PR328 CQI-IRCA certified course
ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Training in USA
ISO 9001 training for professionals who audit quality systems: a five-day course in planning, conducting, leading and reporting audits of a quality management system against ISO 9001. Delivered live online or privately for your team by our training partner EAS, a CQI and IRCA Approved Training Partner.
Request corporate training for a group from your organization.
Course overview
ISO 9001 lead auditor training teaches you to audit a quality management system from start to finish, and to lead the team that does it. A lead auditor plans the audit, assigns the work, judges the evidence, decides which findings are nonconformities and reports the result to top management.
Customers, regulators and certification bodies rely on these audits to decide whether a supplier’s quality system actually works. A well-run audit shows where processes drift from what is written, where risk is not being managed and where customer requirements are being missed, before those gaps turn into returns, recalls or lost contracts.
Over five days you practice each stage on a realistic case-study company: reading ISO 9001 as an auditor, building an audit plan, interviewing, following audit trails, writing nonconformity statements and running the closing meeting. The course follows the audit guidance in ISO 19011 and the third-party certification model in ISO/IEC 17021-1.
The course is certified by CQI-IRCA as course PR328. Passing it meets the training requirement for applying to CQI-IRCA auditor registration; the registration itself also needs audit experience, as explained under Career pathway.
| ISO 9001 Internal Auditor | ISO 9001 Lead Auditor (this course) | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Audit your own organization | Lead audit teams and audit other organizations, including suppliers |
| Length | 2 days | 5 days, 40 hours |
| Assessment | Course assessment | Continuous assessment and a written examination |
| Certificate | Certificate of completion from EAS | Certificate of successful completion of CQI-IRCA certified course PR328, from EAS |
Who should attend
The course suits people who audit, or will audit, quality systems in their own company, in their supply chain or for a certification body.
- Quality managers
- Run the internal audit program and need to judge whether audits are finding real problems.
- Quality engineers
- Audit processes and product controls, and support customer and certification audits.
- QMS professionals
- Maintain the documented system and prepare the organization for certification audits.
- Internal auditors
- Already audit departments and want to lead full system audits.
- Supplier quality auditors
- Carry out second-party audits of suppliers against ISO 9001 and customer requirements.
- Compliance managers
- Need a structured, evidence-based way to test whether controls work.
- Management system consultants
- Want to see their clients’ systems the way a certification auditor will.
- Aspiring lead auditors
- Plan to audit for a certification body or register with CQI-IRCA.
Before you enroll
- Required: a good working knowledge of ISO 9001:2015, including the requirements, the process approach, risk-based thinking and the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle.
- Not required: previous audit experience, or the internal auditor course.
- New to the standard? Take ISO 9001 foundation training first, or study the standard before day 1.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion you should be able to do the following. Select a stage to see its outcomes.
Five-day curriculum
Full days of tutor-led sessions and case-study exercises, with some evening preparation. The examination is on day 5.
Outline based on the current course; confirm the final agenda in the joining instructions.
Training formats
Compare the ways to take the course. Recognition is stated per format: only formats confirmed for PR328 carry the CQI-IRCA course certificate.
| Feature | Live virtual | Corporate in-house | Classroom | Self-paced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery | Tutor-led over video, with group exercises | Private course for your team, online or at your site | In person at a scheduled venue | Online study portal at your own pace |
| Best for | Individuals anywhere in the U.S. | Several people from one organization | People who prefer a room and a cohort | Knowledge refresh and preparation |
| Duration | 40 hours, as 5 days or split sessions | 40 hours, scheduled with you | 5 consecutive days | Self-scheduled |
| Interaction and assessment | Live tutor, breakout exercises, continuous assessment, written exam | As live virtual, using your own examples where suitable | As live virtual, face to face | Ask how assessment is arranged |
| CQI-IRCA PR328 certificate | Yes | Yes | Yes | Confirm before booking |
| Availability | See the schedule | On request | Only when listed on the schedule | On request |
| Action | Ask about live virtual | Request a proposal | Ask about classroom | Ask about self-paced |
Help me choose
Examination and certificate
How you are assessed
You are assessed in two ways, and you need to pass both: continuous assessment of your work in the exercises across the five days, and a written examination on day 5.
The examination length, format and pass mark, and the resit arrangements, are set out in the joining instructions. We confirm them in writing before you book.
What you receive
Delegates who pass both elements receive a certificate of successful completion of CQI-IRCA certified course PR328, issued by EAS. Delegates who attend but do not pass receive a certificate of attendance.
Course completion
What you get from this course: proof that you completed a CQI-IRCA certified lead auditor course and met its training requirement.
CQI-IRCA auditor registration
A separate professional registration you apply for directly to CQI-IRCA, with your training certificate and a log of audit experience. Passing the course does not make you a registered auditor.
Fees and schedule
We confirm the fee, the next dates and the time zone for your chosen format in writing. Group and in-company pricing is quoted separately.
| Dates | Format | Time zone | Fee (USD) | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No sessions are published on this page yet. Request the next available dates and the course fee, or check the training schedule. | ||||
Career pathway
Lead auditor training is one step in a longer path. Each stage below is separate, and only the last one is a professional registration.
- 1
QMS knowledge
Working knowledge of ISO 9001:2015, from study, foundation training or day-to-day work in a quality role.
Your starting point - 2
Lead auditor course
Pass PR328 to receive the certificate of successful completion. Attending without passing gives a certificate of attendance only.
This course - 3
Audit experience
For the Lead Auditor grade, CQI-IRCA asks for 7 audits totaling 35 days (at least 25 on site), with 3 full system audits as team leader, within 5 years of applying.
Gained at work or with a certification body - 4
CQI-IRCA registration
Apply online to CQI-IRCA with your certificate and audit log. Not leading audits yet? The Associate Auditor grade needs training only.
Issued by CQI-IRCA, not by IAS or EAS
Criteria are set by CQI-IRCA and can change; check quality.org before you apply.
Where the skills are used
- Quality management Running internal audit programs and preparing for certification audits.
- Supplier quality Second-party audits of suppliers and subcontractors.
- Compliance Testing whether documented controls work in practice.
- Management system consulting Reviewing client systems against what certification auditors look for.
- Internal audit leadership Leading audit teams and reporting to top management.
- Third-party auditing Working for a certification body, which sets its own additional competence requirements.
Build stronger internal audit capability across your organization
A private PR328 course trains your quality, supplier and compliance teams together, on dates that fit your operations.
- Group arrangements. One course for your team, live online or at your site.
- Mixed teams. Quality, engineering, supplier quality and compliance staff in one cohort.
- Practical exercises. Case-study audits, with your own processes used as examples where suitable.
- Scheduling. 40 hours arranged as five days or split sessions around production.
- For an accurate quote we need the number of participants, the format, preferred dates and your location.
Frequently asked questions
A five-day course that teaches you to plan, conduct, lead and report audits of a quality management system against ISO 9001, following ISO 19011. This course is certified by CQI-IRCA as PR328.
Five days, or 40 hours of tutor-led training. Live virtual courses can also run as split sessions; the joining instructions give exact times and time zones.
Yes. It is CQI-IRCA certified course PR328, delivered by EAS, a CQI and IRCA Approved Training Partner. Check that the format you choose is covered before you book; we confirm this in writing.
A good working knowledge of ISO 9001:2015: the requirements, the process approach, risk-based thinking and the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. No audit experience is required.
No. The internal auditor course is useful if you only audit your own organization, but it is not a prerequisite for lead auditor training.
Yes. The written examination on day 5 is part of the course. We confirm what the fee includes when we send it.
If you pass the continuous assessment and the examination, a certificate of successful completion of CQI-IRCA certified course PR328, issued by EAS. If you attend but do not pass, a certificate of attendance.
Course completion shows you passed a certified training course. Registration is a separate professional status you apply for to CQI-IRCA, with your certificate and evidence of audit experience. The course alone does not make you a registered auditor. See Career pathway.
Yes. Live virtual courses are tutor-led over video, with the same hours, exercises and examination. You need a stable connection, a webcam and a microphone.
Yes. We arrange private courses for groups, live online or at your site. Request a corporate proposal.
The fee depends on the format and whether it is a public or private course. We send the current fee in writing with the next dates. Request course fees.
Send the enquiry form below or call +1 (888) 493-0916. We confirm a date, send the invoice, and then the joining link and pre-course reading.
Get ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Training details
Tell us how you’d like to take the course. A training specialist will email the fee, the next dates and the brochure.