A1.9: Is this a renewal or your first Cyber Essentials application?
Is this application a renewal of an existing certification or is it the first time you have applied for certification?
Source: IASME Cyber Essentials Danzell question set v16.3
Select 'Renewal' in A1.9 if your organisation has achieved Cyber Essentials before, even if the earlier certificate has lapsed. Select 'First Time Application' if it never has. The choice does not change the technical questions, which are always marked against the requirements in force today, currently v3.3 and the Danzell question set.
Is A1.9 an automatic fail?
No. A1.9 records information about your organisation and is not marked against a technical requirement, so no answer to it fails the assessment. Inaccurate or contradictory details may be returned by the assessor for correction.
- Answer type
- Renewal or first time a multiple choice question
- IASME guidance
- If you have previously achieved Cyber Essentials, please select "Renewal". If you have not previously achieved Cyber Essentials, please select "First Time Application".
- Requirement enforced
- Section A1 collects the details that appear on the certificate and shape which later questions are shown.
- Outcome if non-compliant
- Not marked against a requirement; inaccurate details may be returned for correction
What does A1.9 ask?
A1.9 asks: “Is this application a renewal of an existing certification or is it the first time you have applied for certification?”
A1.9 asks whether this application is a renewal of an existing certification or the first time you have applied. IASME's guidance: if you have previously achieved Cyber Essentials, select 'Renewal'; if not, select 'First Time Application'.
Renewing does not carry over last year's answers as compliant. A certificate is valid for 12 months and each renewal is marked against the current requirements, so anything that changed in April 2026 (such as the definitive statement that cloud services cannot be excluded) applies to you now. See how renewal works and what changed in 2026.
Which option should you choose for A1.9?
Choose the option for A1.9 that is enforced today across the whole scope, and complete the notes wherever the option requires them.
Choose Renewal if your organisation, under the same legal entity, has held a Cyber Essentials certificate before. Choose First Time Application otherwise. If the entity has changed (for example after a merger), use the history of the entity named in A1.1.
What mistakes do applicants make with A1.9?
A common mistake with A1.9: copying last year's answers into a renewal without checking them against the current question set.
- Assuming a Windows 10 estate that passed in 2025 still passes now; after 14 October 2025 it needs Extended Security Updates.
- Selecting First Time Application for a renewal because the old certificate lapsed.
- Letting the certificate expire before renewing, which leaves a gap in certified status that contracts may notice.
How do you get A1.9 right?
Work through these steps before you enter A1.9 in the portal:
- Check whether the organisation in A1.1 has held a Cyber Essentials certificate before, even a lapsed one; if so, select Renewal.
- Re-answer every technical question against the current Danzell set rather than copying last year's answers.
How do assessors check A1.9?
Where to go next
- Renewing Cyber EssentialsWhat changes at renewal
- RecertificationGlossary
- How to get certifiedThe application, step by step
- What Cyber Essentials costsIASME fee bands and assessor prices
- All A1 questionsYour organisation
- Cyber Essentials checklistThe evidence to gather for every question
- Check your readinessScore your answers, auto-fails first
Other A1 questions
- A1.7A1.7Multiple choice + notesWhat is your main business?Multiple choice + notes
- A1.8A1.8NotesWhat is your website address?Notes
- A1.10A1.10Multiple choice + notesWhat are the two main reasons for applying for certification?Multiple choice + notes
- A1.10.1A1.10.1NotesWho is the commercial contracting organisation?Notes
Frequently asked questions
A1.9 in the 2026 Danzell Cyber Essentials question set asks: "Is this application a renewal of an existing certification or is it the first time you have applied for certification?" It is a multiple choice question.
Select 'Renewal' in A1.9 if your organisation has achieved Cyber Essentials before, even if the earlier certificate has lapsed. Select 'First Time Application' if it never has. The choice does not change the technical questions, which are always marked against the requirements in force today, currently v3.3 and the Danzell question set.
No. A1.9 records information about your organisation and is not marked against a technical requirement, so no answer to it fails the assessment. Inaccurate or contradictory details may be returned by the assessor for correction.
Certification is generally treated as valid for 12 months, after which you renew by completing the current question set again. Check the date on your certificate.
No. Renewals use the question set in force on the day you apply. Since April 2026 that is the Danzell set, v16.3, assessed against Requirements for IT Infrastructure v3.3.
Would you pass the 2026 question set?
Answer 24 yes or no questions, built by the assessors who mark Cyber Essentials, and get a readiness score in about five minutes, with any auto-fail questions you miss flagged first in your results.
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