Qualification type
Auditor conversion
For people who already hold a lead auditor certificate in one standard and want to audit another — for example a quality lead auditor moving into ISO 14001 or ISO 27001. About three days, with an exam.
1 Who it is for
- Holders of a lead auditor certificate in one discipline (often ISO 9001) who need to audit against another standard
- Auditors in certification bodies adding a new scope
2 What it involves
Because most management-system standards share the Harmonized Structure and the audit process is the same, a conversion course skips the general auditing content and concentrates on the new standard’s specific requirements and how to audit them — for example environmental aspects and compliance obligations for ISO 14001, or risk treatment and the Statement of Applicability for ISO/IEC 27001.
CQI and IRCA place auditor conversion courses at the Professional level. A relevant IRCA certified conversion course can be used instead of a full lead auditor course when applying for the IRCA Auditor or Lead Auditor grade in the new scheme (with the required audit experience).
3 Typical length and assessment, by scheme
| Scheme | Typical length | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| CQI and IRCA | Approx. 24 hours (UK providers run 3 days) | Written examination of 1 hour 40 minutes, per CQI and IRCA’s course table |
| Provider-branded | 3 days | Varies |
4 Auditor conversion qualifications we list
| Qualification | Standard topic | UK courses listed |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 9001 Auditor conversion | Quality management | 1 |
| ISO 14001 Auditor conversion | Environmental management | 4 |
| ISO 45001 Auditor conversion | Occupational health and safety | 4 |
| ISO/IEC 27001 Auditor conversion | Information security | 4 |
| ISO 22301 Auditor conversion | Business continuity | 2 |
| ISO 50001 Auditor conversion | Energy management | 1 |
| ISO/IEC 20000-1 Auditor conversion | IT service management | 1 |
| ISO/IEC 42001 Auditor conversion | Artificial intelligence management | 1 |
5 How to prepare
- Conversion and transition courses: how to prepareShort courses for people who already audit: moving to a new standard (conversion) or to a new edition (transition). Focus on what is differ…
S Sources
Facts on this page last checked 3 October 2026.
- CQI and IRCA, “Become an Approved Training Partner” (course levels table) — https://www.quality.org/approved-training-partners
- CQI and IRCA, three levels of certified training — https://www.quality.org/article/are-you-taking-advantage-cqi-and-irca-certified-training
- CQI and IRCA, Auditor grade — https://www.quality.org/article/auditor