Passing the Certification Audit
choosing and commissioning a certification body, preparing the audit day, understanding and closing nonconformities, getting and using the certificate – with anonymised price survey, checklists and a practice company
- 65–95 min
- 14 modules
- Free certificate
- No account needed
- Updated November 2026
👥 Target group: Managing directors and quality managers of small companies before the first certification audit, Companies that want to change their certification body or compare quotations
Which legal duty or standard requirement does this training cover?
About this training
The certification audit is the day the whole QMS was built for – and the day small companies respect most. Wrongly, if you know how it runs: an auditor of the certification body checks the documentation in stage 1 and the company in stage 2, according to a plan he sends beforehand, with questions that have been the same for 30 years. He is not looking for errors in order to fail you – he is looking for evidence in order to be able to certify. Whoever has the evidence and knows where it is, passes.
This course leads from the quotation to the certificate: accredited or not, choosing and comparing certification bodies (anonymised price survey from 178 quotations), application and contract, the certification body's audit plan, stage 1 (document review), stage 2 (audit day in the company with opening, walk-through, interviews, closing), what major and minor nonconformities are and how to close them within the deadline, the certification decision, the certificate and its logo, surveillance audits and recertification in the three-year cycle, changing the certification body, and the 20 places where small companies fail in the certification audit. On the practice company Waldner Joinery (14 employees, fictitious) you play through the stage 2 audit: audit plan, questions, three findings, actions, decision. 14 modules, final test, certificate of participation with a verifiable number.
What this course covers — and what it does not: The course covers the certification procedure under ISO/IEC 17021-1 from the point of view of the certified company with 1 to 50 employees – not the audit methodology of the certification auditor (ISO 19011) and not the internal audit (separate course). Prices and ranges are anonymised empirical values from quotations on the German market up to October 2026, not a price list; certification bodies calculate individually and day rates differ by country. For the transition to ISO 9001:2026 (published 16 September 2026) the transition rules of Global ACI apply (TECH-3-TR 2029-09-30 – from 31 March 2028 accredited initial certifications only to 2026, transition by 30 September 2029); the audit date is given by the respective certification body. Recommendation of the Academy – recertifications from 2027 are carried out to ISO 9001:2026 – binding at QM-Dienstleistungen Holger Grosser and OnlineCert, at accredited bodies from their accreditation decision (at the latest 30 September 2027). Statements on accreditation refer to the national accreditation body of your country (Germany is used as the example). The practice company is fictitious. This is a translation of the German course for readers worldwide — in case of doubt the German edition applies.
Contents at a glance
- The certification procedure: application, stage 1, stage 2, decision, surveillance, recertificationThe three-year cycle under ISO/IEC 17021-1 with timeline; what happens in each phase, who is involved, what the company delivers; typical duration from application to certificate (6 to 12 weeks); differences accredited / non-accredited in the procedure
- Accredited or not: what the mark means and who needs itAccreditation (ISO/IEC 17011, national accreditation body) in two sentences; what is on the certificate; when accredited is necessary (customer, tender, sector, authority) and when not; checking the wording; the two-stage route; checking certificates online (IAF CertSearch); risks with dubious providers
- Choosing a certification body: comparing quotations with the anonymised price surveyAudit time under IAF MD 5 (effective employees, full-time 1 / part-time 0.5 / casual 0.25); the price survey from 178 quotations 2021–2026 by company size (German market); what explains the ranges (day rate, ancillary items, complexity, sites, combined standards); the ten questions to the certification body; comparison over three years; auditor from the region; online audit
- Application, contract and the certification body's audit planThe application questionnaire (employees, sites, activities, exclusions, shifts, season); scope word for word as in the manual; the certification contract (term, obligations: access, duty to inform of changes, use of logo, complaints); reading the certification body's audit plan (time, clauses, interview partners); feedback on the plan; online or on site
- Stage 1: the document review — what the auditor reads and what he makes of itPurpose of stage 1 (readiness, understanding, planning of stage 2); the documents that must be available (manual, scope, exclusions, policy, objectives, processes, risk analysis, internal audit, management review, list of standards); typical stage 1 points (“areas of potential nonconformity”); interval to stage 2; online or on site; how to prepare stage 1 in one hour
- The 20 places where small companies fail in the certification auditThe most frequent findings from more than 1,000 accompanied certification audits by clause — with the evidence that prevents them; ranking; the five major nonconformity candidates; ten-minute check per place; reference to the course of the series that solves it
- Stage 2: the audit day — opening, walk-through, interviews, closingSequence of the audit day under 17021-1 (opening meeting, conducting the audit, closing meeting); who is present; the room and the evidence; the basic rule “Take your last …” from the auditee's point of view; behaviour: answer, do not explain; show, do not tell; “I don't know, I'll fetch it”; breaks; what the auditor sees in the walk-through; accompanying person
- Major and minor nonconformity: what the classification means and how to closeDefinitions under 17021-1 (major: requirement not fulfilled at all or systematically; minor: isolated case; observation/recommendation: improvement potential); what each classification means for the certification decision; deadlines (major usually 90 days with evidence before the decision, minor by the next audit with action plan); the action record (correction, cause, corrective action, evidence); examples per classification; the eight misconceptions
- The certification decision, the certificate and its logoWho decides (independent of the audit team; committee or certification manager); basis (audit report, actions); duration; what is on the certificate (company, sites, scope, standard, number, validity, body, marks); verifiability; rules on the use of certificate and mark (letterhead, website, not on the product); suspension and withdrawal; making the certificate known internally
- Surveillance audit and recertification: the cycle after the certificateSurveillance audit 1 (within 12 months of the decision) and 2: mandatory contents (internal audit, management review, actions, complaints, changes, use of marks, samples); shorter than stage 2; recertification in the third year before expiry (review of the cycle, possibly without stage 1); date traps; reporting changes (duty to inform); preparation with the annual folder; changing the certification body (transfer audit)
- The online audit: technology, evidence, walk-through by cameraWhen online audits are permissible (IAF MD 4; stage 1, surveillance, service providers; production usually on site); technology (video conference, screen sharing, camera for the walk-through); preparation (documents as share link, order, contact person per block); data protection and confidentiality; typical mishaps; checklist
- Practice case: Waldner Joinery — playing through the stage 2 auditPractice company Waldner Joinery (14 employees, fictitious): the certification body's audit plan, course of the day with 25 questions of the auditor and the answers/evidence of the company, three findings (one major, two minor nonconformities) with reasoning for the classification, writing action records, certification decision; model solution
- Evidence: the annual folder for the certification body — and the calendar until recertificationWhat the certification body gets before and on the audit day (annual folder, handover sheet, action plan); the four-question preparation per clause; the certification calendar over three years; retention of audit reports; readiness grid
- Procedure in our companyProcedure in our company: contact person for quality questions, location of the manual, templates and records, approvals, fixed dates and next steps in the company
Frequently asked questions
Can you fail the certification audit?
Rarely. The auditor records nonconformities; major nonconformities must be closed before the certification decision (usually 90 days), minor ones with an action plan by the next audit. A company that has the evidence from this course series passes at the first attempt – empirical value from more than 1,000 accompanied audits: 100 %.
Accredited or not – what do I need?
Accredited (mark of the national accreditation body), if customer, tender or sector explicitly demand it. Otherwise a non-accredited certificate suffices in practice – same standard, same documentation, faster and cheaper. Changing to an accredited certification body is possible at any time; the course “Deciding on ISO 9001” has the checklist for it.
How long does the audit take?
Under IAF MD 5 with 1 to 5 effective employees 1.5 audit days for initial certification (stage 1 and 2 together), with 6 to 10 two days, with 11 to 15 two and a half, with 16 to 25 three. Surveillance audits about a third, recertification two thirds. Non-accredited bodies are often shorter; online audits are possible with both.
What does it cost?
That depends on the country and the body; the course contains an anonymised price survey from the German market (accredited typically 2,000 to 6,500 euros in the first year and 1,100 to 3,200 euros per surveillance year by company size; non-accredited from about 800 euros per year). Plus ancillary items: certificate fee, travel costs. Always compare three years.
What happens in stage 1?
The auditor checks manual, scope, exclusions, policy, objectives, processes, internal audit and management review – usually online or in the company, half a day to one day. He says whether stage 2 can take place and names points to be clarified by then. Stage 1 is not an examination you have to pass but the readiness review.
Is the course free?
Yes, like all courses of the QM-Guru Academy. No registration; the e-mail address is used only to deliver the certificate.
Which edition is this?
The English-language edition of our German course "Das Zertifizierungsaudit bestehen", written for readers worldwide; accreditation and prices are described with Germany as the example – check the accreditation body and the market of your country. The downloadable templates are currently in German; English versions will follow. In case of doubt the German edition applies.