ISO 17100 · Translation services
ISO 17100 certification for translation services clients can rely on.
Show clients that every translation follows a controlled process and qualified people, with a Sterling consultant who prepares your workflow, records and team for the certification audit. We ensure successful certification for our clients.
- Fixed scope, one proposal: consulting, Effivity software, Sterling Academy access and internal auditor training, as applicable to your standard, in one proposal
- A team of expert and experienced consultants, working across sectors and countries since 2003
- The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements. Sterling does not certify; an independent certification body audits and decides
8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries.
Sterling client experience
What it is
What is ISO 17100 and what is it used for?
ISO 17100 is the ISO standard for translation services. It sets requirements for the core processes, resources and other aspects needed to deliver a quality translation service, so that a translation service provider can demonstrate that it conforms and can meet its clients' specifications and applicable requirements.
Its scope is deliberately focused. ISO states that raw machine translation output plus post-editing is outside the scope of ISO 17100, and that the standard does not apply to interpreting services. Post-editing of machine translation has its own standard, ISO 18587.
Current edition and revision. ISO 17100:2015 is current, with Amendment 1 published in 2017. On 4 August 2025 iso.org marked it for revision, and ISO/AWI 17100 is under development to replace it; no publication date is shown. Organisations certifying now work to the 2015 edition and its amendment.
Who it is for
Who needs ISO 17100 certification?
Translation companies, language service providers and in-house translation departments come to Sterling from three starting points:
- A client or tender asks for it. Public bodies, life sciences, legal and technical clients often ask for evidence of a controlled translation process.
- Quality depends on a few people. Revision, terminology and client instructions are handled differently from project to project.
- You are growing your freelance network. You need a consistent way to qualify, brief and review the translators you work with.
The benefit is consistent translations and fewer client complaints; the certificate confirms the process.
Requirements
What are the main ISO 17100 requirements?
ISO describes ISO 17100 as covering core processes, resources and other aspects of translation service delivery. The clause titles were not confirmed from iso.org for this page, so the list below shows what Sterling's work covers instead.
- Translation workflow: from enquiry and project preparation to translation, revision and delivery
- People: competence and qualification records for translators, revisers and project managers
- Technical resources: tools, terminology and the protection of client content
- Clients: agreements, specifications and instructions captured before work starts
- Feedback and improvement: client feedback, complaints and corrective action with records
What does useful ISO 17100 evidence look like?
Project files showing who translated and who revised each job, translator and reviser qualification records, client agreements with the agreed specifications, terminology resources, and complaint and corrective action records. We help you keep these in the project management tools your team already uses, so the auditor sees a process that runs.
Your engagement
What your ISO 17100 engagement includes
Your agreed scope covers your translation workflow, your in-house team and the freelancers you rely on. An independent certification body conducts the certification audit and decides; Sterling does not certify.
Scope, gap analysis and plan
With owners, dates and decision makers agreed before work starts.
Process development and documentation
Procedures and records built around how your projects actually run.
Effivity ISO & GRC software
Competence records, complaints, audits and actions in one workspace, included with the engagement at no additional cost.
Training for everyone
Internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard, and preferential Sterling Academy access, including complimentary awareness training for your people as part of the engagement.
Internal audit and management review
Conducted or facilitated as agreed, with findings closed with evidence.
Certification readiness and support
Preparation for the certification audit and support until the certificate is issued.
Certification decisions remain with the independent certification body.
Often combined with
Standards organisations pair with ISO 17100
- COPC CX StandardCOPC CX Standard certification readiness for contact centres and CX operations: gap assessment, metrics, processes and people, with Sterling's support.
- ISO 18091ISO 18091 local government guidance put into practice: a citizen-focused ISO 9001 quality system, the diagnostic, SDG progress and certification readiness.
- ISO 18295ISO 18295 certification consulting for in-house and outsourced contact centres: consistent, measurable customer service on every channel, ready for audit.
- ISO 18587ISO 18587 certification support for language service providers: post-editing process, post-editor competence and audit readiness, with Effivity included.
- ISO 18788 / PSC.1ISO 18788 certification support for private security companies: SOMS implementation, legal and human rights controls, training and audit readiness.
- ISO 20121ISO 20121 certification consulting for events: environmental, social and economic impacts managed from concept to review, ready for an independent audit.
Effivity · ISO and GRC software, included in every engagement
How Effivity helps you fulfil, automate and simplify the requirements of ISO 17100.
Every Sterling ISO 17100 engagement includes Effivity, the ISO and GRC automation platform built by the Sterling group and used in 50+ countries. Your consultant configures the workspace within the agreed scope, so documents, risks, audits, nonconformities, complaints, supplier evaluations, training records and management review live in one place, the system runs in daily work and the certification auditor reviews a live system rather than a binder. Sterling consulting clients get their Effivity subscription included with the engagement, at no additional cost.
Context, scope and interested parties
The scope statement, the internal and external issues and the interested parties are kept in one register and reviewed on a schedule, so the context stays current as the business changes instead of being rewritten before each audit.
Quality policy, roles and objectives
The policy, the responsibilities and the quality objectives with their measures, owners and dates live where the people who own them work; progress is reported from the system, not from a separate spreadsheet.
Risks and opportunities
A risk and opportunity register with owners, actions and review dates; treatments tracked to closure and brought to management review automatically.
Competence, awareness and documented information
Training and competence records for every person, linked to Sterling Academy; documents with versions, approvals and distribution, so the current version is the only one in use.
Customer requirements, design, suppliers and delivery
Requirement reviews, design controls where they apply, supplier evaluation, production or service delivery, inspection, release, calibration and maintenance, each with its record created as the work is done.
Monitoring, internal audit and management review
Audit programmes, findings and follow-up; customer satisfaction and KPIs on live dashboards; a management review that records its inputs, decisions and actions.
Nonconformity, complaints and corrective action
Raised, investigated and closed with root cause and the evidence that the action worked; recurring issues visible to management before they become a finding.
Your own processes, forms and reports
Forms, fields, workflows and reports adapted to how you work, without code; legal and customer requirements tracked to the processes they affect.
What this means at the audit
The auditor asks for translator and reviser qualifications, sample project records, client agreements, complaints and the last management review. In Effivity each of those is a screen, with dates, owners and evidence attached. After certification, Sustain™ keeps the same workspace running for surveillance audits.
In your engagement
- Subscription included with the engagement, at no additional cost
- Configured by your Sterling consultant within the agreed scope
- Your documents, records and registers migrated, not retyped
- Admin and user training for your team
- Modules for EMS, OHSMS, ISMS, FSMS and more when you integrate other standards
Sterling Academy · ISO 17100 e-learning
Train every employee on ISO 17100, not just the project management team.
Sterling Academy delivers e-learning for the whole workforce and for the people who run the system: video lessons with practice checkpoints, a final exam and a numbered Certificate of Completion for each learner, verifiable online. Sterling consulting clients benefit from preferential course access and special pricing through their Sterling consultant, including complimentary awareness training for their people as part of the engagement.
- ISO 17100 awareness for every employee, with a record of who completed it
- Practitioner learning for project managers, revisers and the quality lead
- Internal auditor training for the people who will audit the system, as applicable to your standard, as part of the engagement
- Learner progress by department and a training status report for the certification auditor
- New hires trained as they arrive, so evidence stays current
- A Sterling consultant reachable when a learner needs one
Keep exploring
Explore more about ISO 17100
Why Sterling
Want successful ISO 17100 certification? Come to Sterling.
Whether you run a single office or a network of translators across countries, Sterling helps you set one controlled process with clear ownership for every project.
60+ countries since 2003
Management systems implemented for service firms and professional services across every region we serve, with one engagement team accountable for the programme.
All-inclusive proposal
Consulting, Effivity, training and Academy access in one proposal, with certification-body fees identified separately. No surprises, ever.
A system your people can use
Less documentation and maximum effectiveness: documents, training and software connected to day-to-day operations, so your people adopt the system rather than tolerate it.
Expert and experienced consultants
Consultants who have advised on quality and service management systems across sectors and countries since 2003, and who build your process properly the first time.
The Sterling Promise
What our ISO 17100 certification success guarantee means
We stay with you until your agreed ISO 17100 certification outcome is achieved, supporting implementation, preparation and the resolution of assessment findings. Clear explanations, practical delivery, included software and employee learning turn the investment into lasting capability.
The engagement identifies the standard, scope, outcome and responsibilities. Your organisation supplies accurate information and puts the agreed controls into use. The independent certification body assesses conformity and retains its certification decision. Our commitment concerns the agreed certification support, not a promise of every future tender award.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions about ISO 17100
Does ISO 17100 cover machine translation?
No. ISO states that raw machine translation output plus post-editing is outside the scope of ISO 17100. Providers that offer post-editing look at ISO 18587, which covers post-editing of machine translation output.
Is ISO 17100 being revised?
Yes. iso.org marked ISO 17100:2015 for revision in August 2025, and ISO/AWI 17100 is under development to replace it. No publication date is shown yet, so certification continues against the 2015 edition and its 2017 amendment.
Does ISO 17100 apply to interpreting?
No. ISO states that ISO 17100 does not apply to interpreting services. It covers translation services only.
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