ISO 20000-1 certification
ISO 20000-1 duration: from months to a few hours
On the classic route with an on-site audit by a certification body, ISO 20000-1 takes several months from first preparation to certificate. With Zertify you complete the self-assessment in about an hour and receive the certificate within 4 hours after passing and payment. Which route fits depends on what your customers ask for.
01: Overview
How long does ISO 20000-1 certification take?
The duration is set by the route, not by the standard. ISO 20000-1:2018 asks for a working service management system: a service catalogue, agreed service levels, incident, problem and change management, and continual improvement. On the classic route you build that system, document it and then wait for audit dates. With Zertify you assess the system you already run.
The table compares both routes phase by phase. The figures for the classic route are indicative ranges. They vary with the size of your service portfolio, the number of locations and the calendar of the certification body.
| Phase | Classic route with on-site audit | Zertify |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation and gap analysis | 2 to 8 weeks | Covered by the 36 questions of the assessment |
| Documentation | 4 to 12 weeks | No separate documentation project |
| Stage 1 audit | 1 to 2 days on site, then 2 to 6 weeks until stage 2 | No on-site audit |
| Stage 2 audit and certificate decision | 2 to 5 days on site, then 2 to 4 weeks for report and decision | SICE reviews the assessment, certificate within 4 hours after passing and payment |
| Total | Roughly 3 to 8 months | About 1 hour of assessment, certificate within 4 hours |
02: Classic route
The phases of the classic audit route
A certification body sends auditors to your premises, usually in two stages. The work before and between the audits takes more calendar time than the audits themselves.
Preparation and gap analysis
You compare your current service management with the requirements of clauses 4 to 10 and list what is missing. Companies that already follow ITIL practices need less time here. Indicative: 2 to 8 weeks.
Documentation and implementation
You write or update the service catalogue, the SLAs, the incident, problem and change procedures and the improvement plan. Then the processes have to run, so that records exist. Indicative: 4 to 12 weeks.
Stage 1 audit
The auditor reviews your documentation and checks whether you are ready for the full audit. Findings must be closed before stage 2. Indicative: 1 to 2 days on site, plus 2 to 6 weeks until the next step.
Stage 2 audit
The auditor examines in practice whether the system works: tickets, change records, SLA reports, internal audit, management review. Indicative: 2 to 5 days on site.
Report and certificate decision
Open nonconformities are corrected, the body reviews the report and issues the certificate. Indicative: 2 to 4 weeks.
03: Time drivers
What makes certification longer or shorter
Two companies with the same headcount can differ by months. The following factors explain most of the difference.
- Scope of services
- A managed service provider with twenty services in the catalogue needs more time than a software vendor with one hosted product.
- Existing process maturity
- If incident and change records already exist in your ticketing tool, you spend time on gaps. If they do not, you spend time on building the processes.
- Evidence of operation
- Auditors want to see that the system has run for a while. An internal audit and a management review must be on record before stage 2.
- Availability of your team
- Service managers who run daily operations rarely have free weeks. Interviews and document reviews are scheduled around them.
- Audit calendar
- Certification bodies book audit dates in advance. A fixed date can add weeks to the schedule.
04: Zertify route
How long it takes with Zertify
You answer 36 yes/no questions on ISO 20000-1. Thirteen of them are mandatory requirements of the standard and must all be answered yes. Among the other 23 questions you need at least 16 yes answers. If you know your service processes, the assessment takes about an hour.
After you pass and pay, the certificate follows within 4 hours. It is issued by G6 Agency AG under licence from SICE, and SICE reviews every assessment before issue. The PDF carries a certificate number and a QR code, so a purchasing department or auditor can check it on the public verification page.
The certificate costs CHF 799 (€799) in the first year, then CHF 529 (€529) per year including the yearly online re-audit. It is valid for 3 years and confirmed each year by that short re-audit. You can cancel in your customer account at any time to the end of the current year.
05: Preparation
What to have ready for a one-hour assessment
The assessment is quick only if you can answer from knowledge of your own operation. Open your service catalogue, a recent SLA and your ticketing tool beforehand. The questions on incident, problem and change management are easy to answer when you can look at how tickets are actually handled.
If a mandatory question ends in no, the assessment shows where the system falls short of the standard. You can close that gap in your service management and run the assessment again. This replaces the gap analysis of the classic route, without a consultant.
06: Choosing a route
Which route suits your situation?
Some tenders and customer contracts name an on-site audit by a certification body. If yours do, plan several months and budget for it. If a supplier questionnaire only asks for a verifiable ISO 20000-1 certificate, the online route meets that request in an afternoon.
Read the comparison of both routes before you decide. It helps to check the certification requirement in the tender or contract first.
07: FAQ
Questions about ISO 20000-1 duration
08: Guide
Related pages
Find out in an hour whether you pass
Answer the 36 questions on ISO 20000-1 and see which requirements your service management already meets.
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