Our summary
ISO 37301 is an international standard for compliance management systems. According to the public ISO page, it sets out how an organisation can set up, develop, put in place, evaluate, maintain and improve an effective compliance management system. It was published in April 2021 by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 309 (Governance of organizations) and replaced ISO 19600:2014, which is now withdrawn. ISO reviewed the standard in 2026 and confirmed that it remains current. A short amendment on climate action was added in 2024.
The standard is meant for organisations of any size. It is a paid document: the full text (40 pages) must be bought from ISO or a national standards body. The ISO page shows the price, the formats available, and a package that combines it with related integrity standards such as ISO 37001. This entry only describes the public product page and does not reproduce the standard.
How auditors use it: Internal auditors and compliance leaders use ISO 37301 as a benchmark when they review how compliance is organised and managed. It helps auditors build an audit programme for the compliance function, compare current practice with a recognised international model, and point out gaps. Organisations that already follow other ISO management system standards can use it to align compliance with those systems.