Can you be certified to ISO 27090?
No. ISO/IEC 27090:2026 is guidance: recommendations for addressing security threats and compromises to AI systems. It has no certifiable requirements, so there is no valid “ISO 27090 certificate”. To get a certificate that covers your AI security, certify your information security management system to ISO/IEC 27001 or your AI management system to ISO/IEC 42001, and use ISO/IEC 27090 to do the AI security work inside them.
Facts checked 1 November 2026 against the sources at the bottom of this page. PlayCISO is not affiliated with ISO, IEC or any accreditation body.
What ISO/IEC 27090 is
The full title is Cybersecurity — Artificial intelligence (AI) — Addressing security threats and compromises to AI systems. It catalogues AI-specific threats such as data poisoning, evasion, membership inference, model inversion, model theft, and prompt and output injection, ties them to confidentiality, integrity and availability, and recommends how the organisations that build and deploy AI should address them across the life cycle. BSI describes it as guidance that can feed into ISO/IEC 27001, 27002 and 42001 rather than a new management system. Our ISO 27090 explainer covers what is inside.
Certification is the formal outcome of auditing a management system against a standard’s “shall” requirements. Guidance written as “should” recommendations gives an auditor nothing to certify against.
What can certify you
1. ISO/IEC 27001 certification (information security)
An information security management system (ISMS) audited by a certification body that is accredited under ISO/IEC 17021-1 by a national accreditation body. For the certificate to be recognised across borders, that accreditation body should be a signatory of the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA). Put your AI systems inside the ISMS scope and use ISO/IEC 27090 to inform how you identify AI risks, decide their treatment and choose Annex A controls in your Statement of Applicability.
2. ISO/IEC 42001 certification (AI management system)
An AI management system (AIMS) audited by a certification body accredited for ISO/IEC 42001. The accreditation assesses the body against ISO/IEC 17021-1 plus ISO/IEC 42006, the standard for bodies that audit and certify AI management systems, published by ISO in July 2025. Accreditation for 42001 is new: UKAS announced its first AI management system accreditation on 15 January 2026, and ANAB runs a 42001 accreditation programme. Because accreditation bodies are still bringing ISO/IEC 42006 into their programmes, ask any certification body which accreditation body has accredited it for 42001 and check that 42001 appears on its accreditation schedule; some bodies issue unaccredited 42001 certificates.
3. Other evidence: attestation, not certification
- SOC 2 report covering AI controls: a licensed CPA firm’s opinion on your controls against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria. Make sure the AI systems are in the system description.
- ISAE 3000 (Revised) assurance engagement: an assurance practitioner’s conclusion against criteria you agree, which can be built from ISO/IEC 27090 guidance.
- Second- or third-party audit against a 27090-based checklist: a customer, or an independent firm, audits you and issues a report.
These can be strong evidence, but none is an ISO certificate, and none should be described as one.
What you want to prove, and what to get
| What you want to prove | What to get | Who issues it | Certificate? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our information security management covers our AI systems | ISO/IEC 27001 certification with the AI systems inside the ISMS scope | A certification body accredited to ISO/IEC 17021-1 for ISO/IEC 27001 | Yes, a certificate |
| We govern how we build and use AI (an AI management system) | ISO/IEC 42001 certification | A certification body accredited for ISO/IEC 42001, assessed against ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 42006 | Yes, a certificate |
| Our AI-relevant controls operated effectively over a period (often for US customers) | A SOC 2 Type 2 report whose system description and controls include the AI systems | A licensed CPA firm | No, an attestation report |
| An independent opinion that we follow ISO/IEC 27090 guidance | An ISAE 3000 (Revised) assurance engagement against criteria based on the guidance | A professional assurance practitioner | No, an assurance report |
| A key customer wants to check our AI security | A second-party audit using a 27090-based checklist | The customer, or an auditor they appoint | No, an audit report |
| We want to know our own gaps first | A self-assessment or internal audit against the guidance | Your team or internal audit | No, an internal record |
| “We are ISO 27090 certified” | Nothing: no such certification exists | Treat any body offering it as a red flag | No |
How to check a certificate
- Search IAF CertSearch by company name or certificate number. Check that the certificate is valid (not suspended or withdrawn), the standard, the scope (does it cover the AI systems you care about?), the certification body and the accreditation body.
- Confirm the accreditation body is on IAF’s list of MLA signatories.
- Check the accreditation body’s own directory: the certification body should be accredited for that specific standard (27001 or 42001). Accreditation is granted standard by standard.
- If the certificate is not in CertSearch, ask the certification body or the accreditation body to confirm it. Not every certificate is uploaded.
- Ask for the Statement of Applicability and the certificate scope, not just the logo.
National accreditation bodies that are IAF MLA signatories include:
- UKAS (United Kingdom)
- ANAB (United States)
- DAkkS (Germany)
- JAS-ANZ (Australia and New Zealand)
- NABCB (India)
Check IAF’s current list before relying on any one body; signatory status and scopes change.
What to say instead
- Accurate: “Our ISMS is certified to ISO/IEC 27001 and its scope includes our AI systems. We used ISO/IEC 27090 guidance to inform our AI risk treatment.”
- Accurate: “Our AI management system is certified to ISO/IEC 42001 by an accredited certification body.”
- Not accurate: “ISO 27090 certified”, “27090 compliant certificate” or a 27090 badge.