ISO 9001:2026 keeps every requirement of the 2015 edition and adds specific new ones: a quality culture and ethical behaviour, opportunities handled separately from risks, fuller change planning, a recorded decision on climate change, organisational knowledge, and new management review inputs. This free gap check asks twenty questions on exactly those changes, each with its clause reference to the sixth edition, and scores your answers into an instant readiness report: your result by area, the items your certification body will test first, and your priority actions. About ten minutes; no copy of the standard needed.
What the gap check covers
The twenty questions follow the structure of ISO 9001:2026. Context and leadership: the climate-change decision (4.1), the interested-party requirements the system will address (4.2 c)), a quality culture and ethical behaviour (5.1.1 i)), opportunity-based thinking (5.1.1 k)), a policy written from your context and implemented in practice (5.2.1 e), 5.2.2 d)) and the assigned responsibility for reporting opportunities for improvement (5.3 e)). Risk, opportunity and change: risks analysed and evaluated in proportion to their impact (6.1.2), opportunities handled separately (6.1.3) and fuller change planning (6.3). Support, operation and evaluation: organisational knowledge (7.1.6), awareness of the culture and ethics expected (7.3 e)), contingency communication with customers (8.2.1 e)), separate evaluation of actions on risks and on opportunities (9.1.3), the new management review inputs (9.3.2) and improvement that covers processes and future needs (10.1). Transition readiness: the documents that still cite ISO 9001:2015, the audit arrangement with your certification body, and one internal audit and management review run against the new edition. Items certification bodies test first carry double weight in the score.
What you get
An on-screen report with your overall readiness score, your result across the four areas, a narrative that explains what the score means, your priority actions in the order to take them, and all twenty answers in one table. A copy goes to your inbox together with the ISO 9001:2026 quick checklist (PDF), the same twenty questions with a self-score to work through with your team. If you want the result discussed, a local Filipino lead auditor walks through it with you in a free consultation: which of the changes apply to your system, what your certification body will ask for at the transition audit, and the route to get there.
Scored below 65? That is the normal starting point for a 2015 system that has not yet looked at the new edition. Sterling Revise™ starts with a documentation review and gap assessment against the ISO 9001:2026 standard and gives you the gap report in writing.
After the gap check: the transition, done properly
Sterling delivers the ISO 9001:2026 transition as one engagement or in parts, to your certification calendar: gap assessment and gap report, documentation update to the 2026 wording and terms, awareness and internal auditor training, internal audit and management review against the new edition, and support through the certification body’s transition audit. Local teams in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao; accredited certification bodies only; no shortcut certificates. Start with the transition guide, read the ISO 9001 certification service page, or book a free consultation.
After your score: read what changed in ISO 9001:2026 for a certified company, use the twelve-step migration plan to sequence the work, and see what drives the transition cost before you ask for a proposal.
Frequently asked questions
Is the ISO 9001:2026 gap check really free, and is it an audit?
It is free and there is no obligation. It is a self-assessment, not an audit: it scores the answers you give against what is new or changed in ISO 9001:2026 and shows where the evidence is missing. A certification body’s transition audit tests the evidence itself. Use the gap check to decide what to fix first.
Do I need a copy of ISO 9001:2026 to answer the questions?
No. Each question is written in plain language with its clause reference, so you can answer from what your system does today. When you close the gaps, work from the ISO 9001:2026 standard itself; its wording prevails over any summary, including ours.
Who should answer the twenty questions?
The people who run the system: the quality manager or management representative, one process owner and, ideally, one director. Answer from evidence you could show an auditor today, not from intent. Honest “Partly” and “Not sure” answers make the action list useful.
What happens to my details after I unlock the report?
The report appears on screen and a copy is emailed to you with the ISO 9001:2026 quick checklist (PDF). Your details are stored by Sterling International Consulting under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (RA 10173) so that a local lead auditor can follow up if you ask for a consultation. We do not sell or share your data.
After the gap check: train your people. A gap check tells you what is missing; awareness training is usually near the top of the list. Sterling Academy trains every person working under your control online, with a final exam and a numbered Certificate of Completion, verifiable online. Sterling consulting clients benefit from preferential course access and special pricing through their Sterling consultant, including complimentary awareness training for the standards you are implementing, as part of your engagement.