The deadlines
Global ACI is the international accreditation organisation that replaced IAF and ILAC on 1 January 2026, and its transition documents are binding on the accreditation bodies in its arrangement and on the certification bodies they accredit. According to its transition document, the transition period lasts three years from the end of the month of publication. Accreditation bodies must be ready by 31 March 2027 at the latest; certification bodies submit their declaration before 30 June 2027, and accreditation decisions are completed before 30 September 2027.
From 31 March 2028 no initial certifications can be issued against the 2015 edition, and existing certificates must migrate before 30 September 2029, when certificates to the previous edition cease to be valid.
The transition audit
Migration is verified in a transition audit, which can coincide with the surveillance or recertification audit or be carried out as a special audit. As a minimum, it must review the requirements that change, changes in the organisation's context and any other change the system needs.
The certification body decides whether additional audit time is needed according to how much the system has changed, and may carry out the audit remotely if it can show that the audit objectives are met.
If you do not migrate in time
An organisation may decide not to migrate and keep being audited against the 2015 edition, but its certificate expires at the end of the transition even if its three-year cycle would have ended later. To avoid a last-minute rush, the sensible course is to transition at the surveillance or recertification audit closest to the date your certification body is accredited for the new edition.
What an auditor usually asks for
- Confirmed date from which your certification body can audit against the 2026 edition
- Transition audit scheduled, alongside surveillance or recertification or as a special audit
- Gap analysis closed and actions implemented before the audit
- Internal audit and management review already carried out against the new edition
How to cover this block in Kimobox
- 1Document the transition plan with owners and dates, linked to the gap analysis.
- 2Plan an internal audit with a checklist of the clauses that change ahead of the external audit.
- 3Keep the transition audit report and the new certificate as controlled documents.
The transition plan stays in the system with its deadlines, ready to review at every surveillance audit.