New analysis of ISO certification transfer enquiries between September 2025 and August 2026 suggests that price remains the single biggest reason organisations consider changing certification bodies, but accreditation issues are becoming increasingly influential.
Each year, many organisations transfer their ISO certification from one certification body to another for a wide range of reasons.
Last year, our analysis found that 55.6% of ISO certification transfer enquiries were driven by pricing, comfortably making cost the most common reason for organisations to reconsider their certification arrangements.
But our latest analysis covers a sample of 28 transfer enquiries we received between September 2025 and August 2026 and suggests that, while price remains important, the reasons for changing certification body may be becoming more diverse.
Pricing Remains the Largest Driver at 42.9%
Pricing was cited in 42.9% of transfer enquiries, making price the single largest individual reason for considering a transfer.
However, that proportion is noticeably lower than the 55.6% recorded in our previous analysis (2024-2025).
This does not necessarily mean that certification customers have become less price-sensitive. Organisations continue to face pressure to control operating and compliance costs, and ISO certification can represent a significant recurring expenditure, particularly for businesses maintaining several standards or operating across multiple sites.
Instead, the data may suggest that other factors are becoming increasingly important alongside price.
Certification bodies therefore cannot assume that customer retention is simply a matter of remaining commercially competitive. The scope, recognition and practical delivery of certification appear to be playing an increasingly important role in purchasing decisions.
Accreditation Issues Accounted for Almost One-Third of Enquiries
The most striking finding from this year’s data is the importance of accreditation.
32.1%, cited an accreditation issue as a reason for considering transferring certification body.
This represents a substantial proportion of the market.
Our previous analysis separated organisations transferring away from non-accredited certification bodies from other accreditation issues. Combined, those accreditation-related categories accounted for approximately 22.3% of the previous sample.
While the two datasets are not directly comparable because of differences in categorisation and overlapping research periods, the latest results nevertheless strengthen the evidence that accreditation is becoming an important consideration when organisations review their certification arrangements.
There are several reasons why accreditation issues can trigger a transfer.
An organisation may discover that its existing certificate does not carry the accreditation required by a customer or tender. A certification body may not hold accreditation for a particular management system standard, technical sector or geography. Businesses adding further ISO standards may also find that their existing provider cannot support their expanding certification requirements.
Organisations should not just ask whether a certification body is “accredited” but also check whether the specific certification being purchased falls within the certification body’s accredited scope and meets their commercial and supply-chain requirements.
Certification Consolidation Is Emerging as a Separate Driver
10.7% of the sample involved organisations seeking to consolidate certificates.
This is an interesting purchasing behaviour because it is not primarily about dissatisfaction with an existing certification body.
As organisations adopt additional management system standards or go through mergers and acquisitions, they can accumulate certificates from several providers. This can create duplicated administration, different audit schedules, multiple contracts and potentially unnecessary audit days.
Moving several certifications to one certification body may therefore offer both operational and financial advantages.
For certification bodies, this creates an opportunity beyond competing for individual certificates. Providers able to offer a sufficiently broad accredited scope may be better positioned to develop longer-term relationships with organisations operating integrated management systems.
It also reinforces the importance of considering future certification requirements when selecting a certification body, rather than choosing a provider solely on the basis of the organisation’s immediate requirement.
Remote Auditing Continues to Influence Buying Decisions
7.1%, specifically identified a desire for remote auditing.
Remote audit expectations changed substantially during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, and many organisations have experienced the convenience of conducting at least some certification activities remotely.
Standards such as ISO 17012 and ISO 19011 are just now catching up with moder audit techniques.
The presence of remote auditing within our transfer data demonstrates that audit delivery model itself has become part of the customer proposition.
For some organisations, particularly those operating digitally or with geographically dispersed teams, requiring unnecessary travel and on-site attendance can add cost and disruption without necessarily adding equivalent audit value.
Auditor Availability, Location and Best Practice Also Matter
The remaining enquiries highlight several other factors that can influence certification body selection but don’t indicate a significant trend.
For example Auditor availability was recorded against one enquiry, location against another and “best practice” against a third.
Individually, these represent only a small proportion of the dataset, but they demonstrate something important about the certification market: the customer experience extends beyond the certificate itself.
What Didn’t Occur This Year: Customer Service
In previous years, customer service has featured relatively highly in the figures, with some high profile, larger certification bodies seeming to experience difficulties in their back-offices.
However this year that specific complaint did not come through on the transfer data we analysed.
Price Is Still Important, But Value Is Becoming More Complicated
Taken together, the findings suggest that ISO certification purchasing cannot be understood purely as a price competition.
Across the sampled enquiries:
- 42.9% cited pricing
- 32.1% cited accreditation issues
- 10.7% cited certificate consolidation
- 7.1% wanted remote auditing
- 3.6% cited auditor availability
- 3.6% cited location
- 3.6% cited best practice
Percentages exceed 100% because one enquiry recorded more than one reason.
Perhaps the most useful insight is that pricing and accreditation issues together appeared in 75% of the enquiries analysed.
That indicates two very different pressures operating within the same market.
Organisations want certification to remain commercially competitive, but they also want confidence that the certification they are buying will be recognised and suitable for their business requirements.
A cheap certificate that does not satisfy a customer’s accreditation requirements represents poor value. Equally, prestigious accreditation does not remove the need for certification bodies to remain commercially competitive.
The strongest market proposition therefore appears to sit at the intersection of price, recognition, scope and ease of delivery.
Notes
Our Certification Management Services Team can help organisations compare certification bodies and explore transfer options based on their standards, accreditation requirements, locations and commercial priorities.
Sample size: 28 unique transfer enquiries
Research period: September 2025 to August 2026
Recorded reasons: 29, as one enquiry identified two reasons
Data source: Certification Management Team transfer enquiry records
Provider: Associate Enterprises Limited t/a Certification Management Services