The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) have agreed on an implementation plan to ensure a smooth transition of accredited certification to ISO 9001:2008. Due to be published before the end of the year, ISO 9001:2008 will replace the ISO9001:2000 version of the standard.

The ISO Technical Committee on Quality Management and Quality Assurance, ISO/TC 176, will be preparing a number of support documents explaining the differences between ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 9001:2000 and their relevance for users. These documents will be posted on the ISO website sometime in October 2008.

ISO 9001:2008 does not contain any new requirements.
The new amendments only provide clarifications to the
existing requirements of ISO 9001:2000 based on eight years of experience of implementing the standard worldwide. (About one million certificates issued in 170 countries to date.) It also introduces changes intended to improve consistency with ISO 14001:2004.

Therefore, the agreed implementation plan in relation to accredited certification is as follows:

Accredited certification to the ISO 9001:2008 shall not be granted until the publication of ISO 9001:2008 as an International Standard.
Certification of conformity to ISO 9001:2008 and/or national equivalents shall only be issued after official publication of ISO 9001:2008 (which should take place before the end of 2008) and after a routine surveillance or recertification audit against ISO 9001:2008.

Validity of certifications to ISO 9001:2000
One year after publication of ISO 9001:2008 all accredited certifications issued (new certifications or recertifications) shall be to ISO 9001:2008.

Twenty-four months after publication by ISO of ISO 9001:2008, any existing certification issued to ISO 9001:2000 shall not be valid.

Certification to ISO 9001:2008 cannot be issued until a surveillance or recertification audit based on ISO 9001:2008 has been completed, and the decision to issue a certification is made following a Certification Body's (CB) normal practice including independent review (ISO/IEC 17021:2006, 9.1.14, and 9.1.15).

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