Qualiopi 2026: What Changes on November 1st

On 1 November 2026, decree no. 2026-728 of 1 August 2026 replaces the list of indicators in France’s national quality framework for training, the standard behind Qualiopi certification. The framework goes from 32 to 33 indicators: thirteen existing indicators are rewritten, two of them only cosmetically, and a new indicator 33 applies to apprenticeship training centres (CFAs). The seven criteria and the audit rules stay the same. If you do not run apprenticeships, ten indicators change for you: 1, 2, 3, 7, 12, 19, 27, 30, 31 and 32.

This guide is for providers that are already certified and preparing their next audit. For each changed indicator it gives the words the decree adds, which kinds of training it applies to, and the evidence to gather. The government presents the reform as a way to “fight fraud and strengthen trust in the system”. If you are getting certified for the first time, start with our complete Qualiopi certification guide.

1. What applies to you, by type of training

The framework splits training into four categories, defined in article L.6313-1 of the French Labour Code: training courses, skills assessments (bilans de compétences), accreditation of prior experience (VAE) and apprenticeship training. Each indicator only applies to the categories ticked in the decree’s table.

Two notes. Indicators 3 and 7 still apply only when your training leads to a professional certification. And indicators 30 and 31 change so little that audits should not feel the difference: funders’ feedback is now collected “where applicable”, and indicator 31 changes by a single connecting word.

2. Indicator by indicator: what is added and what to prepare

The decree is in French. The quotes below are our translations; follow the links to the original. The “to prepare” column holds our recommendations, not official requirements: your certification body decides what it accepts as evidence.

Public information: indicators 1, 2 and 3

Certification: indicator 7

When training leads to a professional certification, the provider must now be able to “prove its capacity to deliver this certification, including as an authorised body”. If you prepare learners for a certification you do not own, keep the signed agreement with the certification owner at hand and check that it covers the right certification and period.

Learner protection: indicators 12, 14 and 15

This is the change that reaches the most providers, because indicator 12 applies to every category. After the measures to keep learners engaged and prevent drop-out, the text adds that the provider “ensures the prevention and handling of any situation of violence, including sexist and sexual violence, harassment or discrimination in the course of their training”.

• Indicator 12, for everyone: a written procedure, a named person or address for reports, information given to learners when they start, and an anonymised record of reports received and how they were handled. Fully online training is not exempt: the text covers “the course of their training”, not the premises.
• Indicator 14, CFAs: a procedure for handling “without delay” drop-outs caused by difficulties, violence or discrimination, at the training centre or at the host company.
• Indicator 15, CFAs: stronger information for apprentices under 18, information on support, prevention and reporting schemes, the contact details of the apprenticeship mediator, and reporting failures to the labour inspectorate.

Teaching resources: indicators 19 and 20

Indicator 19 adds two obligations for every category. First, for modules delivered remotely, the provider “verifies that learners actually follow them”. Second, above a number of trainers per course set by ministerial order, the provider has a teaching lead for each course, responsible for coordinating the trainers. The next section covers what you can show for the first obligation.

Indicator 20, for CFAs only, now requires good programme management, the involvement of apprentices, trainers and employers in governance, and, when the share of teaching hours delivered by permanent staff falls below a threshold also set by ministerial order, stronger teaching supervision and quality control.

As of 20 October 2026, neither order has been published in the Journal officiel. Some sites already quote figures, such as 8 trainers or 50%: those come from a draft order, not from a text in force. Prepare how you coordinate your trainers without building around a threshold that may still change.

Subcontracting: indicator 27

If you subcontract training or use umbrella-company trainers, for example freelancers, you already had to make sure they meet the framework. You now also have to record that “in the subcontracting contracts”. In practice: a clause in each contract that sets out the framework’s requirements, and a record of the checks you run, such as a questionnaire, a yearly review or a check of the materials.

Continuous improvement: indicators 30, 31 and 32

Indicator 32 replaces “improvement measures” with “a continuous improvement process” and adds “a risk analysis on the quality of the training delivered”. A simple table is often enough: the risk (a trainer becomes unavailable, an online module nobody finishes, a funder changes its rules), its likelihood, the planned response, who owns it and the review date. Keep every version: the auditor is looking for a process over time, not a document written the day before.

Identify the risk, record your response, then review the result. Keep dated versions to show how your process develops.

The new indicator 33, for CFAs

Indicator 33 applies only to apprenticeship training. The CFA has learners evaluate the content and the teaching, separately from the general satisfaction survey, shares the results with teaching teams, turns them into a formal continuous-improvement process and measures its effectiveness periodically. The simplest version is a questionnaire per module, run at a different time from the overall satisfaction survey, with results reviewed in a teaching meeting and dated minutes.

3. What does not change

• The seven criteria. The indicators sit under the same seven criteria.
• Nineteen indicators, word for word. Indicators 4 to 6, 8 to 11, 13, 16 to 18, 21 to 26, 28 and 29 keep their text.
• The audit rules. The decree replaces only the first part of the annex, the indicators. The second part stays in place: the three-year cycle, initial, surveillance and renewal audits, minor and major non-conformities. The order of 6 June 2019, which details these rules (including a surveillance audit between the 14th and 22nd month), has not been amended in 2026: its last update dates from July 2025.
• Your certificate. The decree does not call for a new certification. It changes what will be checked, not the cycle you are in.

Which version applies to your next audit?

The decree takes effect on 1 November 2026 with no transition clause. The 6 June 2019 order says a surveillance audit checks that “the framework in force is still applied”, so an audit held on or after 1 November should use the new version, and several certification bodies say they will do exactly that. But as of 20 October 2026 we found no official position on audits scheduled before that date. And the reading guide published by the ministry is still version 9, from January 2024, written for 32 indicators. That is why the last step in the list below is to ask your certification body, in writing.

4. Online training: proving that learners follow it

For a provider that trains online, the most concrete change is in indicator 19: verifying that remote modules are actually followed. The decree does not say how. What follows is our reading; check it against your certification body’s.

A course platform can produce useful evidence, as long as you know what each piece really shows:

None of these is enough on its own. What convinces is the combination: a written rule (for example, a follow-up after seven days without activity), the export that shows who was inactive, and the record of the follow-up. That loop, more than login time, is what demonstrates follow-up. Two moments make it easier: a first week of onboarding that sets the pace from the start, and dated feedback on exercises, which leaves a record of the follow-up.

In SchoolMaker, you can export each student’s progress and activity (first and last viewing dates, progress, estimated activity time, quiz results), quiz and form answers, and conversation history, as CSV. Team permissions can be limited to one programme, which helps show who follows which course. SchoolMaker is not a Qualiopi tool, though: it does not keep the indicator 12 report log, the indicator 27 subcontractor register or the indicator 32 risk analysis, and it does not make a provider compliant. Those documents stay on your side.

Combine activity records, follow-up with the learner and a saved record of the exchange. Each piece shows a different part of the follow-up.

5. Your to-do list before the next audit

1. Find your indicators. Use the table in section 1 to list the changed indicators that apply to your categories.
2. Review every course page and ad for indicator 1: type of recognition, format, available funding, no ambiguous promises.
3. Add the calculation method next to every published results rate (indicator 2).
4. Write the violence, harassment and discrimination procedure (indicator 12), name who receives reports, and inform current learners, not just new ones.
5. Write your remote follow-up rule (indicator 19) and check you can produce the evidence: activity export, follow-ups, messages.
6. Update your subcontracting contracts with a clause on the framework (indicator 27).
7. Start your risk analysis (indicator 32) and date it.
8. If you are a CFA, add the procedures for indicators 14 and 15, the management and governance points of indicator 20, and the teaching evaluation of indicator 33.
9. Ask your certification body, in writing, which version of the framework your next audit will use and what evidence it expects for the new points.

6. Frequently asked questions

Do I need to get Qualiopi certified again?

No. The decree changes the list of indicators, not the audit rules or the length of the certificate. You stay in your cycle: the new indicators will be checked at your next audits.

How many indicators does the new Qualiopi framework have?

Thirty-three, up from thirty-two. Indicator 33 is new and applies only to apprenticeships. As before, each provider is assessed only on the indicators that apply to what it delivers.

Does indicator 12 apply to fully online training?

Yes. The text covers violence, harassment and discrimination “in the course of their training”. A live online class, a forum or learner-to-learner messaging are all part of it.

What is the trainer threshold for the teaching lead?

The decree leaves that number to an order from the minister responsible for vocational training. As of 20 October 2026 the order is unpublished: the figures in circulation come from a draft and are not binding.

Sources

• Decree no. 2026-728 of 1 August 2026, articles 1 and 2: new indicator text and entry into force (in French).
• National quality framework, version in force on 6 October 2026: the 32-indicator framework before the reform (in French).
• Order of 6 June 2019 on audit procedures, article 2 (in French).
• Government press release of 6 August 2026 on strengthening Qualiopi (in French).

Checked against Légifrance on 20 October 2026. This article is not legal advice: for your situation, rely on the official text and your certification body.