ISO 22301 online
ISO 22301 online: certificate after a self-assessment
You answer 34 yes/no questions about your business continuity management. Once you have passed and paid, Zertify issues your certificate within 4 hours, after SICE has reviewed the assessment. There is no on-site audit and no audit date to agree.
01: Process
How does ISO 22301 certification online work?
The route has five steps. Only the first one takes real effort on your side, because it depends on how well your continuity management is already documented.
Take the self-assessment
You answer 34 yes/no questions on impact analysis, recovery objectives, plans and exercises. It is free and needs no registration.
Meet the pass rule
All 13 must-meet questions need a yes. Of the other 21 questions, at least 14 need a yes.
Pay
You buy the certificate as a yearly subscription. You do not need to open an account for this.
SICE review and issue
SICE reviews every assessment. Zertify then issues the certificate under licence from SICE, within 4 hours after you have passed and paid.
Share and verify
You receive the certificate as a PDF with a certificate number and a QR code. Anyone can check it on the public verification page.
02: Preparation
What to prepare before the ISO 22301 self-assessment
The questions follow the logic of the standard. Each yes should rest on something you can show: a document, a decision, a record. Before you start, check that you have these six items.
- Business impact analysis
- A ranked list of your critical activities and what stops, and what it costs, when each one fails.
- RTO and RPO
- For every critical activity: how long it may be down (recovery time objective) and how much data you can afford to lose (recovery point objective).
- Disruption risks
- An assessment of risks such as an IT outage, a failed supplier, a fire or a pandemic, with a decision on how you treat each one.
- Continuity strategies
- The solutions behind the objectives: a second site, a backup supplier, a tested restore from backup.
- Plans and crisis organisation
- Written plans, and a clear answer to who decides, who is called and in what order.
- Exercises
- A record of your last exercise and of what you changed afterwards.
If a point is missing, the matching question will be a no. Close the gap first, then take the assessment.
03: Pass rule
How many questions must you answer yes?
The assessment has two conditions, and both must be met. The 13 must-meet questions are the core questions of the assessment. They do not cover every requirement of the standard.
Most of the continuity work sits in clause 8 (Operation) of the standard: impact analysis, strategies, plans and exercises. Clause 9 (Performance evaluation) matters just as much, because it asks whether you check that the system works.
| Question group | Number | To pass |
|---|---|---|
| Must-meet questions | 13 | All answered yes |
| Other questions | 21 | At least 14 answered yes |
| Total | 34 | Both conditions met |
04: Comparison
Online or on-site audit: what changes?
The classic route with an on-site audit by a certification body means an auditor visits you, usually over several days. The online route replaces that visit with the self-assessment and the SICE review.
The saving is mostly working time. Nobody has to prepare for audit days, host an auditor or move production meetings around an audit calendar.
| Aspect | Online with Zertify | Classic route with on-site audit |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | Self-assessment with 34 yes/no questions, reviewed by SICE | Audit at your site by a certification body |
| Time to certificate | Within 4 hours after passing and payment | Indicative: several weeks to a few months from enquiry to certificate |
| Cost | CHF 749 in the first year, then CHF 499 per year including the online re-audit | Indicative: from a few thousand to well over CHF 10'000 for the first cycle, plus a consultant if you use one |
| Yearly check | Short online re-audit | Surveillance audit by the certification body |
| Scheduling | None | Audit dates agreed with the auditor |
Some tenders name the certification route they accept. Read the requirement before you choose.
05: In practice
Where an ISO 22301 certificate helps in practice
A bank or insurer sends its supplier questionnaire and asks how you keep services running during an outage. You attach the PDF. The purchasing department enters the certificate number on the verification page or scans the QR code, and the question is closed without a call to you.
The same applies to cloud and IT providers, logistics companies, manufacturers in supply chains and outsourcing providers. The certificate is valid for 3 years and confirmed every year by the online re-audit. It documents your self-assessed continuity management. It does not replace the work behind it.
06: Zertify
How Zertify fits in
Zertify issues the certificate under licence from SICE, the Swiss Institute of Certification and Education. SICE reviews every assessment before the certificate is released. The standard page lists the requirements in full, and the pricing page shows the yearly fee.
These are the terms that matter before you buy.
- Billing
- Yearly subscription, charged automatically. The yearly online re-audit is included.
- Cancellation
- You cancel at any time in your customer account, effective at the end of the current year. The certificate then ends with the paid year.
- Several standards
- 20% discount for 2 standards, 30% for 3 or more. It also applies to the yearly fee.
- VAT
- Prices include 8.1% Swiss VAT for customers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
07: FAQ
Questions about ISO 22301 online
Yes. You complete a self-assessment of 34 yes/no questions on the Zertify website. SICE reviews it, and Zertify issues the certificate under licence from SICE. No auditor visits your company.
The certificate follows within 4 hours after you have passed the assessment and paid. The time you need beforehand depends on how complete your impact analysis, plans and exercise records are.
CHF 749 in the first year, then CHF 499 per year including the yearly online re-audit. The certificate is valid for 3 years. With several standards you get 20% off for two and 30% off for three or more.
No certificate is issued. Look at which must-meet questions you answered no, close those gaps in your continuity management and run the assessment again.
Every certificate can be verified publicly by its number or by the QR code on the PDF. Your customer needs no login and does not have to ask you or us.
That depends on the requirement. Many supplier questionnaires ask whether you hold a certificate and how it can be checked. If a tender prescribes a particular route, read that clause before you order.
08: Guide
Related pages
Check your continuity management against ISO 22301
Answer the 34 questions and see whether you meet the pass rule.
Free and without registration.