This International Standard specifies requirements for a quality management system when an organization:

a) needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and

b) aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

All the requirements of this International Standard are generic and are intended to be applicable to any organization, regardless of its type or size, or the products and services it provides.

NOTE 1 In this International Standard, the terms "product" or "service" only apply to products and services intended for, or required by, a customer.

NOTE 2 Statutory and regulatory requirements can be expressed as legal requirements.

This document gives guidelines for local governments on understanding and implementing a quality management system that meets the requirements of ISO 9001:2015, in order to meet the needs and expectations of their customers/citizens and all other relevant interested parties by consistently providing them with products and services.

It promotes implementing a quality management system in a responsible and accountable manner, through the application of ISO 9001 on a comprehensive basis. These guidelines do not add, change or modify the requirements of ISO 9001.

It is applicable to all local government processes at all levels (i.e. strategical, tactical-managerial and operational) in order to constitute a comprehensive quality management system that focuses on the local government achieving its objectives. The comprehensive character of this system is essential to ensure that all the areas of the local government have a specified level of reliability (i.e. effectiveness of the processes).

Annex A, as a starting point for users of this document, gives a diagnostic methodology for local governments to evaluate the scope and maturity of their processes and products and services. Annex B gives the processes necessary to provide reliable products and services to customers/citizens.