End-to-end architecture
Processes define inputs, outputs, owners, obligations, controls, escalation and acceptance at every interface.
IAF Standards Programme
IAF Automotive Process & Compliance
Integrated process control and verifiable evidence across the lifecycle
A system for turning safety, sustainability, digital-integrity and market obligations into controlled activities, accountable decisions and traceable evidence.
First Edition | Working Draft 0.1 | 13 September 2026
Read the Full Working Draft30 clauses | Annexes A-L | Integrated domain matrix
At a glance
From Every Obligation to Its Control, Evidence and Decision
The standard maps what is required, who owns the control, which configuration is covered and why the evidence supports release. Success in one domain cannot compensate for an unacceptable failure in another.
Accountable decisions
Critical approvals retain a named natural person even when tools automate rules or workflows.
Lifecycle configuration
Products, software, services, suppliers, markets and evidence stay connected through controlled change.
Stop and remedy
Workers can stop or quarantine affected work while incidents and incomplete obligations remain visible.
Assessment architecture
Integrated Domains Follow the Organization's Actual Role
Core governance and evidence always apply. Technical and operational domains are triggered by the activities, products, services and risks in scope.
Governance and evidence
Context, leadership, obligations, risk, people, records, planning, change and conformity.
Product and operational safety
Specification, design, integration, human interaction and safety assurance.
Environment, circularity, conduct and labour
Sustainability impacts, responsible business, employment and trade duties.
Cybersecurity, updates, AI and data
Digital assets, configuration change, automated decisions, privacy and connected services.
Energy, automation and supply
Batteries, propulsion, infrastructure interfaces and externally supplied outputs.
Production, aftermarket and resilience
Testing, logistics, repair, recovery, service continuity and incident response.
Framework structure
The Main Clauses in Six Clear Groups
This table provides a concise route through the working draft. The complete technical requirements and annexes remain available in the PDF.
| Clauses | Group | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 01-04 | Foundation and Architecture | Purpose, application rules, terms, context, process maps and obligation-to-evidence links. |
| 05-10 | Leadership and Release Control | Accountability, market duties, integrated risk, resources, evidence integrity and release gates. |
| 11-19 | Engineering and Technology | Product development, safety, sustainability, cybersecurity, updates, AI, data, energy and automated mobility. |
| 20-24 | Value Chain and Continuity | Supply integrity, production, testing, logistics, aftermarket, conduct, labour and continuing support. |
| 25-27 | Change and Corrective Action | Integrated change control, performance evaluation, incidents, remedies and evidence freshness. |
| 28-30 | Readiness and Conformity | Future technologies, internal assessment, system improvement and permitted claims. |
Need the technical detail? The full document provides an applicability matrix, obligation register, criticality rules, evidence exchange, lifecycle gates and decision protocols.
Key ideas
What Readers Should Take Away
Evidence must work in both directions
Teams should move from an obligation to its proof and from a released item back to the duties that authorized it.
An unresolved output cannot silently become an accepted input
Handoffs define acceptance conditions and preserve deficiencies until disposition.
A contract does not transfer accountability by itself
External work remains inside the control boundary when it can affect an in-scope obligation.
A tool cannot hide the accountable decision maker
Critical approvals retain human authority, separation and conflict controls.
Schedule and revenue do not override stop authority
Work resumes only after containment, disposition and required evidence are confirmed.
Using the document
From Context and Obligations to a Controlled Release Decision
Development status: Working Draft 0.1 is proposed for technical review and pilot implementation. Technical validation and formal adoption are required before operational use.
01Declare roles, sites, products, markets and lifecycle interfaces
02Build the process map and obligation-to-evidence register
03Apply domain controls, independent checks and release gates
04Monitor change, incidents, corrective action and continuing validity
Continue with the full technical document
Use all 30 clauses and Annexes A-L for domain applicability, lifecycle gates, records and conformity decisions.