ISO 9001 document control checklist
Ten controls an auditor will look for — and the evidence you should be able to produce for each one. Print it or save it as a PDF.
If you cannot answer these, the audit will find it.
Use this as a working checklist. For each item, the real question is not “do we have a document?” but “can we prove it was controlled?”
- Document register Every controlled document has an ID, owner, current revision, status and location. No orphan files.
- Approval matrix Define who must review and who must approve by document type, department and risk level.
- Revision numbering A revision is issued only after the approval gate is met. Drafts do not carry an approved revision number.
- Review cycle and quorum Each cycle has a named reviewer set, a quorum, a due date and a recorded decision for every reviewer.
- Change control Changes are described, reviewed and linked to the revision they produced. Emergency changes are recorded too.
- Distribution and access Only the current approved revision is published to readers. Superseded revisions remain available for audit.
- Retention and archiving Retention periods are defined by document class. Archived documents remain readable and attributable.
- External documents Customer specifications, regulations and supplier documents are registered with their source and version.
- Training and acknowledgement Where required, record who must acknowledge a revision and when the acknowledgement was completed.
- Audit evidence pack You can produce, on request: the revision in force, the reviewers, the approvals, the diff and the audit trail.
This checklist is a practical aid, not legal or certification advice. Requirements vary by standard, scope and certification body.
Most teams have the checklist. Few have the evidence.
A spreadsheet can list documents. It cannot prove who approved Rev 12, what changed, or that the approval gate was met before publication.
What dicimint records automatically
- Every reviewer decision, with actor and timestamp.
- The exact revision content at approval time.
- The diff between the prior and approved revision.
- The approval gate and quorum result.
- An audit trail that cannot be rewritten.
About this checklist.
Is this the official ISO 9001 checklist?
No. This is a practical document-control checklist based on common ISO 9001 and audit expectations. It is not a substitute for the standard, your certification body's guidance or legal advice.
Can we use it without buying dicimint?
Yes. Print it or save it as a PDF. If you want the controls enforced rather than documented, that is what dicimint does.
Turn the checklist into a controlled process.
Import one document set and run a review cycle. The revision, approval and audit evidence are produced automatically.