Your compliance team dedicates time and mental energy toward securing the best quality ISO certifications to keep your organization in good standing. But things don’t always work out with your certification body. Keep reading to learn about the process of transferring your company’s ISO certificates to a new auditor. 

Why would you transfer your ISO certificate? 

There are a number of reasons you may want to change your current auditor: 

• Inefficient audit process 

• Poor communication 

• Unsatisfactory final report and certificate 

• Consolidating your audit cycles 

If any of these sound familiar, you may be heading towards making the decision to finding a new audit partner. But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. The right partner will make it all worth your while. 

Who is eligible to transfer their certificate? 

While you might think the answer to this is anyone – it’s not. There are a few criteria that should be met before committing to a certificate transfer: 

• Accredited certification body: If you’re looking to transfer to an accredited auditor, your certificate must be from an accredited certification body with valid accredited standards. 

• Enough time: This process may take a few weeks to collect the documentation and coordinate with the prior certification body. Pay attention to the timeline for required surveillance audits so that you don’t allow your certificate to suspend of expire. Plan ahead so you have plenty of time for the transfer. 

• Certificate scope: Transferring your certificate doesn’t mean you get to expand the scope or locations of your audit, it must stay the same or be a reduced scope for you to move from one auditor to another. You can add more locations or additional scope in your next audit cycle. 

What is the process for transferring ISO certificates? 

The process for transferring your ISO certificate can be tedious, but the right audit partner will simplify the transition. Take the time to understand what documents you should prepare and how to navigate the steps to transfer auditors to reduce stress and streamline the process. 

Preparation 

It should come as no surprise that you will need to gather documents before transferring auditors. First, it’s imperative that you verify the validity of your certificate. You cannot transfer certificates from an unaccredited certification body to an accredited one. Luckily, the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) makes it easy to verify the accreditation of your CB with their database – IAF CertSearch.  If you worked with an unaccredited certification body, you’ll need to complete an initial certification audit with an accredited certification body. 

After this step is complete, we recommend checking the expiration date and scope of your ISO certification. If your certification is days or weeks from expiring, now is likely not the time to begin the transfer process. In addition, you should understand that the scope of your audit must stay the same or reduced for the transfer process. A new location or expanded scope may be added after the certificate has been transferred, either during the next audit or as a special audit.  

You should ensure you start this process at least three months before your certificate is at risk of being suspended due to surveillance audits not meeting the required timeline or your certificate expires, preferably more. This is because the process of approving a transfer once you’ve chosen a new certification body can take several weeks. Then, you’ll need to get on the schedule for your next audit. When transferring auditors, it’s particularly important to not rush the process and do it right. 

Transfer Process 

Now that you’ve prepared and verified your certificate, it’s time to get started! 

This step in the process will be very similar to the last time you did it: you will research certification bodies and look for one that aligns with your priorities. We recommend choosing a partner that has an experienced audit team, a high standard of quality, and prioritizes efficiency through technology and audit consolidation. For a comprehensive checklist of questions to ask potential CBs, check out our ISO 27001 Buyer’s Guide. 

Checklist: Questions to ask an assessor 

• What is your experience with ISO certification audits? 

• Does your team have experience with multiple ISO certification standards including ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 42001 or ISO/IEC 27701? 

• Does your organization conduct other audits such as SOC 2, PCI DSS or HITRUST? 

• What can I expect during the audit process? 

• How do you ensure the quality of your audits? 

• How much will my audit cost? 

• How long does an ISO audit take with your organization? 

• Do you have references and case studies from satisfied customers? 

For the complete checklist, download our ISO 27001 Buyer’s Guide. 

Your commitment 

You’ve chosen a new certification body that aligns with your organization’s priorities – congratulations! Here’s what the process will look like at this stage: 

• Certificate verification: At this time, you will provide your current certificate to your new certification body’s audit team. They will verify its validity and request a transfer from your former CB. This step could take some time, so be prepared to wait. 

• Review of information: In order to transfer your certificate to a new certification body, a number of items will need to be reviewed in accordance with IAF MD 2: IAF Mandatory Document for the Transfer of Accredited Certification of Management Systems. Your CB will review confirmation of the AB and CB scopes, reasons for transfer, sites that are transferring, previous reports, certificates, audit program, complaints received and additional audits with regulatory bodies. Additionally, your new certification will need to coordinate with the previous certification body to ensure all nonconformities have verified actions in accordance with the severity and that the status of the certificate is not in danger of falling out of active status.   

• Contract signing: While a contract may be signed prior to a transfer, an amendment will need to be executed if the transfer is not accepted by the certification body.   

Acceptance 

After your former certification body accepts the transfer, your new certification body will issue you an updated certificate on the new CB’s paper. There will be no lapse in coverage if your certificate was valid and the scope is the same. Your ISO certification will now continue through the audit lifecycle. 

If the certification body does not accept the transfer, you will need to start with an initial certification audit. 

Best practices for transferring ISO certificates 

• Start early: Like we mentioned, give yourself at least three months from the time you choose your new CB to the expiration date of your certificate. You don’t want any lapse in coverage or to have to start the audit process over again! 

• Ensure the validity of your certificate: IAF makes it easy to check the validity of your certification body. Simply look up your CBs information in their database to confirm accreditation.  

• Choose a quality partner: You’ve seen the results of choosing the wrong partner. Take the time to choose a partner that meets your standards of quality and aligns with your values in the process. 

• Now is the time to streamline: Pick a provider that can handle all of your audits and highlight overlaps you didn’t even know existed. This will help your team work smarter, not harder. 

If you’re ready to work with a high-quality audit partner that prioritizes team expertise, technology, and efficiency, A-LIGN may be the choice for you. Contact us today to learn how to get started on the path to a first-class final report.