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CertiKit Has Announced It Is Closing: A Calm Checklist for Toolkit Owners

CertiKit says it is closing. Here are the dates CertiKit has published, what to download and save, and how to plan the maintenance of your documents.

Last reviewed September 30, 2026

CertiKit has announced that it is closing. Its founder, who wrote the toolkits, is retiring. We wish him well. If you own a CertiKit toolkit, this page sets out the dates as CertiKit has published them, what to save, and how to think about what comes next.

Clearline Systems is an independent publisher of documentation templates. We are not affiliated with CertiKit. Everything about CertiKit below comes from its own announcement of September 1, 2026, and may change. We don't know CertiKit's plans beyond what it has published. Please read the announcement yourself.

The dates, according to CertiKit

CertiKit says:

  • Its last day of online sales is Friday, October 30, 2026, until 5 pm UK time.

  • Customers can log in to their accounts to download invoices and the latest versions of their toolkits until 5 pm UK time on Friday, December 18, 2026. After that its website will be unavailable.

  • Its final update will be for ISO 9001, released free to existing ISO 9001 toolkit customers.

  • After that final update there will be no further updates to any product, and no ongoing support after its website closes.

  • Its licensing terms do not change: toolkits remain licensed for use within a single management system.

A five-step checklist for owners

  1. Download everything you own before December 18. All toolkits, all versions, your invoices. Save them somewhere backed up, and note where.

  2. Write down which version of each toolkit you have, and the date you downloaded it. This matters later when standards change.

  3. ISO 9001 owners: check CertiKit's site for whether its final update has been released, and collect it if you are entitled to it.

  4. Decide who will maintain your documents. After the final ISO 9001 update, CertiKit says there will be no further updates, and no support after its website closes. Someone in your organization will need to own changes: new editions of standards, clause changes, and your own process changes.

  5. Check where your system stands against the current editions. ISO 9001:2026 was published on September 16, 2026, and ISO 14001:2026 on April 15, 2026. ISO 45001:2018 is still the current edition, and ISO is revising it. See the sources below.

Check your license

CertiKit says its licensing terms don't change: toolkits remain licensed for use within a single management system. What you may do with documents you've adapted depends on the license you accepted when you bought them, so read it, and ask CertiKit or a lawyer if you're unsure. This is general information, not legal advice. Whatever the license says, your management system documents should describe what you actually do and be kept current.

Questions to ask about any future documentation

Apart from downloading what you are entitled to before CertiKit's dates, there is no deadline for deciding what comes next. When you are ready to think about future documentation, here are questions that don't depend on any brand:

  • Which standards and editions does it cover, and is it written for the edition you are moving to?

  • How is it updated, and does the seller say in writing what happens when a standard changes? Do not assume updates are free or included unless the seller says so.

  • What support exists, through which channel, and what does "support" actually mean?

  • License terms: one management system, one site, consultants? Read them.

  • Editable formats that work in the tools you use.

  • Limits: no document kit can certify you. A seller who promises a pass should be questioned. Only a certification body can certify your organization.

  • Size: check how many files you would actually need to maintain.

We publish lean documentation kits for ISO 9001:2026, ISO 14001:2026 and ISO 45001:2018. We are not selling yet, so there is nothing to buy from us today. You can see what we are building at https://clearlinekits.com.

A free starting point whatever you decide

Whichever route you take, step 5 above is worth doing. Our free Gap Analysis Checklist for ISO 9001:2026 has 111 plain-English questions covering clauses 4 to 10, with 25 new or changed 2026 requirements flagged. It comes as an Excel workbook and a printable Word version. It is a way to see where your current documents stand, whoever wrote them.

Download the free checklist

The checklist paraphrases requirements in our own words. It is not ISO text, you will still need your own copy of the standard, and using it does not promise a pass or certification.

Sources

All sources checked September 30, 2026. Clearline Systems is not affiliated with or endorsed by ISO, or by CertiKit.