Certification Schemes and Grades

QA Assessor certifies management system auditors and enters them on the QA Assessor Auditor Register. Certification is granted per scheme, that is per standard, at one of five grades. You can hold one grade on each scheme and as many schemes as you wish. Everything is done online.

How certification is decided

Certification is decided on what you have done, assessed against a published rubric: the auditor course you have completed and had verified, the audits you have carried out (role, days, on-site time, confirmed by the people you name), your work experience (four years, two in the discipline, for Auditor and above), a work sample of your own audit work for Auditor and above, and a structured interview for Lead Auditor and Principal Auditor (and a sample of Auditor applications). Your records are verified before you apply, frozen at the prerequisite review, scored by an assessor who did not train you, and decided on by a different person. Your grade tells an employer or client what you have actually done.

The ten schemes

The five grades

Every grade also requires a verified identity, the declaration, the Code of Conduct and the annual fee; the certification period is three years, with CPD (at least 3 complete CPD records, each verified by QA Assessor, in every full calendar year of the three-year certification period; they are checked at recertification). Your evidence is scored against a published rubric by an assessor who did not train you, and the decision is made by a different person. Full rules: the Applicant Handbook.

What you get

• A certificate for each scheme stating the scope and the three-year certification period, numbered with your Register ID and the scheme code (for example 93506121-QMS), a digital auditor card, and a verification link and QR code on each
• A public entry on the Auditor Register that employers and clients can search and verify in seconds
• The right to describe yourself as “QA Assessor Certified [grade], [standard]” while your registration is current
• A dashboard to keep your audit log, training, CPD records and work experience in one place, to follow each stage of an application, and to regrade as you progress
• Access to the community, the jobs portal and member resources

Fees

There are two fees: a scheme application fee of US $16, payable once per certification scheme (not charged again for another grade on that scheme, at renewal, or if you have already paid it for that scheme), and an annual fee for your grade on each scheme (Associate Auditor US $19, Internal Auditor US $29, Auditor US $39, Lead Auditor US $49, Principal Auditor US $99 a year). Regrading to a higher grade carries a regrade fee of US $25 and no new scheme or annual fee. Both fees are shown itemised before you accept the declaration; nothing is charged when you submit — they are paid together, in one payment, once QA Assessor has confirmed your eligibility, and assessment begins when the payment is received. If an application is not approved, the annual fee is refunded and the application fee is retained. See the Fees and Refund Policy.

Apply for certification How certification works Search the register

QA Assessor certification processes are self-declared as aligned with ISO/IEC 17024:2026. QA Assessor is not accredited and makes no claim of accreditation.