ISO 42001
The ISO 42001 certification process
ISO/IEC 42001 is the first certifiable standard for an AI management system. Here is the path from first readiness call to certificate, and what auditors look for at each step.
5 min read · Certifyi compliance team · Updated September 2026
Short answer ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certification follows the same route as other ISO management systems: define the scope of AI systems covered, establish the AI management system (AIMS) per clauses 4 to 10, perform AI risk and impact assessments, select controls from the 38 in Annex A with a Statement of Applicability, operate the system and run an internal audit and management review, then pass a Stage 1 documentation review and a Stage 2 implementation audit by an accredited certification body. Certificates run for three years with annual surveillance audits.
Step 1: decide which AI systems are in scope
Scope is the first audit question and the biggest cost driver. List every AI system you develop, provide or use in a material way, then decide which are in scope for certification. A SaaS company might scope its customer-facing recommendation model and its internal LLM assistant while excluding a vendor’s spam filter. Document the boundary, the roles (provider, developer, user) and the lifecycle stages covered.
Step 2: context, leadership and policy
Clauses 4 and 5 require you to understand internal and external issues, interested parties and their requirements (regulators, customers, affected individuals), and to publish an AI policy signed off by top management. The policy should state principles such as fairness, transparency, safety, accountability and privacy, and name who owns them.
Step 3: AI risk assessment and impact assessment
Clause 6 requires two linked assessments. The AI risk assessment looks at risks to the organisation from each system. The AI system impact assessment (control A.5) looks at consequences for individuals, groups and society: bias, safety, misuse, environmental impact. Both feed the risk treatment plan and the Statement of Applicability. Auditors expect the impact assessment to be a repeatable process, run per system and per material change, not a one-off memo.
Step 4: select controls and write the Statement of Applicability
The nine Annex A control objectives (38 controls)
- A.2 Policies related to AI
- A.3 Internal organisation: roles, responsibilities, reporting concerns
- A.4 Resources for AI systems: data, tooling, computing, human competence
- A.5 Assessing impacts of AI systems
- A.6 AI system life cycle: objectives, design, verification, deployment, operation, technical documentation, logging
- A.7 Data for AI systems: acquisition, provenance, quality, preparation
- A.8 Information for interested parties: documentation, incident communication
- A.9 Use of AI systems: responsible use, intended use, objectives
- A.10 Third-party and customer relationships: suppliers, customers, allocation of responsibility
Step 5: operate, measure, audit internally, review
Clauses 8 to 10 require the system to run: operational planning, the assessments performed as planned, performance monitoring, an internal audit programme and a management review with documented outputs. Certification bodies expect at least one internal audit and one management review to have taken place before Stage 2. Record decisions, not just meetings.
Step 6: Stage 1 and Stage 2
| Stage | What the auditor does | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Reviews documentation: scope, policy, risk and impact assessment method, SoA, internal audit and management review records; confirms readiness | 1 to 2 days |
| Stage 2 | Tests implementation: interviews, sampling of AI systems, evidence of controls operating, data governance, logging, incident handling | 2 to 5 days depending on scope |
| Surveillance | Annual check that the system still operates and improves | Roughly a third of Stage 2 |
| Recertification | Full audit at the end of the three-year cycle | Similar to Stage 2 |
Step 7: combine with ISO 27001
ISO 42001 uses the harmonised structure, so clauses 4 to 10 mirror ISO 27001. Organisations with an ISMS reuse the context, leadership, document control, internal audit and management review machinery, and many certification bodies offer integrated audits. Certifyi runs both on one control library, with the AI system inventory, impact assessments and Annex A controls in the platform and the auditor working in the Auditor Workspace.
ISO 42001 certification, answered
How long does ISO 42001 take?
With an existing ISO 27001 system, Certifyi gets you audit-ready in four to six weeks, and three to five months to the Stage 2 audit is realistic once the certification body’s schedule is included. Without one, allow six to nine months, most of it spent establishing the management system.
Do we need to be an AI developer?
No. The standard covers organisations that develop, provide or use AI systems. A company that only uses third-party AI can certify a narrower scope.
What happens in the Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits?
Stage 1 reviews your documentation (scope, AI policy, risk and impact assessments, Statement of Applicability) and confirms you are ready. Stage 2 tests whether the system works in practice, sampling records such as impact assessments, monitoring results and management review minutes.
Which certification bodies can certify?
Bodies accredited to ISO/IEC 17021 with ISO 42001 in scope. Ask for the accreditation certificate and the number of 42001 audits the body has completed.
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