How Much Does ISO Certification Cost?

There are different parties involved in the ISO implementation process, the certification body being only one of them. 

The different parties would include:

• You, the client, are essentially the driver of your ISO bus 

• Potentially, a consultant – (like Statius) your ISO driving instructor 

• The driving examiner – a UKAS accredited certification body 

At, this point it’s probably useful to note there are “non-UKAS” certification bodies, and these are a whole different minefield, more information can be found here.

In the remainder of this article, we are only going to concentrate on the certification body costs alone.

The rules around a certification body cost are dictated (in the UK) by UKAS and are based on: 

• Headcount 

• Number of sites  

• Risk profile  

• Scope of certification 

There are now a significant number of UKAS accredited certification bodies (CBs) many of which are sector specific and therefore don’t move outside of their specific area of expertise.  The more general, often International, companies are organisations like:  

All CB fees are driven by UKAS requirements, but different CB’s have different daily rates which might range from £700 to £1700 per day depending on the body and the standard being assessed. 

The fees themselves may then be levied for the following activities: 

• Application fee and or management fee – only a few CBs charge this  

• Stage 1 assessment fee 

• Stage 2 assessment fee  

• Surveillance visit fee 

• The 3-year recertification assessment fee (A UKAS requirement)  

A budget certification cost for a single standard for a single site organisation, with say, 25-50 people is likely to be  

• Stage 1 assessment fee – 1 day – £700 to £1700 

• Stage 2 assessment fee – 2 days – £1400 to £3400 

• Surveillance visit fee – 1 – 2 days – £700 to £3400 

• The 3-year recertification assessment fee – same as stage 2