Philippines · Certification
ISO/IEC 20000-1 certification in the Philippines
Achieve ISO 20000-1 certification in the Philippines with Sterling: 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries, 20+ years.
- Accredited certification
- Manila office team
- Effivity software included
- Academy training included
Who asks for ISO 20000-1 in the Philippines
Clients include
ISO 20000-1 certification in the Philippines at a glance
One Philippine instrument bears on ISO/IEC 20000-1. It does not name the standard. So why do buyers in the Philippines keep asking for the certificate?
Service level agreements sit at the centre of Philippine IT outsourcing, and BSP Circular No. 808 spells this out for banks: management should formulate SLAs that measure the effectiveness and efficiency of IT services, covering availability, capacity, support levels and response time, with procedures to manage and monitor delivery. The circular describes its guidelines as based on international standards and recognised principles of international practice, without naming ISO/IEC 20000-1. For managed-service providers, data-centre operators and IT-BPM firms that run service desks for overseas clients, ISO/IEC 20000-1 turns those expectations into an auditable service management system: service catalogue, incident and change control, capacity and continuity, and supplier management. Certification comes from an accredited certification body, and the scope should be checked against the accreditation that body holds. Sterling's Manila team builds the system around the services clients actually buy, links it with an existing ISO/IEC 27001 ISMS where one exists, and includes Effivity and Sterling Academy.
Who needs ISO 20000-1 in the Philippines, and what happens without it
In the Philippines the question rarely comes from a law. It comes from the buyer, the regulator or the partner that wants proof before it signs. These are the organisations that get asked.
- Managed-service and IT outsourcing providers to banksCircular No. 808 expects SLAs that measure IT service effectiveness and efficiency.
- IT-BPM firms running service desks for overseas clientsClients ask for evidence of controlled service management.
- Data-centre and cloud operatorsCustomers assess availability, capacity and continuity of services.
- Shared-service centres of multinationalsParent companies standardise internal IT service management.
Not sure which of these applies to you?Answer a short set of questions and your readiness report arrives by e-mail.
Take the ISO/IEC 20000-1 readiness checkISO 20000-1 requirements in the Philippines
Strip away the vocabulary and ISO/IEC 20000-1 requires a company to prove six things about how it plans and delivers IT services.
In the Philippines these six sit alongside the local laws and regulations listed under drivers below; one system can evidence both. The detail is on the global hub: ISO/IEC 20000-1 explained →
How to get ISO 20000-1 certified in the Philippines
One team from the Manila office carries the work from scoping to certificate. Metro Manila and other Philippine sites, on-site from the Makati office; remote delivery for distributed teams.
- Discovery call and scopeEntities, locations, regulators and target date, agreed before any proposal.
- Gap assessment against ISO/IEC 20000-1 and the Philippine requirements that apply to youControls you already run for your regulators and customers are reused, not rebuilt.
- Your system built with your team in EffivityRisks, controls, evidence, incidents and reviews in one live system the auditor can see.
- Internal audit, management review and corrective actionsYour internal auditors trained by Sterling; the evidence proven before the certification body arrives.
- Certification body stage 1 and stage 2, then surveillanceAn accredited body audits and decides. Sterling supports the audits and the three-year cycle.
- End to end, from one team
- Effivity ISO & GRC software
- Preferential Sterling Academy access, with complimentary awareness training for your people
- Internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard
- Vulnerability assessment on ISMS engagements
The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements.Sterling does not certify. Certification decisions stay with independent bodies.
How long does ISO 20000-1 certification take in the Philippines?
There is no standard duration: it depends on your scope and on how much of the system already runs. In the Philippines these are the factors that set the timeline.
- Number of services and service locations in scope
- Maturity of incident, change and service-level records
- Supplier and subcontracted service arrangements
- Certification body scheduling around Holy Week, the year-end holidays and weather-related work suspensions
Sterling agrees a dated plan with you on the discovery call, once the scope is known.
How much does ISO 20000-1 certification cost in the Philippines?
The cost has two parts: the consulting work to build and prove the system, and the certification body’s audit fees, which are quoted separately. In the Philippines these factors move both.
- Number of services, sites and tools in scope
- Certification body audit fees quoted separately from consulting
- Integration with an existing ISO/IEC 27001 ISMS
Sterling gives one customised, all-inclusive proposal after the discovery call, never before the scope is agreed.
ISO 20000-1 consultants and certification bodies in the Philippines
Two different organisations are involved. A consultant helps you build the system and prove it works; an accredited certification body then audits or assesses it and decides. Keeping the two separate is what makes the result credible to buyers and regulators.
- Check that the body’s accreditation or approval covers ISO 20000-1 and your sector, and that its certificates can be verified online.
- Ask the consultant how the local requirements in the Philippines are mapped into the same system, so nothing runs twice.
- Ask for client references in your sector; Sterling’s client letters are available on request.
- Agree who owns the evidence and the tool after the engagement; with Sterling the system stays yours, in Effivity.
Laws and regulations that drive ISO 20000-1 in the Philippines (2)
| Instrument | How it treats the standard |
|---|---|
| BSP Circular No. 808, Series of 2013 — service level agreements and IT outsourcing | Expected in practice Management should formulate SLAs measuring IT service effectiveness and efficiency, with procedures to manage and monitor delivery; based on international standards without naming ISO/IEC 20000-1. |
| Philippine Accreditation Bureau (PAB) — national accreditation body accrediting management system certification bodies (ISO/IEC 17021) | Market driver Accredited certification is available through the national accreditation body or bodies within the international arrangements; PAB's published IAF MLA scopes do not list this standard. |
"Expected in practice" means the instrument asks for the outcomes ISO/IEC 20000-1 covers without naming a standard, and ISO/IEC 20000-1 is what buyers and regulators commonly accept as evidence of them.
Accreditation, audit language and remote audits in the Philippines
Use a certification body accredited for this standard by the Philippine Accreditation Bureau (PAB) or by an accreditation body within the international mutual recognition arrangements (Global ACI — Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated, formerly the IAF MLA); check that the accreditation scope covers the standard and your sector. PAB's published IAF MLA scopes list QMS, EMS and FSMS only, so confirm that the chosen body's accreditation covers this standard. No body is named here unless its accreditation scope has been verified. Edition and transition details: ISO/IEC 20000-1 hub →
Audit language
Audits in the Philippines are normally conducted in English; agree the audit and document language with the certification body at application and plan interpretation for interviews in Filipino or a regional language.
Remote and on-site
Remote audit elements are at the certification body's discretion under its accreditation rules; operational sites are normally visited on-site.
ISO 20000-1 in the Philippines: questions clients ask
Does the BSP require ISO/IEC 20000-1?
No, not by name. BSP Circular No. 808 expects management to formulate service level agreements that measure IT service effectiveness and efficiency, with procedures to manage and monitor delivery. It is based on international standards but does not name ISO/IEC 20000-1. Certification is a way to evidence that discipline, not a circular requirement.
Can ISO/IEC 20000-1 and ISO/IEC 27001 share one system?
Yes. The two standards share common management-system clauses, so a single system can run one internal audit and one management review across both. That is why organisations with an existing ISO/IEC 27001 ISMS often add service management on the same footing. Keep the service-specific processes distinct.
Which accreditation should our certification body have?
Service management is not among the scopes PAB publishes under its IAF MLA listing, which covers QMS, EMS and FSMS only. So do not assume a PAB-accredited body can certify ISO/IEC 20000-1. Ask the body for written evidence of the scope, from PAB or another accreditation body within the international arrangements, and check that it covers your sector.
More on ISO 20000-1 for Philippine organisations
Other standards Philippine businesses ask Sterling for
Organisations in the Philippines often combine ISO/IEC 20000-1 with one of these, under one management system where the scopes allow.
Start with a free discovery call from the Manila office
A Sterling consultant goes through your entities, your regulators and your target date with you. No proposal until the scope is agreed.
Sources
- BSP Circular No. 808, Series of 2013 — service level agreements and IT outsourcing — bsp.gov.ph (accessed 5 Oct 2026)
- Philippine Accreditation Bureau (PAB) — national accreditation body accrediting management system certification bodies (ISO/IEC 17021) — dti.gov.ph (accessed 5 Oct 2026)
- Philippine Accreditation Bureau (PAB), Department of Trade and Industry — dti.gov.ph; dbm.gov.ph (accessed 5 Oct 2026)
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