Quality Policy Template

Support your organization’s approach to quality management with our free, downloadable Quality Policy Template. It can be used as a starting point for creating a policy aligned with the principles and structure of the ISO 9001 quality management system standard.

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A Quality Policy is a documented statement that defines an organization’s overall intentions, direction, and commitment to quality. It is established and authorized by top management and forms a core requirement of an effective Quality Management System (QMS).

Under ISO 9001, a Quality Policy must:

• Be appropriate to the organization’s purpose and context
• Provide a framework for setting quality objectives
• Include a commitment to satisfy applicable requirements
• Include a commitment to continual improvement of the QMS

The Quality Policy should be documented, communicated, understood, and applied throughout the organization.

A documented Quality Policy helps businesses to provide clarity. It helps to ensure that employees, customers, and other interested parties understand your commitment to quality and how it supports business objectives.

Without a clearly defined Quality Policy, organizations may experience:

• Misalignment between strategic goals and day-to-day operations
• Inconsistent approaches to quality across departments or locations
• Increased risk of nonconformities during internal or external audits
• Reduced confidence from customers, suppliers, or regulators

A well-structured Quality Policy can help set expectations and can support effective quality planning and performance evaluation.

Customer satisfaction and retention improvements

ePlus Inc., a US technology solutions provider, achieved multi-site ISO 9001 recertification covering its procurement, order processing, logistics, and quality management functions.

The recertification emphasized ePlus’s commitment to continuous process improvement, stronger supplier relationships and enhanced operational consistency, which the company states supports improved customer satisfaction and more reliable service delivery across its core service offerings.

Source: ePlus

Organizational performance and growth outcomes

Aeluma, Inc., a US semiconductor technology company, achieved ISO 9001 certification for its quality management system in 2024.

Aeluma highlights that the certification underscores its commitment to operational excellence and process efficiency, and is expected to support reduced operational risks, improved performance consistency, and stronger confidence from customers and partners as it advances commercialization of its technologies.

Source: Aeluma

Read more about the benefits of ISO 9001 in our dedicated article.

In practice, a Quality Policy should clearly express what the organization is committed to doing and provide a high-level framework for how quality is managed across the business. Rather than being generic, it should reflect the organization’s priorities and link directly to how it meets customer needs, fulfills its obligations, improves performance, and ensures people can deliver quality outcomes.

A well-structured Quality Policy can often cover a small number of core commitments. These commitments can then be supported by specific processes, objectives, and controls within a quality management system.

The examples below illustrate how a Quality Policy might address common themes required by ISO 9001, and how these can potentially link to specific clauses of the standard.

Example 1: Meeting customer needs

A Quality Policy may explain that the organization aims to understand customer needs and deliver products or services that meet agreed requirements.

ISO 9001 link:

• Clause 5.1.2—Customer focus
  Top management shall demonstrate leadership and commitment by ensuring customer and applicable federal, state and industry specific requirements are determined, understood and consistently met.

Example 2: Following rules and requirements

A Quality Policy may state that the organization is committed to meeting legal, regulatory and contractual requirements that apply to its activities.

ISO 9001 link:

• Clause 4.2—Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties
  The organization shall determine the requirements of relevant interested parties that are relevant to the quality management system.

Example 3: Improving how the business works

A Quality Policy may include a commitment to regularly review performance and make improvements to processes, products or services.

ISO 9001 link:

• Clause 10.3—Continual improvement
  The organization shall continually improve the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the quality management system.

Example 4: Clear roles and capable people

A Quality Policy may explain that responsibilities are clearly defined and that staff are supported to develop the skills needed to do their work effectively.

ISO 9001 link:

• Clause 5.3—Organizational roles, responsibilities and authorities
• Clause 7.2—Competence

The organization shall ensure that persons doing work under its control are competent.

ISO 9001:2015 requires organizations to establish, implement, and maintain a Quality Policy as part of their Quality Management System.

A compliant Quality Policy can demonstrate that your organization:

• Is committed to meeting customer and applicable regulatory requirements
• Establishes a framework for setting and reviewing quality objectives
• Supports risk-based thinking and continual improvement
• Is led and authorized by top management

The Quality Policy also plays a key role in supporting alignment between your organization’s strategic direction and its commitment to continual improvement.

A Quality Policy is a high-level statement that defines your organization’s commitment and overall direction regarding quality. It is strategic in nature and applies across the organization.

A Quality Plan, by contrast, is an operational document. It explains how quality objectives will be achieved in practice by outlining responsibilities, controls, processes, and monitoring activities.

Both documents play important roles within a Quality Management System and support alignment with ISO 9001 requirements when used together.

Our free Quality Policy Template is intended to provide an example that organizations may use as a reference to:

• Support the creation of documented information required under ISO 9001
• Clearly communicate quality commitments internally and externally
• Establish a strong foundation for defining quality objectives and supporting continual improvement
• Understand the documented information typically reviewed during an ISO 9001 audit and enhance consistency in documenting quality commitments

Enter and submit your email address below to download your free Quality Policy Template.