National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO 37304:2026.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee G/1, Governance.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 October 2026.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a) patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 309, Governance of organizations, in collaboration with ISO/CASCO, Committee on conformity assessment.

This first edition cancels and replaces ISO/IEC TS 17021-13:2021, which has been technically revised.

The main changes are as follows:

The content of ISO/IEC TS 17021-13:2021 has been incorporated verbatim as 7.2 on competence requirements, with one modification to 5.1.2, NOTE 1: the text has been incorporated into 7.2.1.2 as a requirement in the final paragraph.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

Certification of the compliance management systems (CMS) of an organization is one means of providing assurance that the organization has implemented a CMS in accordance with its compliance policy and internationally accepted principles for measures to ensure that business activities are conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

ISO/IEC 17021-1 [1] sets out requirements for bodies which are referred to as “certification bodies providing audit and certification of management systems". This document sets out requirements in addition to those in ISO/IEC 17021-1 [1] intended to promote international recognition of those certification bodies, and to provide confidence in the effectiveness of CMS of certified organizations. The text in this document follows the structure of ISO/IEC 17021-1 [1].

The CMS certification in accordance with ISO/IEC 17021-1 [1] and this document is not a forensic audit nor a legal review or financial audit. The certification confirms that a client’s CMS meets the requirements specified in ISO 37301 [2].

1 Scope

This document specifies requirements and provides guidance for bodies providing audit and certification of compliance management systems (CMS), in addition to the requirements contained within ISO/IEC 17021-1 [1]. Observance of these requirements is intended to ensure that certification bodies provide audit and certification in a competent, consistent and impartial manner.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Principles

5 General requirements

5.1 Legal and contractual matters

5.2 Management of impartiality

5.3 Liability and financing

6 Structural requirements

7 Resource requirements

7.1 Competence of personnel

7.2 Personnel involved in certification activities

7.3 Use of external auditors and external technical experts

7.4 Personnel records

7.5 Outsourcing

8 Information requirements

8.1 Public information

8.2 Certification documents

8.3 Reference to certification and use of marks

8.4 Confidentiality

8.5 Information exchange between a certification body and its clients

9 Process requirements

9.1 Pre-certification activities

9.2 Planning audits

9.3 Initial certification

9.4 Conducting audit

9.5 Certification decision

9.6 Maintaining certification

9.7 Appeals

9.8 Complaints

9.9 Client records

10 Management system requirements for certification bodies

Bibliography