How should an automotive supplier website show IATF 16949?
On an automotive supplier’s website, the IATF 16949 certificate is shown as it was printed: the logo only in the form it takes on the certificate, next to the certificate number, scope, site and expiry date. When a certificate is canceled, withdrawn or expires, certification bodies require every reference to it to be removed, including on the website; buyers can verify the certificate in the IATF Customer Portal.
Automotive was the largest sector in 2025, carrying about 17.5% of sector-based exports registered with the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), at 41.52 billion dollars; that is also why automotive is the first row of the certificate map by sector. This guide is the detail of that row. How a certificate generally belongs on a website is covered in the certified manufacturer website guide; here you will find only what is specific to automotive.
Which certificate does an automotive buyer ask for?
IATF 16949, the quality management system certificate of the automotive supply chain. On a certified company’s website, though, the real question is less whether the certificate exists than its details: which site, which scope, valid until when and under which number. The rules that bind the certificate are IATF’s own; the sixth edition was published on April 1, 2024 and took effect on January 1, 2025.
A caveat: IATF’s rulebook is a paid document and was not read directly for this guide. The rule statements below rest on the published terms of two certification bodies that pass these rules on to their clients as contract conditions: BSI’s IATF client requirements (Rev 2, October 2024) and DQS’s automotive annex (v004/03.2026). Your own certification body’s terms may differ in detail; the final word is in its contract.
How is an IATF 16949 certificate shown on a website?
As it was printed. Under both bodies' terms, the IATF logo may appear only as printed on the certificate, while a copy of the certificate may be used in marketing. So the right way is not to lift the IATF logo off the certificate and place it in the header or footer, but to show the certificate itself. Next to it, as the site’s own text, go the certificate number, scope, certified site, issuing body and expiry date; with that line a buyer can compare the certificate against their own record.
| Item | On the website | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Copy of the certificate, on the certificate page | Yes; may be used in marketing | BSI · DQS |
| IATF logo separated from the certificate (header, footer, product image) | No; the logo may appear only as printed on the certificate | BSI · DQS |
| Certificate number and verification path | Yes, in the certificate record; the buyer searches the IATF Customer Portal | IATF |
| References to an expired, withdrawn or canceled certificate | No; every reference is removed, including on the website | BSI · DQS |
| ISO logo | No; a certified company may not use the ISO logo | ISO |
Where IATF 16949 belongs on a website
- 01Copy of the certificate, on the certificate page
- 02IATF logo, separated from the certificate
- 03Certificate number and verification path
- 04References to an ended certificate
- 05ISO logo
What should an automotive website not say?
The most common mistakes are sentences that make the certificate look bigger than it is, and marks used in the wrong place:
- Lifting the IATF logo off the certificate and placing it in the site header, footer or product images.
- A phrase like “IATF-approved product”: a quality management system certificate is granted to the company’s processes and does not approve individual products.
- Describing a site or production line the certificate does not cover as certified.
- Using the ISO logo or presenting the company as “ISO certified”: ISO does not certify and does not allow certified companies to use its logo.
- Leaving any reference to an expired, suspended or withdrawn certificate on a page, in a PDF or in the footer.
What changed in automotive in 2026?
IATF published the interpretations of the sixth-edition rules (SI22–SI27) in June 2026; they took effect in July 2026. Like the rules, the interpretations are followed through your certification body; if anything changes on the website, it is the certificate record. In the same year, the new edition of ISO 9001 was published on September 16, 2026 and the 2015 edition was withdrawn the same day; if your site shows an ISO 9001 certificate next to IATF 16949, write the edition exactly as it appears on the certificate: “ISO 9001:2015” or “ISO 9001:2026”.
What happens on the website when the certificate ends?
It comes down the same day. BSI and DQS require every IATF 16949 reference to be removed, including on the website, when a certificate is canceled, withdrawn or expires. In practice that means knowing in how many places the reference sits on the site: the certificate page, the line on product pages, downloadable PDFs and the footer. Writing the expiry date into the record and keeping the renewal date in a calendar is the way to keep that list short.
How does a buyer verify an IATF 16949 certificate?
In the IATF Customer Portal, with the certificate’s IATF number or USI. For a buyer to run that search without asking the company, the number has to be written on the site, in the certificate record; a certificate image without a number sends the buyer back to email. If your site also shows an accredited management system certificate such as ISO 9001, it belongs elsewhere: in CertSearch, the international database of accredited certificates. The full four-step verification is in the is a company’s ISO certificate real guide.
How are the product page and the machine layer built?
The product page says at which site and under which certificate the product is made and links to the certificate record; that way the certificate is written once, in the right place, and products point to it. In the machine layer, the certificate can be marked up with schema.org’s Certification type, identical to the record visible on the page. That cannot be said to change how it appears on Google: today Google uses certification markup only in merchant listings, for the EU energy label and the vehicle CO2 classes of France and Germany; there is no support for an organization’s quality certificate. The value of the markup is telling every machine that reads the certificate the same thing the page says; to produce the visible record and the markup together, there is the certificate markup generator.
A short checklist for an automotive website
- Is the copy of the IATF 16949 certificate on the certificate page, with the logo only on the certificate?
- Are the certificate number, scope, certified site, issuing body and expiry date written as the site’s own text?
- Can a buyer search the IATF Customer Portal with the number?
- Do product pages link to the certificate that covers them?
- Is an IATF or ISO logo, separated from the certificate, left in the header, footer or product images?
- Is the renewal date in a calendar, and is the list of places to clear when it ends ready?
- If there is also an ISO 9001 certificate, is the edition written as on the certificate?
The information here is not legal advice; confirm the current requirements on IATF and certificate use from your certification body’s contract and from official sources.
Let’s read your site’s IATF 16949 record together, the way a buyer would verify it: in a free preliminary review we send a written note on where and how the certificate appears.
Request a free preliminary review
For a site that shows your certificates as a record buyers can verify, B2B website builds and measures the certificate page, the product scope and the path to a quote together.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I put the IATF logo in my website footer?
No. Under BSI’s and DQS’s IATF contract terms, the logo may appear only as printed on the certificate; on the website you can show a copy of the certificate on the certificate page.
What happens on the website when an IATF certificate ends?
Every reference is removed. When a certificate is canceled, withdrawn or expires, BSI and DQS require every IATF 16949 reference to be removed, including on the website; the certificate page, PDFs and footer are updated the same day.
Where does a buyer verify my IATF certificate?
In the IATF Customer Portal, with the certificate’s IATF number or USI. Writing the number into the certificate record on the site lets the buyer run that search without asking the company.