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What is ISO 42001?

By Ben Tabas, Intrica Research · Updated

Answer

ISO/IEC 42001 is the international standard that sets requirements for an AI management system, the policies, roles and processes a company uses to build, provide or use AI responsibly. ISO and IEC published it on Dec. 18, 2023, per the IEC webstore listing. An accredited certification body can audit a company against it and issue a certificate.

What the standard covers

The IEC webstore listing for ISO/IEC 42001:2023, published Dec. 18, 2023, says it gives requirements and guidance for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an AI management system.

The same listing says it applies to organizations of any size or type that provide or use products or services built on AI systems. It is edition 1.0, runs 51 pages and comes from the joint ISO/IEC committee JTC 1/SC 42 on artificial intelligence.

How certification works

A certification body accredited to audit against the standard reviews the management system and issues the certificate.

Anthropic announced its ISO/IEC 42001 certification on Jan. 13, 2025. Its announcement says Schellman Compliance, accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board, issued it, and that the certified system covers policies for building and deploying AI, testing and monitoring, transparency measures, and defined roles and oversight.

How it compares with the NIST AI RMF

The NIST AI RMF, released Jan. 26, 2023, is a voluntary US framework for managing AI risk, per NIST's AI RMF page checked Oct. 28, 2026.

ISO/IEC 42001 is an international standard with third party certification. A company can use the NIST functions to shape its risk work and ISO/IEC 42001 to prove its management system to buyers.

How an AI company prepares

  1. List every AI system you build, buy or run, with a named owner for each.
  2. Write the AI policy and the risk and impact review you run before launch.
  3. Set up testing, monitoring and an incident process, and keep the records.
  4. Run an internal audit and a management review against the standard.
  5. Choose an accredited certification body and book the external audit.

See whether ChatGPT and Google AI name your company when buyers ask which AI vendors hold ISO 42001.

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Sources

  1. ISO/IEC 42001:2023 Information technology, Artificial intelligence, Management system · IEC Webstore, Dec. 18, 2023Supports: Publication date, edition, page count, committee and scope of the standard.
  2. Anthropic achieves ISO 42001 certification for responsible AI · Anthropic, Jan. 13, 2025Supports: An example of certification, the accredited body that issued it and what the certified system covers.
  3. AI Risk Management Framework · NIST, Oct. 28, 2026Supports: Checked Oct. 28, 2026 for the AI RMF release date and its voluntary status.

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