Data report · September 2026
AI certifications pricing report 2026
Every published ISO/IEC 42001 cost figure we could find, with source and date. Estimates are labeled as estimates.
Reality check. There is no official OpenAI certification — OpenAI offers no certification program. This site is not affiliated with OpenAI. It covers independent, third-party AI governance certifications and frameworks: ISO/IEC 42001 (certifiable) and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework (a voluntary framework).
Key findings
- Published guide (2025): Stage 1 $3,000–$8,000; Stage 2 $6,000–$15,000; first-year total $10,000–$25,000.
- 2026 third-party synthesis: major CBs $25,000–$60,000 in year one; surveillance $9,000–$22,000/year.
- Cost drivers: employees and AI systems in scope, sites, integrated 27001+42001 audits, preparation needs, CB brand/lead time.
- Watch the fake-credential market: money spent on unofficial “AI certifications” buys no auditable assurance.
Every figure, with source
- Stage 1 audit $3,000–$8,000 — pifpof/practical-iso42001-guide (GitHub, 2025), published guide.
- Stage 2 audit $6,000–$15,000 — same guide, 2025.
- First-year total $10,000–$25,000 — same guide, 2025.
- Surveillance $4,000–$12,000/year — same guide, 2025.
- BSI year-one $35–55k — enchanter-ai market synthesis (GitHub, Sept 2026), estimate.
- DNV year-one $30–50k — same synthesis, estimate.
- TÜV SÜD year-one $35–60k — same synthesis, estimate.
- TÜV Rheinland year-one $30–50k — same synthesis, estimate.
- SGS year-one $25–45k — same synthesis, estimate.
- Major-CB surveillance $9–22k/year — same synthesis, estimate.
Sources
- pifpof/practical-iso42001-guide (GitHub, 2025)
Published market guide: Stage 1 $3,000–$8,000; Stage 2 $6,000–$15,000; first-year total $10,000–$25,000; surveillance $4,000–$12,000/yr. - enchanter-ai/ai-readiness-roadmap-2026 (GitHub, Sept 2026)
Third-party market synthesis (estimates): BSI $35–55k yr-1; DNV $30–50k; TÜV SÜD $35–60k; TÜV Rheinland $30–50k; SGS $25–45k; surveillance $9–22k. - jarvis-registry/iso-42001 (independent registry)
Schellman reported first ANAB-accredited body (2024); named certified organizations incl. KPMG Australia, AWS, IBM Granite, BCG, CrowdStrike, CM.com, Swimlane, Meltwater, Vanta, Kandji, Mimecast (April 2026). - NIST AI Risk Management Framework 1.0
NIST AI RMF 1.0 (January 2023) — voluntary framework, not certifiable. - ISO/IEC 42001:2023
ISO/IEC 42001:2023 — the world's first AI management system standard (published December 2023).
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