Can I Move My Cyber Essentials to Another Certification Body?

Why organisations switch

• No named assessor, or a different person every time.
• Support that stops at a help centre article when a question needs judgement.
• Renewal pricing that has crept up, or bundled software they never use.
• Slow turnaround when a tender deadline appears.
• Wanting Cyber Essentials Plus or IASME Cyber Assurance from the same team.

What actually happens to your old assessment

Cyber Essentials is assessed through the IASME portal, and each Certification Body works within its own account. In practice that means:

• Your existing certificate remains valid and verifiable on the IASME registry until it expires.
• Your new assessment is completed fresh rather than pre-populated from last year's answers.
• Nothing about switching is reported to buyers, and there is no gap in your certification history provided you certify before expiry.

Keep a copy of last year's submission if you can. It makes re-answering fast, particularly the scope statement and asset list.

Timing the switch

Start six to eight weeks before expiry. That gives room to fix anything that has drifted during the year – typically a new starter without MFA, a laptop that has fallen out of support, or a cloud service adopted since the last assessment. If you have already lapsed, see reinstating a lapsed certificate quickly.

What to ask a new Certification Body before you commit

1. Are you an IASME-licensed Certification Body, or a reseller passing work on?
2. Will I have a named assessor I can speak to?
3. Do you review my submission before it is marked, or only after?
4. What is the realistic turnaround if I am prepared?
5. What is included at the price, and what is extra?
6. Can you also handle Cyber Essentials Plus and Cyber Assurance later?

More on this in choosing a Cyber Essentials Certification Body and self-service vs assessor-led certification.

Switching to NixInfinity-AI

We are an IASME-licensed Certification Body, so we review your submission and issue the certificate ourselves. Renewals cost £320 + VAT, there is no rush surcharge, and you deal with a named assessor throughout. Bring your current expiry date and we will work backwards from it.

For the mechanics of renewal itself, read the 2026 renewal guide.