What to prepare before requesting an ISO certification quote

To get a useful quote, prepare five things: a short description of your activities and sites, your headcount, the standards you are interested in, your target timing, and any accreditation requirement from a customer or tender. Everything here is basic business information. You do not need to share policies, procedures, contracts or customer data to request a quote.

1. Scope: what you do and where

The certification scope is the activities, products or services and locations the certificate will cover. A short, plain description is enough at this stage. For example: "design and installation of electrical systems for commercial buildings, from one head office and one workshop". Include:

• main activities, in one or two sentences;
• the number and type of sites (office, factory, warehouse, project sites);
• anything you deliberately want left out;
• whether work happens at customer sites or temporary locations.

A vague scope leads to a vague quote. A scope that is too wide can lead to a higher quote and a harder audit. A scope that is too narrow can be a problem if buyers read the certificate as covering more than it does. Our article on misleading certificate claims explains why.

2. Size: people and sites

Certification bodies usually use the number of people working under your control, including contractors where relevant, and the number of sites, as inputs to the audit effort. Prepare:

• total headcount, and whether it fluctuates with seasons or projects;
• headcount per site;
• whether shift work is involved.

The number of employees alone does not decide eligibility. Small companies can be certified. Complexity, risk and the number of sites also matter.

3. Standards of interest

List the standards you are considering, or write "not sure" and describe your goal instead. If you want more than one, say so: certification bodies often plan combined audits. See integrated management systems. If you are undecided, start with which ISO standard does my company need or the Find my standard tool.

Also say whether this is a first certification, a renewal, or a move from another certification body. Transfers are covered in certificate transfer.

4. Timing

Give the date you would like to be certified by, and the reason if there is one, such as a tender deadline or a customer renewal. Be ready to hear that the date is tight or not realistic. No honest body can promise a fixed duration before it knows your scope and readiness. For the factors that affect timing, read certification timeline.

5. Accreditation needs

Ask the party that wants the certificate whether the certification body must be accredited, and by which accreditation body or for which scope. Some tenders and customers specify this and some do not. If you do not know, write that down. Do not assume. You can read more at accreditation explained and learn how to verify a claim at accreditation check.

6. Extras that help

• Languages needed for audits and documents.
• Whether you already have a management system, a consultant, or an existing certificate from another standard.
• Whether you operate in regulated activities.
• A named contact and a good time to call.

What not to send yet

Do not upload confidential files at the inquiry stage. That includes contracts, customer lists, financial statements, internal procedures, personal data of staff or customers, and passwords or system details. A certification body will tell you what it needs to see, when, and under what confidentiality terms. Our request form asks only for the basic details above.

A simple way to check yourself

If you can answer these in a few lines each, you are ready to ask:

• What do we do, and where?
• How many people, at how many sites?
• Which standard or standards, and why?
• By when, and why that date?
• Must the certification body be accredited, and by whom?

The inquiry information checklist turns this into a printable page. When you are ready, request a quote. We connect your inquiry with relevant independent certification bodies; they provide the quotes and carry out any audit. Read how we match to see how that works.