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The Assurance Desk

Coalfire Certification, Inc. review

Certification body

A US certification body accredited by ANAB for ISO 27001, 27701 and 42001, among others, that describes itself as the certification arm of consultancy Coalfire Systems.

Relevant if you want ISO 42001 certification from a body that has already certified named technology firms

Price Not published
Indemnity cover Not published
How it uses AI Not published
Facts last checked

Not published means we did not find it on the firm's own pages.

Coalfire Certification scores

Six scores, each 1 to 5. The evidence for each is further down.

Help when things go wrong 4/5
Qualifications of the people who do the work 5/5
What it publishes about fees 1/5
Knowledge of your sector 4/5
Independence from what it sells 2/5
Who carries the risk if the advice is wrong 1/5

What Coalfire Certification offers, and what it publishes

You get a certifier that ANAB's own directory lists as accredited for ISO 27001 and ISO 42001, the AI management standard, among others. Its client directory lists 15 organisations certified to ISO 42001:2023, including Autodesk, Datadog, Axon Enterprise and Eightfold AI. It also shows a suspended certificate, for Aera Technology.

Coalfire Certification does not publish a price, day rate or worked example; its service pages lead to a 'Contact a specialist' form. It does not publish professional indemnity insurance or liability terms. Its appeals page says even if an appeal reinstates a suspended or withdrawn certificate, you cannot claim resulting costs or losses from it.

Coalfire Certification's own lead auditors also run optional readiness assessments and mock audits on the standards it certifies. Its Quality Statement does not say whether a different auditor then does the certification audit. Its impartiality policy deals with staff and client accounts, but not with conflicts from its consulting affiliate, Coalfire Systems. Ask who will audit you.

Strengths

  • ANAB accreditation for ISO/IEC 42001:2023 is independently verified via ANAB's own public CB Directory (ref. Coalfire-MS-4539, status 'Accredited'), not just a claim on the firm's own marketing pages.
  • Already has a real, active ISO/IEC 42001 certification track record, 15 named organisations certified as of this check, including well-known technology and AI-sector firms (Autodesk, Datadog, Axon Enterprise, Eightfold AI), rather than an unused accreditation.
  • Runs a public, searchable certificate directory that discloses certificate status transparently, including at least one currently suspended certificate (Aera Technology, Inc.), which is a genuine transparency signal rather than a curated client-logo list.
  • Publishes defined complaints and appeals procedures that separate the audit team supporting a client from the staff who review a complaint or appeal against that same client's audit.

Things to check

  • Coalfire Certification's own lead auditors deliver optional pre-certification 'readiness assessments' and mock audits against the same standards (including ISO/IEC 42001 and ISO/IEC 27001) the firm then certifies, and its public Quality Statement does not say whether a different auditor is required to perform the subsequent certification audit.
  • Coalfire Certification is described on its own site as 'the certification arm of Coalfire Systems, Inc.', a large cybersecurity consulting, penetration-testing and assessment firm, and its published impartiality policy addresses only staff- and account-level neutrality, it does not disclose any policy managing conflicts arising from that affiliate consulting relationship (unlike some peer certification bodies, which publish an explicit bar on certifying organisations their own group has consulted for).
  • No professional indemnity insurance or liability terms are published anywhere on Coalfire Certification's public site, and its own appeals page states that even where an appeal succeeds and a suspended or withdrawn certificate is reinstated, no claim can be made against Coalfire Certification for reimbursement of any resulting costs or losses.

Common questions

Does Coalfire Certification publish its fees?

No. We found no prices, rate cards or worked examples on its site on 20 September 2026. Its service pages lead to a 'Contact a specialist' or 'Get services overview' form.

Has it actually issued ISO 42001 certificates?

Yes. Its own directory lists 15 organisations certified to ISO 42001:2023, including Autodesk, issued 8 August 2025, and Datadog, issued 9 March 2026.

Who accredits it, and for what?

ANAB. Its public directory lists Coalfire Certification, reference Coalfire-MS-4539, as 'Accredited' for ISO 9001, ISO 22301, ISO/IEC 20000-1, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27701 and ISO/IEC 42001.

Do its own auditors also help clients prepare?

Yes. Its own lead auditors run optional readiness assessments and mock audits on the standards it certifies. Its Quality Statement does not say whether a different auditor then carries out the certification audit.

Evidence for each Coalfire Certification score

Show our working

Notes behind each thing to check

  • Coalfire Certification's own lead auditors deliver optional pre-certification 'readiness assessments' and mock audits against the same standards (including ISO/IEC 42001 and ISO/IEC 27001) the firm then certifies, and its public Quality Statement does not say whether a different auditor is required to perform the subsequent certification audit. (Coalfire Certification services page (coalfirecertification.com/services.html), checked 2026-09-20.)
  • Coalfire Certification is described on its own site as 'the certification arm of Coalfire Systems, Inc.', a large cybersecurity consulting, penetration-testing and assessment firm, and its published impartiality policy addresses only staff- and account-level neutrality, it does not disclose any policy managing conflicts arising from that affiliate consulting relationship (unlike some peer certification bodies, which publish an explicit bar on certifying organisations their own group has consulted for). (Coalfire Certification quality statement (coalfirecertification.com/quality-statement.html) and site footer trademark notice, checked 2026-09-20; no equivalent affiliate-conflict policy was found on the public site.)
  • No professional indemnity insurance or liability terms are published anywhere on Coalfire Certification's public site, and its own appeals page states that even where an appeal succeeds and a suspended or withdrawn certificate is reinstated, no claim can be made against Coalfire Certification for reimbursement of any resulting costs or losses. (Coalfire Certification appeals page (coalfirecertification.com/appeals.html), checked 2026-09-20; no PI-insurance disclosure was found on the site.)
Six criteria, each scored 1 to 5, with the evidence for each.
CriterionScoreEvidence
Help when things go wrong 4/5 Published, procedural complaints and appeals processes with defined staff separation from the affected audit team, plus a public certificate directory that visibly discloses a real suspended certificate (Aera Technology) rather than only showing active clients; docked one point because neither page commits to a response timeframe or SLA (coalfirecertification.com/complaints.html, /appeals.html, /client-directory.html, checked 2026-09-20).
Qualifications of the people who do the work 5/5 ANAB's own public CB Directory independently confirms Coalfire Certification (ref. Coalfire-MS-4539) is currently 'Accredited', with a scope that precisely and explicitly includes ISO/IEC 42001:2023 alongside ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 20000-1, ISO 22301, ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27701, verified against the register, not merely self-reported (anabdirectory.remoteauditor.com, checked 2026-09-20).
What it publishes about fees 1/5 No prices, rate cards or worked examples were found anywhere on the public site; every services page routes to a 'Contact a specialist' or 'Get services overview' form (coalfirecertification.com/services.html, /approach.html, checked 2026-09-20).
Knowledge of your sector 4/5 The firm states it serves 'cloud and technology, healthcare, and financial services' clients, and its own public certificate directory backs this with named, verifiable clients concentrated in technology and AI (Autodesk, Datadog, Axon Enterprise, Eightfold AI among 15 ISO/IEC 42001 holders); docked one point for having no structured, named-practitioner case studies (coalfirecertification.com/quality-statement.html and /data/data.json, checked 2026-09-20).
Independence from what it sells 2/5 A published impartiality policy exists (staff- and account-level neutrality plus an independent external oversight committee), but the firm's own lead auditors deliver consulting-style 'readiness assessments' and mock audits on the standards it certifies, and no policy addresses conflicts from its branding relationship with affiliate consulting firm Coalfire Systems, Inc. (coalfirecertification.com/quality-statement.html and /services.html, checked 2026-09-20).
Who carries the risk if the advice is wrong 1/5 No professional indemnity insurance cover or liability terms are published on the public site, and the appeals page explicitly disclaims any claim for cost or loss reimbursement even after a successful appeal reinstates a certificate (coalfirecertification.com/appeals.html, checked 2026-09-20).

Sources for Coalfire Certification

  • Colorado Secretary of State confirms Coalfire Certification Inc as a corporation in Good Standing, formed 18 January 2013, principal office 330 N Wabash Ave Ste 1430, Chicago, IL 60611. (Entity ID 20131037156; status Good Standing; formed 01/18/2013) (coloradosos.gov, checked 20 September 2026)
  • ANAB's own public Certification Body Directory lists Coalfire Certification, Inc. as an accredited management-systems CB, with a scope that explicitly includes ISO/IEC 42001:2023 (AI management systems), independently confirming the firm's own website claim rather than taking it at face value. (Accreditation reference Coalfire-MS-4539; status 'Accredited'; Accredited To: ISO 22301, ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 20000-1, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27701, ISO/IEC 42001) (anabdirectory.remoteauditor.com, checked 20 September 2026)
  • Coalfire Certification's own public certificate directory shows it has already issued live ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certificates to named organisations, not just held a dormant accreditation. (15 organisations certified to ISO/IEC 42001:2023 as of this check, including Autodesk Inc. (cert 2025-080802, issued 8 Aug 2025), Datadog Inc. (cert 2026-030901, issued 9 Mar 2026), Axon Enterprise Inc. (cert 2025-112601) and Eightfold AI Inc. (cert 2025-080801)) (coalfirecertification.com, checked 20 September 2026)
  • Coalfire Certification publicly discloses at least one suspended certificate in its live certificate directory, rather than only showing active clients. (Aera Technology, Inc., certificate 2020-052801 (ISO/IEC 27001:2022) shown as 'Suspended') (coalfirecertification.com, checked 20 September 2026)
  • Coalfire Certification's own site states it offers optional 'readiness assessments', including a mock audit, delivered by its own lead auditors, on the same standards it then certifies. ("Optional readiness assessments are delivered against the mandatory certification requirements... One of our lead auditors facilitates the readiness assessment and provides opportunities for your organization to undergo a mock audit directly from certification body staff.") (coalfirecertification.com, checked 20 September 2026)

ANAB (ref. Coalfire-MS-4539), accredited for ISO/IEC 42001:2023 (AI management systems) ANAB (ref. Coalfire-MS-4539), accredited for ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27701 ANAB (ref. Coalfire-MS-4539), accredited for ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 20000-1 and ISO 22301

Seeking ISO 42001 certificationExposed to the EU AI ActRegulated sectors

Where this firm appears

If you represent this firm and something here is wrong or out of date, email hello@theassurancedesk.com with the evidence.

This is an independent editorial guide, not legal advice.