventure Tourism Safety Management
  • ISO 21404:2018 Tourism and related services: A sustainability management system for accommodation establishments
  • ISO 20121:2012 Event sustainability
  • ISO/IEC 20000-1: 2011 Information Technology-Service Management

Highly Used ISO Certifications

Among all the ISO certifications as previously discussed, here are some ISO certifications that are used highly. Let’s learn them.

ISO 9001: Quality Management

ISO 9001 ensures that all the services and products meet the requirements as defined by the company. A whole department should be set under quality management along with its procedures and processes to avoid launching non-confirmed services or products.

ISO 45001: Health and Safety

The main purpose of ISO 45001 is to shield visitors and employees from any kind of work-related illnesses or injuries. It ensures health and safety management systems and helps organizations establish compliance with safety and health laws.

ISO 14001: Environmental Management

ISO 14001 indicates the requirements for a successful Environmental Management System (EMS). Rather than defining the standards of environmental performance requirements, it implements a structure that the organization can follow.

ISO 44001: Collaborative Working

It serves as a structure for managing collaborative relationships with a company or organization’s stakeholders and ensures a positive reaction for all. ISO 44001 provides a path for managing and establishing positive collaborative relations with customers, partners, and suppliers to generate advantages for each party.

ISO 27001: Information Security

The main purpose of ISO 27001 is to meet requirements for defining, implementing, operating, and improving the ISMS or Informative Security Management System. This ISO security structure is created to shield a company's information cost-effectively and systematically, disregarding its size.

Fundamental Benefits of ISO Certification

There are a lot of benefits of having an ISO certificate for an organization or company. Some of the benefits are mentioned below:

  1. International Acknowledgement and Recognition

As ISO is an international body known for its quality maintenance standards, if you get registered under ISO, you will gain global recognition and acknowledgment through the certification. ISO certificate will enhance the organization's reputation and provide international business opportunities by encouraging partners and clients to operate under-recognized global standards.

  1. Consistency of Quality and Efficiency

Consistency helps in preventing replication and identifying the issues that happen during the work process and needs effective and efficient techniques to resolve them quickly. You need to be clear about your requirements and what standards you need to follow the full business processes. ISO ensures that all services and products meet the quality level while minimizing waste and maximizing productivity.

  1. Customer Satisfaction

After successfully getting your business ISO-certified, your business process will be more definitive and your quality will become stable and consistent. The focus needs to be on fulfilling customer and client requirements for your services and products. This helps in enhancing customer relations and satisfaction and brings undivided competition in the market.

  1. Reduced Costs

Identifying the sources of unnecessary overlaps and repetition will help set the standard of safety and quality. This helps in reducing the time and eliminates the unnecessary source of scrap. Reduced costs can be achieved by delicately selecting the body of certification while utilizing internal expertise for implementation, competitive pricing, and minimizing audit time.

  1. Business Opportunities

ISO registration helps in improving quality, customer satisfaction, and efficiency, and reducing product costs. This will help in expanding businesses in both the new market and the current market all over the world. Providing a company’s commitment to operational efficiency and quality management in different industries can open new doors to business opportunities  

Through this piece of writing, you learned how to apply for ISO Certification. It takes around 6 months to a year, from the application process to receiving the certificate and achieving it depending on the issues and the time spent on resolving them. The validation of an ISO Certificate lasts 3 years from the issuance date. Organizations and companies go through recertification and annual surveillance audits to maintain the certification.

ISO certification is essential for improving a business’s safety, credibility, and legitimacy. This article provided a comprehensive guide on how to get ISO certification. If you are willing to get an ISO certificate for your organization or company, contact Online Legal India. Check out our website to learn more about ISO certification and get assisted in the registration process.


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