United States · Certification
ISO 22301 certification in the United States
Achieve ISO 22301 certification in the US with Sterling: 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries, 20+ years.
- Accredited certification
- New York office team
- Effivity software included
- Academy training included
Who asks for ISO 22301 in the US
Clients include
ISO 22301 certification in the US at a glance
Two US instruments bear on ISO 22301. Not one of them names it. So why do buyers in the US keep asking for the certificate?
Business continuity in American financial services is no longer optional paperwork. New York's 23 NYCRR Part 500 requires covered entities to maintain plans for incident response and for business continuity and disaster recovery, and customers in every sector now ask critical suppliers how they would keep operating through an outage, a cyber attack or severe weather. ISO 22301 gives that work a certifiable structure: business impact analysis, risk assessment, continuity strategies, exercised plans and a management review that keeps them current. The regulation does not cite the standard, and the certificate is issued by a certification body accredited within the international mutual recognition arrangements after stage 1 and stage 2 audits. Banks, insurers, payment firms, data-centre and managed-service providers, and healthcare networks use it to show resilience to buyers and examiners. Sterling, drawing on 20+ years of practice, builds the BCMS and exercises it before audit, with Effivity and Sterling Academy included. Local questions follow.
Who needs ISO 22301 in the US, and what happens without it
In the US 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.
- New York-licensed banks, insurers and financial firms23 NYCRR Part 500 requires incident response and business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
- Critical suppliers to financial institutionsCovered entities must oversee third-party service providers.
- Data-centre, cloud and managed-service providersEnterprise customers ask how services continue through disruption.
- Healthcare networks and their vendorsAvailability of ePHI is part of the HIPAA Security Rule.
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 22301 readiness checkISO 22301 requirements in the US
Strip away the vocabulary and ISO 22301 requires a company to prove six things about how it keeps operating when something goes wrong.
In the US 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 22301 explained →
How to get ISO 22301 certified in the US
One team from the New York office carries the work from scoping to certificate. Delivered from the New York office across the US, with remote delivery for teams in other time zones and on-site work as agreed.
- Discovery call and scopeEntities, locations, regulators and target date, agreed before any proposal.
- Gap assessment against ISO 22301 and the US 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 22301 certification take in the US?
There is no standard duration: it depends on your scope and on how much of the system already runs. In the US these are the factors that set the timeline.
- Number of sites, products and services in scope
- Completion of business impact analysis and risk assessment
- Exercising plans before stage 2
- Certification body availability
Sterling agrees a dated plan with you on the discovery call, once the scope is known.
How much does ISO 22301 certification cost in the US?
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 US these factors move both.
- Number of sites and critical services in scope
- Exercise and testing programme
- Certification body audit fees quoted separately from consulting
- Integration with ISO/IEC 27001
Sterling gives one customised, all-inclusive proposal after the discovery call, never before the scope is agreed.
ISO 22301 consultants and certification bodies in the US
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 22301 and your sector, and that its certificates can be verified online.
- Ask the consultant how the local requirements in the US 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 22301 in the US (3)
| Instrument | How it treats the standard |
|---|---|
| 23 NYCRR Part 500 (New York DFS) | Expected in practice Incident response and business continuity management (500.16), including a BCDR plan; ISO 22301 not cited. |
| HIPAA Security Rule | Expected in practice Safeguards ensuring availability of ePHI; ISO 22301 not cited. |
| IAS accreditation of management systems certification bodies | Market driver Accredited certification for management-system standards is available through a US accreditation body; no mandate. |
"Expected in practice" means the instrument asks for the outcomes ISO 22301 covers without naming a standard, and ISO 22301 is what buyers and regulators commonly accept as evidence of them.
Accreditation, audit language and remote audits in the US
Use a certification body accredited for this standard by an accreditation body within the international mutual recognition arrangements (Global ACI — Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated, formerly the IAF MLA), US-based (for example IAS, which accredits management systems certification bodies) or foreign; check that the accreditation scope covers the standard and your sector. No body is named here unless its accreditation scope has been verified. Edition and transition details: ISO 22301 hub →
Audit language
Audits are conducted in English; agree the audit and document language with the certification body at application.
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 22301 in the US: questions clients ask
Does NYDFS require ISO 22301?
No. 23 NYCRR Part 500 requires covered entities to have business continuity and disaster recovery plans, within its incident response and business continuity management section (500.16), but it does not cite ISO 22301. The standard is a way to structure such plans, not a requirement. Confirm what the Department of Financial Services expects with your counsel.
What evidence does the certification body expect?
Expect it to ask for a business impact analysis, a risk assessment, plans that have actually been exercised and evidence of management review. Having all four ready before the audit avoids avoidable findings at stage 2. Ask your certification body for its exact evidence list at application.
Can ISO 22301 be combined with ISO 27001?
Yes, through an integrated audit with the certification body, where both systems are assessed in one programme. Ask the body whether it can cover the two scopes together and how it handles shared processes such as risk assessment and management review.
More on ISO 22301 for US organisations
Other standards US businesses ask Sterling for
Organisations in the US often combine ISO 22301 with one of these, under one management system where the scopes allow.
Start with a free discovery call from the New York office
A Sterling consultant goes through your entities, your regulators and your target date with you. No proposal until the scope is agreed.
Sources
- 23 NYCRR Part 500 (New York DFS) — dfs.ny.gov (accessed 5 Oct 2026)
- HIPAA Security Rule — hhs.gov (accessed 5 Oct 2026)
- IAS accreditation of management systems certification bodies — iasonline.org (accessed 5 Oct 2026)
- International Accreditation Service (IAS) — iasonline.org; iaf.nu (accessed 5 Oct 2026)
Talk to a consultant
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