ISO certification is written confirmation from an independent certification body that your management system meets the requirements of an ISO standard (ISO, certification page). At Istanbul Certificate Office, we plan and coordinate the conformity work that exporting calls for, from product certification to ISO management systems. This page shows which of seven standards fits your business, how certification works and what sets the price and timeline.
Who issues ISO certification?
Independent certification bodies issue ISO certificates. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which develops the standards, performs no certification and issues no certificates. The audit looks at how far your organization meets the requirements of the relevant standard. ISO certification is not a legal requirement in itself. Organizations choose it because of customer, sector, tender or supply chain expectations, and in some industries it can be a legal or contractual requirement. Accreditation is the assessment and formal recognition of a certification body's competence. In Turkey, the national accreditation body is TÜRKAK (the Turkish Accreditation Agency) (TÜRKAK, accreditation page).
Which ISO certification fits your business?
The topic you need to manage decides which ISO certification fits your business. If a customer or tender names a specific standard, check that requirement first. Each standard's details are on the service page linked in the table.
| Standard | What it manages | Who it fits |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 9001 | Quality management | Organizations in any sector, of different sizes |
| ISO 14001 | Environmental management: environmental impacts and environment-related legal requirements | Organizations of different sectors and sizes |
| ISO 45001 | Occupational health and safety risks | Sectors including construction, mining, machinery and metal, chemicals and logistics |
| ISO 22000 | Food safety | Businesses along the food chain, from producers to retail and catering |
| ISO 13485 | Quality management for medical devices | Medical device manufacturers and others in the device's life cycle |
| ISO/IEC 27001 | Information security | Any organization, whatever its size or sector |
| ISO 50001 | Energy management | Energy-using organizations of different sizes and sectors (for example factories, energy-intensive plants and commercial buildings) |
For a closer look at ISO 9001, read our guide What is ISO 9001.
How do you get ISO certification?
You get ISO certification by building your management system to the standard and then passing an audit by an independent certification body. The certificate is that body's written assurance that your system meets the requirements. Whatever the standard, the work starts with defining the scope and runs in this order; standard-specific details are on each service page.
- Define the scope of your organization and its activities.
- Assess your current situation and processes.
- Create or update the required documentation.
- Put the processes into practice and start keeping records.
- Complete an internal audit and a management review.
- The certification body carries out the audit, evaluates conformity and issues the certificate.
Close the gaps your internal audit finds before you call in the certification body, or the same gaps will show up in the external audit.
When you choose a certification body, compare several and ask whether each is accredited. You can find accredited bodies through your national accreditation body or the IAF CertSearch database.
What drives the cost and timeline of ISO certification?
There is no fixed price list for ISO certification. The fee depends on your organization's scope, number of employees, locations and certification program. The timeline also varies with your scope, how ready your documentation is and the certification body's processing times, and an approximate process plan is drawn up at the quote stage. For a quote, send your field of activity, headcount, the certificate scope you need, any ISO certificates you already hold, your locations and what you will use the certificate for through our quote page. If a customer or tender requires the certificate, include those requirements too.
