FAQs on ISO 9000 - General
Where can I find out about ISO 9000?
We've devoted an entire section on this site to help answer your questions about ISO 9000. It tells you what this family of quality management standards is all about and what ISO 9000 will do for your business. It includes a list of the entire ISO 9000 family of standards and related publications by ISO which will help you in your implementation and certification programmes. The site is also linked to a site of the ISO technical committee responsible for ISO 9000, ISO/TC 176. You will also find information on our bimonthly publication, ISO Management Systems, which reports on developments and includes many case studies of implementation programmes from around the world.
Where can I find out even more about ISO 9000?
The ISO member in your country.
Where can I find information about the ISO 9000 series of quality management standards?
The ISO Online section on the ISO 9000 series provides information on this subject. You can also go to the ISO/TC 176 / SC 2 Web site.
I want to implement ISO 9000 in my organization: how do I get started?
The special ISO 9000 section on this site will give you a basic understanding and list of ISO 9000 standards and other publications that will help you.
Where can I find out how many ISO 9001 certificates have been issued around the world, or in a particular country?
The ISO Survey, which you can access on this site, gives the latest available worldwide certification picture. It includes country-by-country breakdowns and comparisons with previous years.
Can I find out which, or how many, companies in a particular sector have been ISO 9001:2000 certified?
ISO develops and maintains the ISO 9000 standards, but it does not itself issue ISO 9001:2000 certificates. Certificates are issued independently of ISO by the various national and international certification or registration bodies operating around the world. Each certification or registration body has a list of its clients, but there is no central database of all these certifications/registrations. The CD-ROM version of The ISO Survey includes a breakdown of certifications by business sector.
What is the difference between a certification body and a registration body?
None. The term "certification body" is used in some countries because these bodies issue certificates. Elsewhere, they prefer to say that they "register" organizations complying with ISO 9000.
I want to be an ISO 9000 auditor: where can I get training?
Contact the ISO member for your country, which may be able to point you in the direction of a relevant training scheme. Any certification or registration bodies operating in your country should also be able to advise you.