Best practices and automated solutions to simplify ISO 42001 certification prep from people who have been there — so you can move fast and certify with confidence.
The world of Artificial Intelligence is evolving at a rapid pace, bringing with it incredible opportunities, but also significant risks and complex challenges. As organizations increasingly adopt AI, the need for robust governance and responsible AI development is accelerating. This is where ISO 42001, the international standard for AI Management Systems (AIMS), comes in.
What is ISO 42001 and who are we at FairNow?
ISO/IEC 42001 is the first international standard specifically for Artificial Intelligence Management Systems (AIMS), published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The standard sets out requirements for managing the lifecycle of AI systems in a way that is responsible, transparent, and risk-aware. It helps organizations identify goals and control risks related to AI (such as bias, safety, and explainability) through policies, roles, and documented processes. Ethical and legal expectations are integrated into day-to-day AI operations, making it easier to align with regulations and build trust with users and other stakeholders.
At FairNow, we help organizations turn responsible AI principles into practice, in alignment with ISO 42001. Our platform provides the structure to manage AI governance across both organizational and system levels. Most importantly, through our consulting work, we’ve supported customers through real ISO 42001 audits, so we know what it takes to not just prepare—but to achieve ISO 42001 certification.
Keep reading below to learn our best practice tips and tricks to get ready for an ISO 42001 certification — quickly and confidently.
Get Your Free AI Governance playbook for ISO 42001 Certification
Download our comprehensive ISO 42001 ebook to learn more about the new ISO AI governance standard and how to prepare your organization.
Considering ISO 42001 for AI? Why do it?
Very few companies have received ISO 42001 certification so far. That makes getting certified a big event—and a strong signal to your broader ecosystem. It’s already being pursued by leading names like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Anthropic and Snowflake, as well as emerging leaders like Cielo, who worked with us to achieve their certification
Beyond demonstrating a commitment to ethical AI, ISO 42001 certification offers numerous benefits:
- 🔒 Enhanced Trust and Reputation: Show your stakeholders, customers, and partners that you are serious about responsible AI.
- 🛡️ Reduced Risk: Implement robust controls to mitigate risks associated with AI development and deployment.
- ⚙️ Improved Operational Efficiency: Eliminate the ‘fire drills’ by setting out clear, standardized documentation upfront.
- 🏆 Competitive Advantage: Stand out in the market by showcasing your commitment to responsible AI practices.
- ✅ Regulatory Compliance: Prepare for evolving AI regulations and demonstrate adherence to best practices by building an AI Management System which is scalable and enduring
I’m ISO 27001 certified. Is the ISO AI governance standard just an add-on?
ISO 27001 and ISO 42001 follow the same high-level structure, so organizations that are already certified to ISO 27001 already have many of the foundations for success. They can build on existing governance processes (for example, risk management), an established culture of leadership accountability, and experience with internal and external audits when implementing ISO 42001.
However, ISO 42001 is not merely an extension of ISO 27001 – it’s a distinct standard focused specifically on AI management. It introduces requirements that go beyond information security to address risks like bias, explainability, and model drift. Different AI systems may require distinct approaches to controls such as testing, monitoring, or impact assessment, adding layers of judgment and complexity beyond typical information security management.
How long does ISO 42001 certification take, end-to-end? And how do I get certified?
The timeline for achieving ISO 42001 certification depends on your organization’s AI maturity, governance structures, and readiness to implement an AI Management System (AIMS). It also of course depends on the size of your organization, and the resources available to dedicate to this work.
For most organizations, starting from a low to moderate baseline, a realistic timeframe to prepare for an ISO 42001 audit is 6 to 12 months.
This enables time to define the AIMS scope, set out key roles and responsibilities and align on responsible AI objectives upfront, and then work through implementing necessary policies and controls at both the organization and application level. This also allows for time for the AI Management System to ‘sit’ and mature ahead of the audit, as well as time to generate evidence.
The audit process for certification involves three stages:
We can connect FairNow customers to an auditor through our partner network; we partner closely with auditors to align controls to expectation, minimizing back-and-forth.
I want to get certified for ISO42001 – where do I start?
Getting started on ISO 42001 certification prep can be overwhelming – especially for organizations who haven’t undergone a related ISO certification before. Below, we break down the key places to start to most efficiently get towards certification and avoid time delays.
Define the Scope of Your AIMS (AI Management System)
ISO 42001 requires a clear definition of what’s in scope; this includes which AI systems, teams, and processes your AIMS will cover. Some organizations go broad, including all AI systems they buy, sell, or build. Others focus more narrowly, choosing to focus only on internally built systems but excluding vendor systems, or focusing on specific business areas and processes. This enables them to manage workload and build maturity in the most important (or highest risk) areas . Whatever you choose, be explicit. Auditors will expect your scope to match what you’re governing, and what they’re auditing you for.
Assess Your Current AI Governance Maturity
Perform a structured gap analysis to assess how your current governance practices align with ISO 42001. If you’re already ISO 27001 certified, you may be able to build on core governance elements (like risk frameworks), but they must be expanded to include AI-specific concerns such as bias, transparency, and model performance.
Establish your AI Governance Roles and Responsibilities
Assign accountable owners for both the overall AIMS and individual AI systems. Leadership commitment and clearly defined roles are critical for driving implementation at pace.
Prioritize Controls that require early action
To become ISO 42001 certified, your AIMS needs to be mature. Some ISO 42001 requirements need time to become meaningfully embedded, and so should be prioritized. Other controls demand early attention because they impact other, later components. Here are a few examples of first steps that drive impact.
- Measurable AI objectives need to be set out and monitored over time. Objectives also inform many of the other activities within the AIMS.
- Your organization’s AI Policy sets the foundation for governance, accountability, and alignment across the organization. Having a policy in place underpins many of the other AIMS controls.
- AI literacy training programs require planning, delivery, and tracking across relevant roles to ensure completion. While you’ll need a certain level of AIMS maturity to kick off the training (i.e. you’ll need to understand your objectives, key policies, etc.), you should prioritize rolling this out as soon as possible.
- The AI Impact Assessment Process is a critical component of your AIMS. This needs to be set out at the organization level, and then undertaken for all of your applications (although the detail within this process may vary depending on the level of risk for each system; FairNow can help with risk triaging). Once you have your objectives and policy set out, your Impact Assessments should be aligned with key AI governance roles.
- Top Tip: this should be considered alongside other Impact Assessments that may exist within your organization (e.g. Data Privacy, Security) – reviewing these is a good place to start!
- Top Tip: Many regulations and standards require Impact Assessments (e.g. EU AI Act, Colorado, NIST…) – design your Impact Assessment process and template upfront with all the regulations in mind, so you don’t need to redo them.
Inventory Your AI Systems and Use Cases
Create a centralized inventory of AI systems currently in use or under development. This includes identifying the purpose of each system, the data it uses, the risks it may pose, and any third-party models or services involved. This step is critical for understanding your risk landscape and ensuring the AIMS covers all relevant applications. FairNow’s platform provides an easy way to inventory your AI applications, capturing key information needed for effective AI governance.
What do people wish they knew when they started their ISO 42001 journey?
Hindsight is a great thing – here’s a few nuggets of knowledge that people wish they knew earlier in the process of getting their ISO 42001 certification:
- Risk management has to happen at the application level: One of the biggest shifts with ISO 42001 is the need to assess risk and impact for each individual AI system. This can be difficult to manage with existing tools that are built for traditional Infosec, and allow only company level controls. Make sure whatever platform you use makes it easy to monitor, track, and manage AI-application-specific-risks like bias, drift, and explainability.
“FairNow’s platform is purpose-built for this complexity. It allowed us to build a robust AIMS that not only achieved ISO 42001 certification but is also flexible enough to incorporate additional standards, as we continue to mature our program.”
Gevangee Desai, Vice President – Information Security Compliance at Cielo
- Some elements need time to ‘sit and mature’ : Achieving a sufficient level of AI literacy across your organization, for example, is not an overnight task. As well as the upfront planning and training program creation, it requires time, monitoring and reinforcement to ensure all relevant personnel understand their roles and responsibilities within the AIMS.
- Bringing the right people along is one of the hardest parts. ISO 42001 involves teams across tech, legal, risk, product, and leadership. Early buy-in and sustained engagement is critical. FairNow makes this easier by streamlining communication, aligning teams from day one, and simplifying compliance activities at the application level with automation and built-in workflows.
- Keeping up with AI regulation is essential: ISO 42001 expects organizations to stay on top of the fast-changing global AI regulatory landscape. Auditors will likely ask how you’re tracking new laws and aligning your AI Management System (AIMS) with them. A clear, consistent process for monitoring and responding to regulatory developments is key. FairNow helps by maintaining a living repository of evolving regulations and mapped controls, so you can stay aligned as the landscape shifts. Learn more about AI compliance software.
- ISO 42001 certifications are still relatively new: This standard is still new, and even ISO-certified auditors are building experience as adoption grows. You may see some variation in audit approaches, but that also means a more collaborative process, with auditors and organizations working closely to interpret and apply the standard effectively. FairNow can connect you with experienced auditors, to work with you on your certification journey.
How does ISO 42001 compliance software help with my ISO 42001 journey?
ISO 42001 certification is complex – without the right tools, building a compliant program can quickly become overwhelming. Most organizations are managing more AI systems and vendors than they realize; without a clear inventory of these systems, assigning accountability, tracking implementation progress, and managing audit evidence can quickly become unmanageable.
FairNow’s ISO 42001 compliance software is built to simplify your entire ISO 42001 compliance program implementation. It helps you quickly inventory your AI systems, and turns the ISO 42001 standard into a set of actionable, trackable controls. It also helps you to assign accountabilities for these controls, and simplifies collaboration across teams (especially during audits, when coordination is critical!). With FairNow, you can:
- Inventory and track AI systems across teams and vendors
- Assign ISO 42001 controls and ownership at both company and application levels
- Simplify collaboration between teams with built in workflows
- Monitor compliance progress in real-time
- Collect, organize, and manage audit-ready evidence
- Stay aligned with evolving regulations, as required for ISO 42001
