ISO 17100 Translation Services Management System
What is ISO 17100 Translation Services?
ISO 17100 is the internationally recognised standard for Translation Services Providers (TSPs). The standard outlines the requirements a TSP must meet to deliver high-quality translation services that meet client expectations and other applicable specifications. It covers all aspects of the translation process that directly impact service quality and delivery, such as your processes, translator qualifications and technical resources.
Achieving ISO 17100 certification strengthens your business performance by ensuring a structured and reliable approach to translation services. It establishes and defines clear quality benchmarks for your translators, providing clients with greater confidence in the accuracy and professionalism of your services.Â
ISO 17100 is suitable for organisations of all sizes that want to enhance the quality of their services, meet client needs and expectations, and demonstrate their commitment to industry best practices.Â
Benefits of ISO 17100 certification
Implementing ISO 17100 provides numerous advantages that can significantly enhance your business. Here are some key benefits:
Establishes and defines the quality of your translators
Assures stakeholders that you provide a consistent and reliable service
Enhances customer confidence and security
Improves communication between customers and translators
Supports quality in AI-driven translation
It gives you a competitive advantage
Enables you to tender for more contracts
Boosts staff morale and motivation
Increased profit potential and market share
"We have used ISO Quality Services Ltd to audit our company and obtain an ISO 17100 certification for the translation industry. Despite our company being based in the U.S. while they are in the U.K., they have always been very responsive and efficient at setting remote video and phone meetings. They have helped guide our company through the certification process, making it all painless and very straightforward! We absolutely look forward to continuing to work with them to maintain our certification."
Precision Language and Graphics Inc
How can ISO 17001 help my business?
ISO 17100 is an internationally recognised standard that sets the benchmark for delivering high-quality translation services. The standard specifies the requirements for all aspects of the translation process, including your processes, translator qualifications and technical resources, ensuring a consistently high standard of service delivery.Â
Much like ISO 9001 Quality Management, ISO 17100 provides a structured framework that enhances service reliability and meets client expectations. By integrating industry-specific terminology and best practices, ISO 17100 simplifies communication between clients and translators, streamlining contractual agreements and reducing misunderstandings.Â
Implementing ISO 17100 assures clients that your services are well managed, coordinated, scrutinised, and reviewed by qualified professionals, minimising the risk of errors and customer complaints.Â
Example aspects include:
- Increased customer loyalty as it gives stakeholders confidence in your business and translator’s abilities.
- Greater confidence for prospective clients that you work to the highest recognised specialist standards.
- Enhances process control that covers key aspects such as commissioning work, translation, proofreading and reviewing, ensuring accuracy and consistency.
- Improved contractual requirements and project management with clear and agreed-upon specifications.
- Ensuring traceability of the translation process, allowing you to track every step of the translation journey, helping you to manage quality levels and address potential issues.Â
- Improved customer satisfaction by regularly obtaining and analysing feedback. This helps you improve your services, ensuring you continue to meet customer needs and expectations.Â
What does ISO 17100 cover?
ISO 17100 Translation Services consists of four key areas:
- Human resources: ensuring the people selected to perform translation tasks have the required competencies and qualifications.
- Pre-production process and activities: ensuring processes are in place for handling and analysing enquiries, determining project feasibility, preparing quotations, and entering into agreements.
- Production processes: ensuring compliance with the agreement from when it is confirmed to the agreed end of the project.
- Post-production process: ensuring processes are in place for handling client feedback, assessing client satisfaction, making appropriate corrections and/or taking corrective action.
How does ISO 17100 support AI-Generated Translation?
The translation industry has seen a major shift with the increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI). While AI-generated translations offer advantages such as faster translation turnaround times and cost savings, they also present challenges related to accuracy, consistency, and contextual understanding.  Â
AI-generated translations are prone to errors such as incorrect word order, homophone confusion, improper use of pronouns and hallucinations. These issues can compromise translation quality and reliability, making human review essential.
By Implementing ISO 17100, businesses can maximise the benefits of AI without compromising the accuracy, reliability and professionalism clients expect.
ISO 17100 Translation Services vs ISO 9001 Quality Management
Whilst both ISO Standards focus on quality management, ISO 17100 Translation Services is specifically designed for the translation industry and covers all aspects of the translation process that directly impact service quality and delivery. ISO 9001 Quality Management is broader and applicable to any industry. It provides a framework to ensure consistency across products and services and a strong emphasis on customer satisfaction.Â
Given their differences and the added benefits of both Standards, many Translation Service Providers choose to implement ISO 17100 alongside ISO 9001. This approach can:
- Enhance quality management by considering general quality management principles to improve overall business operations alongside those specific to the translation industry.
- Increase stakeholder trust and satisfaction as it demonstrates your commitment to all areas of service delivery.
- Streamline your processes and provide a more robust quality management system.
- Enhance your reputation, particularly as ISO 9001 is globally recognised across various sectors.Â
Our clients
In addition to ISO 9001 Quality Management, many Translation Service Providers (TSPs) also implement ISO 27001 Information Security, Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection.Â
43%
have only ISO 17100
22%
have ISO 17100 & ISO 9001
16%
have ISO 17100 & ISO 27001
19%
have all three certifications
What is the latest version of ISO 17100?
The current version of ISO 17100 Translation Services was published in 2015 and replaced BS EN 15038:2006, which was withdrawn. Despite being nearly 10 years old, the Standard was reviewed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 2020 and determined that no updates were necessary at that time, maintaining its relevance and applicability to the translation services sector.
ISO Standards are typically reviewed by the ISO every five years to ensure they remain relevant and effective in addressing the evolving needs of the industry.
What is the process to get my business certified to the ISO 17100?
We offer a simple and flexible approach to implementing ISO certification that will take you from where you are today, to running an ISO 17100 Translation Services Management system in as little as eight weeks.Â
Our support doesn’t stop after you’ve achieved ISO 17100 certification. In addition to your annual re-certification audit, we also provide a flexible annual support visit which is tailored to your needs, ensuring they always add value to your organisation.Â
Step 1
Contact us
Speak to our ISO experts to get your bespoke quote.
Step 2
Kick start meeting
Meet with our client care team and get an overview of the next steps and support provided.
Step 3
Initial Assessment
First meeting with your auditor who will identify works to be completed.
Step 4
Documentation preparation
We’ll compile your Overview Document which will act as your ISO manual.
Step 5
Certification audit
Once requirements of ISO 17100:2015 are met, we’ll present you with your certificate.
Step 6
Maintaining compliance
We’ll visit you twice yearly to support you with your ongoing compliance.
FAQs
The costs vary depending on the size of your organisation and the level to which you’re currently operating with regard to your processes and procedures. Due to our proposals being bespoke, we recommend getting in touch with a member of our team to discuss your requirement in more detail so we can provide a free, no-obligation quote.
Your ISO 17100 certificate will be valid for 12 months and subject to an annual re-certification audit throughout your contract.
To support your ongoing compliance with ISO 17100, we provide flexible annual support visits tailored to your needs. These are in addition to your annual re-certification audit which are a mandatory part of the standard.Â
The support visit offers an opportunity to focus on key areas that will add value to your business whether it’s assisting with your internal audits, chairing a Management Review Meeting (MRM) or discussing leadership buy-in. Prior to your support meeting our client care team will talk to you about an agenda for the day. Following this visit, you will receive an audit report and recommendations log, ensuring you stay on track and continually improve your management system.Â
Additionally, you will have access to our exclusive client portal. The portal provides access to our standard documents and knowledge base, giving you valuable resources to support your compliance and certification journey.
With our level of support, purchasing a copy of ISO 17100 isn’t mandatory, although we do recommend it. Having a copy gives your team direct access to the full requirements for implementing, maintaining, and continually improving your management system, helping ensure that compliance measures are interpreted accurately. A copy provides in-depth information on policies, and frameworks necessary for certification, preparing for an audit and maintaining compliance.Â
You can purchase a copy of ISO 17100 for a discounted rate here.Â
No, UKAS accreditation for ISO 17100 Translation Services isn’t currently available.
The time required to implement ISO 17100 varies depending on factors such as your organisation’s size and complexity and existing management system practices.Â
During the initial implementation phase, organisations generally dedicate more time to building their management system. Once established, maintain the system often requires only a few hours per week, although this can vary based on how fully the system is integrated into daily operations. A well established and embedded system will naturally become more efficient over time, reducing ongoing maintenance needs.
Absolutely. Most of our clients have implemented ISO 9001 Quality Management and/or ISO 27001 Information Security, Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection Management alongside ISO 17100 Translation Services. The majority of ISO Standards follow the same Annex SL structure. This framework consists of common clauses that cover the essential aspects of a management system. This ensures a uniform approach across all the different ISO standards, allowing organisations to align their processes more efficiently.Â
Implementing multiple ISO standards simultaneously can save time and reduce costs. However, additional ISO standards can be adopted at a later date if organisations prefer.Â