PECB Certified Course: ISO 9001 Lead Auditor

Develop the competence to plan, conduct, close and manage audits of a quality management system against ISO 9001.

This advanced audit course approaches ISO 9001 from the auditor’s perspective. It connects the standard’s quality-management requirements with recognised audit principles and the practical work needed to prepare an audit, gather and verify evidence, manage an audit team, report nonconformities, close the audit and follow up.

The course uses ISO 19011 guidance, ISO/IEC 17021-1 requirements and practical audit methods to build a complete audit lifecycle rather than treating the standard as a checklist.

Course at a glance

• Provider and awarding body: PECB.
• Learning format: PECB eLearning (prerecorded video sessions).
• Videos: English.
• Course materials: English.
• Level: Lead Auditor.
• Examination and certification-application cycle: 12 months from purchase for the first examination attempt, the included free retake if needed, and the certification application.
• PECB eLearning access: PECB provides unlimited access to the course materials and prerecorded sessions.

What this course includes

• More than 450 pages of official PECB instructional materials containing explanations, guidance and practical examples.
• Prerecorded learning sessions delivered by PECB trainers.
• The first examination attempt and one free retake.
• The certification-application fee and the first year of the Annual Maintenance Fee, where applicable.
• A course-completion attestation worth 31 CPD credits, separate from the PECB professional credential.

What you will learn

After completing the course, the learner should be able to:

• interpret ISO 9001 requirements in an audit context;
• apply the main audit concepts and evidence principles;
• prepare and initiate an ISO 9001 audit;
• conduct on-site activities and communicate audit findings;
• close an audit and manage an ISO 9001 audit programme.

Who this course is for

• Auditors who need to perform or lead quality management system audits.
• Professionals responsible for maintaining ISO 9001 conformity.
• Consultants and technical specialists preparing organisations for QMS audits.
• Professionals pursuing conformity-assessment and audit leadership roles.

Prerequisites: Participants should already understand the main ISO 9001 requirements and have a sound knowledge of audit principles.

Course outline

• ISO 9001 and the quality management system.
• audit principles, preparation and initiation.
• conducting on-site audit activities.
• reporting, closing and following up the audit.
• certification examination.

Exam and credential pathway

The examination covers QMS principles and ISO 9001 requirements, audit concepts, audit preparation, conducting and closing an audit, and audit-programme management. The applicable examination format follows the course rules; English is the default examination language.

Passing the examination does not automatically issue the Lead Auditor credential. PECB offers different credential grades based on verified professional and audit experience:

• Provisional Auditor: no experience requirement.
• Auditor: two years of professional experience, including one year in quality management, plus 200 hours of audit activity.
• Lead Auditor: five years of professional experience, including two years in quality management, plus 300 hours of audit activity.
• Senior Lead Auditor: ten years of professional experience, including seven years in quality management, plus 1,000 hours of audit activity.

The applicable application requirements and PECB Code of Ethics also apply.

Course completion, examination success, certification application and credential issuance are separate stages; the credential is not issued automatically.

For official course details, see the PECB ISO 9001 Lead Auditor page.

Access and activation

The 12-month period for the first examination, included free retake and certification application begins on the purchase date. This is separate from eLearning access: PECB provides unlimited access to the course materials and prerecorded sessions.

Each order covers one learner. Wadi Solutions begins processing the PECB registration within one business day, and activation details are sent to the learner's email. Required enrolment details are shared with PECB for activation.

Continue your learning path

• Choose ISO 9001 Foundation for an introduction to the standard.
• Choose Certified Management Systems Internal Auditor for practical internal-audit capability across management systems.
• Choose ISO 9001 Lead Implementer to lead QMS implementation and improvement.

Explore ISO 9001 — Quality management courses to see the available options.

Before you buy

• If you do not have a myPECB account, create one here.
• If your myPECB email differs from the email used for your Wadi Solutions order, add your myPECB email to the order notes.