IFS Logistics 3, Broker 3.2, PACsecure 3, IFS Progress: 2026-2027

Which versions of IFS Logistics, Broker and PACsecure apply in 2026-2027?

The same as in 2025: IFS Logistics version 3, IFS Broker version 3.2 and IFS PACsecure version 3. The official pages of the three standards, read on 5 November 2026, announce no new version; their latest news concerns the doctrines.

A project launched in 2027 therefore targets these versions directly, together with their doctrine in force. Our IFS Logistics, IFS Broker and IFS PACsecure guide explains which standard fits which activity; what changes for IFS Food Version 8 is covered separately in IFS Food Version 8 changes in 2026-2027.

What do the doctrines published on 23 April 2026 change?

They clarify; they do not rewrite. The IFS announcement of 23 April 2026 explains the choice: the doctrines for IFS Food 8, IFS Logistics 3, IFS Broker 3.2 and IFS PACsecure 3 were updated to meet the GFSI 2024 benchmarking requirements and to prepare the IFS recognition application. They are treated as normative documents that supplement the standards, so publishing new versions is not necessary. IFS presents this as less administrative burden and continuity of certification.

According to the announcement, the updates cover errata and clarifications of specific requirements, notably the extra information that must be given to the certification body, and requirements for exceptional circumstances. The product safety culture definition has also been clarified. The three doctrines are available in English only.

For a site in Morocco, two practical consequences follow. If the working language is French, the IFS Logistics or IFS Broker auditor must speak it. If it is Arabic and the auditor does not speak it, the independent interpreter lengthens the audit by a fifth.

When do these rules apply? Each doctrine sets a general rule: new or adapted rules apply two months after publication of the relevant version, unless specified otherwise. As the three version 3 doctrines are dated April 2026, their new or adapted rules have therefore applied since summer 2026, unless a specific rule states otherwise: they apply to every audit in 2027.

Where does GFSI recognition of the three standards stand?

In progress for the current versions. The GFSI page of recognised programmes, read on 5 November 2026, lists under the version 2020 benchmarking requirements: IFS Logistics v 2.3 (scope G), IFS Broker v 3.1 (scope FII) and IFS PACsecure v 2 (scope I), next to IFS Food v 8. No IFS programme appears there yet under version 2024.

The page of programmes undergoing benchmarking against version 2024 cites IFS with four sets: Food version 8 with doctrine version 5, Broker v3.2 with doctrine v3, Logistics v3 with doctrine v3, and PACsecure v3 with doctrine v3. The GFSI describes a seven-step process, from application to the final decision and its announcement. It gives no date for IFS.

What this means in practice: nothing for the validity of an IFS certificate issued today, which is necessarily issued against the version in force. Everything, on the other hand, for a buyer who requires “a GFSI-recognised certificate” and reads the list literally. Ask that buyer in writing which version it accepts. The wider context of the 2024 benchmarking is covered in GFSI-recognised standards in 2026.

IFS Global Markets or IFS Progress: what has changed?

The name, not the content. IFS announced on 28 March 2024 that IFS Progress would be the name of its supplier development programmes. The IFS questions-and-answers fact sheet sets out the timeline: new logos usable from 28 March 2024, the old name tolerated until 14 May 2024, the IFS Progress name mandatory since 15 May 2024.

Each programme kept its version: IFS Progress Food version 3, IFS Progress Logistics version 1, IFS Progress HPC version 1 and IFS Progress PACsecure version 1. Reports and letters of confirmation with the IFS Global Markets logo remain valid; IFS does not ask for customer contracts to be changed, but advises informing customers that only the name has changed.

The official fact sheets still describe two levels before certification. For IFS Progress Logistics, the fact sheet published in June 2026 gives a basic level at 45% of the IFS Logistics standard and an intermediate level at 70%, each planned over one year. For IFS Progress PACsecure, the fact sheet gives 40%, then 75% of the IFS PACsecure requirements, with the aim of reaching the full standard within three years.

One point to watch: the programmes have kept their version 1, older than the current standards. The IFS Progress Logistics version 1 text dates from June 2016, the IFS Progress PACsecure version 1 text from July 2021, before IFS PACsecure version 3. Ask your assessment provider which checklist it will apply. The full path is illustrated in our IFS Progress PACsecure case study.

What should you do in 2027 if you are certified or preparing?

Update your system against the doctrine rather than wait for a new version. Here is the list we use with the sites we support:

• Download the version 3 doctrine of your standard and share it with the quality team and internal auditors.
  
• Update the procedure for notifying the certification body: recalls, withdrawals, authority visits, within three working days.
  
• Check the working language stated in the contract and the availability of an auditor who speaks it.
  
• Reread the product safety culture definition and build it into the management review.
  
• Ask each buyer in writing which standard version and GFSI status it accepts.
  
• For a site in IFS Progress, remove any “IFS Global Markets” wording from materials still in circulation.
  
• Plan the next audit window, including any unannounced audit.