Integrated Management System Certification

An integrated management system (IMS) combines two or more ISO management-system standards — most commonly ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environment) and ISO 45001 (health and safety) — into a single, unified set of policies, processes and documentation, audited together in one combined certification audit.

Why integrate rather than certify separately

• One set of processes and documentation instead of separate, overlapping systems for each standard
• One combined audit programme, often more efficient than fully separate audits — audit time is calculated per IAF MD 11 for integrated and combined-standard audits
• A single point of contact, one certification cycle and one set of surveillance dates across standards
• Easier internal ownership: one management review, one internal audit programme, one improvement process

Common combinations

• ISO 9001 + ISO 14001 + ISO 45001 (quality, environment, health & safety — QHSE)
• ISO 9001 + ISO 27001 (quality and information security)
• ISO 22301 + ISO 27001 (business continuity and information security)
• Any combination of ISO management-system standards sharing the Annex SL / harmonized structure

How integrated certification works

The process follows the same structure as a single-standard certification — application review, Stage 1 documentation and readiness review, Stage 2 audit of the system in operation, an independent certification decision, and annual surveillance over a three-year cycle — but assesses all the combined standards together, with audit time calculated under IAF MD 11 rather than by simply adding each standard's audit time together. Designing, documenting and implementing the IMS is your organization's responsibility, done internally or with a consultant of your choosing; CCI's role is the independent certification.

Remote and on-site audits

Integrated audits can be delivered remotely, on-site, or blended, per IAF MD 4 guidance, in the same way as a single-standard audit.

What affects your quotation

Audit duration and fees for an integrated audit depend on your employee count, number of sites, the standards being combined, and how much of each system's requirements genuinely overlap — see certification cost and audit duration or request a quote using the form on this page, telling us which standards you want to combine.

Accreditation route

Where every standard in your integrated scope is within CCI's own IAR-112 accreditation, we certify the whole IMS under that accreditation. Where a buyer or tender requires a Global ACI MRA (formerly IAF MLA) signatory accreditation for one or more standards, CCI can coordinate that certification through our partner certification body instead — see CCI IAR certification vs. MRA-recognized certification.

Related reading

See our management system audits page for more on how CCI structures audit programmes, and our individual standard pages for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 27001.

Frequently asked questions

Does combining standards cost less than certifying separately? An integrated audit is typically more efficient than fully separate audits, because IAF MD 11 allows shared audit time where the management systems genuinely overlap — request a combined quote to compare against certifying separately.

Can we add a standard to an existing single-standard certificate later? Yes — this is usually handled as an extension to scope at your next surveillance or recertification audit; tell us which standard you'd like to add.

Can we transfer an existing integrated certificate to CCI? Yes — see transfer of ISO certification.