BRC audit: how to prepare for and pass your BRCGS audit

A BRC audit is an on-site assessment of your compliance with the BRCGS standard (British Retail Consortium Global Standards), carried out by an auditor appointed by a certification body. The auditor checks two things in parallel: what you do (hygiene, process control, traceability, complaint handling, supplier control) and what you can prove (procedures, records, analyses, training, certificates). The outcome is a grade - AA, A, B, C, D - or no certification. For the complete process, from preparation to maintenance, see our guide to BRC certification.

Preparation therefore happens before the visit. It involves clarifying the type of audit you face, gathering the required evidence and addressing the non-conformities you already know about. This guide covers BRCGS audit types, the day-by-day sequence, the duration of a BRC audit, the documents to prepare, the grading criteria, the most common non-conformities, the mock audit and a preparation checklist at D-90, D-30 and D-7.

In brief

• A BRCGS audit assesses your practices and the documentary evidence that supports them: a process that is under control but not traceable is still a non-conformity.

• The audit format (announced, unannounced, recertification, follow-up) determines the date, the scope and, in some cases, the final grade.

• The duration of a BRC audit is calculated by the standard based on headcount, site area and the number of HACCP plans: for a food manufacturing site, allow 2 to 3 days on site in most cases.

• The grade depends on the number and severity of non-conformities (minor, major, critical), not on an overall average.

• Non-conformities must be closed out with evidence, generally within 28 calendar days of the audit; otherwise certification may not be granted.

• A BRC mock audit (pre-audit) tests your readiness with no certification at stake, but never guarantees the outcome of the official audit.

1. BRCGS audit types: announced, unannounced, recertification, follow-up

Every "BRC audit" follows the same protocol, but its format changes how you prepare. Identify yours before building your plan.

Announced audit

The date is agreed with the certification body and communicated in advance. For a recertification, it generally falls within the 28-calendar-day window preceding your due date. It is the easiest format to organise: you can plan team availability, prepare the room, gather the evidence and have critical documentation reviewed.

BRC unannounced audit

A BRC unannounced audit takes place without prior notice of the date: the auditor arrives on site within a window set by the certification body (often the last four months before the due date, including the final 28 days). The direct consequence: the site is assessed under real operating conditions, with no last-minute catch-up. Where the documentation system is not kept up to date day to day, this format immediately reveals the gaps. The grade is calculated against the same thresholds, but it is shown with a "+" (AA+, A+, B+, C+, D+) to indicate the unannounced format.

Recertification audit

Recertification covers the entire standard, not a sample. It is normally repeated every 12 months, but the frequency can be reduced to 6 months depending on the grade and the non-conformities of the previous period. It is the key milestone of the cycle: it determines the continuity of your certificate and, often, your approved-supplier status with your customers.

Follow-up audit

After an unfavourable grade or a critical non-conformity, the certification body may schedule an additional visit - on site or remote - to verify the effective implementation of corrective actions. The aim is not to repeat the full audit, but to confirm that the identified non-conformities are genuinely closed.

Good to know: the applicable standard remains, to date, BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9, detailed in our analysis of BRC version 9. An Issue 10 is in preparation, with no announced application date. Always check the edition in force with your certification body before calibrating your grading thresholds.

2. Duration of a BRC audit and day-by-day sequence

The duration of a BRC audit is not set arbitrarily: it is calculated by the standard from three data points - the maximum full-time-equivalent headcount of the core team, the site area (including storage) and the number of HACCP plans. Complexity factors can extend this baseline. A food manufacturing site most often requires between 2 and 3 days of on-site audit.

Indicative figures for 1 to 3 HACCP plans (Food Safety Issue 9). The exact duration is confirmed by the certification body.

The sequence generally follows the same structure:

• Day 1 - Opening and site tour. Opening meeting (scope, schedule, contacts), followed by a tour of production, storage and ancillary areas. The auditor observes practices under real conditions: flows, hygiene, signage, condition of equipment.

• Day 2 - Document review and interviews. Review of the HACCP plan and its hazard analysis, procedures, records, upstream/downstream traceability, supplier control, allergen management, maintenance and calibration. Interviews with the quality, production, purchasing and maintenance managers.

• Day 3 - Consolidation and closing. The auditor cross-checks the evidence, formalises the non-conformities and leads the closing meeting: presentation of findings, classification (minor, major, critical) and discussion of the expected corrective actions.

The audit report and the list of non-conformities are then sent to the site. This is when the countdown to close-out begins.

3. Evidence and documents to prepare: a practical list

A simple principle: what is not recorded is deemed not done. Prepare the evidence in blocks, checking that it covers the past 12 months.

Management system

• Quality/food safety policy, system manual or map

• Organisation chart, job descriptions, evidence of competence and deputising arrangements

• Documented procedures, document control (versions, approvals)

• Management review, internal audits, action plan

• Overall risk assessment and HACCP plan with validation and verification

Operational evidence

• Cleaning and disinfection plans + signed records

• Pest control, preventive maintenance, instrument calibration

• Supplier approval and monitoring, specifications, valid certificates

• Upstream/downstream traceability, recall/withdrawal procedures and traceability tests

• Management of allergens, foreign bodies, glass and hard plastics, chemicals

• Handling of customer complaints and non-conforming products

Compliance and labelling

• List of applicable regulations and evidence of compliance

• Labelling, claims, nutritional data, product compliance

Supplier data and documents with expiry dates

• Certificates, technical data sheets, analysis reports, supplier audit certificates

• Validity dates and renewal tracking

This last block is the one that takes the most time during preparation, because it depends on information scattered across emails, shared folders and supplier portals. A platform that centralises supplier and product data, such as Tracklab, automates document collection, tracks expiry dates and uses AI to extract critical data from documents (references, dates, results) to rebuild an auditable file without re-keying.

4. BRCGS grading: AA, A, B, C, D grades and their consequences

Each requirement is rated. Three levels of non-conformity shape what follows:

• Minor non-conformity: the requirement is not fully met, but product conformity is not in question.

• Major non-conformity: a substantial failure, or significant doubt about product conformity.

• Critical non-conformity: a critical failure affecting food safety or product legality.

The final grade results from the combination of the number and severity of non-conformities, not from an average.

Some operational consequences to bear in mind:

• A critical (or a major affecting the fundamental clause) prevents certification following that audit.

• A grade D requires a revisit, generally within 28 days, before the certification decision.

• Depending on the grade, the audit frequency may change from 12 to 6 months for the next cycle.

• Non-conformities must be documented with immediate correction, root cause analysis, corrective/preventive action and evidence - generally within 28 calendar days of the audit. The certification decision is made after these elements have been reviewed.

Always check the thresholds of the applicable edition: they change with each version of the standard. To position BRCGS against other standards, see our comparison BRC vs IFS and the guide which GFSI certification to choose.

5. The most common non-conformities and how to anticipate them

BRCGS audits regularly raise the same families of non-conformities. Anticipating these points often avoids several minor non-conformities, and sometimes a major one.

1. Hygiene and cleaning. Incomplete cleaning, untracked verification, missing records. → Audit your product/method pairs and sign records in real time, not at the end of the week.

2. Equipment design and condition. Areas that are difficult to clean, build-up of debris, damaged parts. → Include cleanability in maintenance reviews.

3. Chemicals. Inadequate storage, identification and control. → Segregate, label and keep track of safety data sheets and dilutions.

4. Premises. Damaged doors, walls and surfaces, or surfaces that are difficult to clean. → Include these items in the preventive maintenance plan with before/after photos.

5. Supplier control. Undocumented approval, expired certificates, no monitoring. → Track certificate validity and supplier analysis results in a single register.

6. Allergens and traceability. Uncontrolled product changeovers, unverified changeover cleaning, traceability tests not carried out. → Carry out at least one documented traceability test and one documented recall test each year.

7. Documentation and competence. Outdated procedures, untracked training, management review not held. → Lock in an annual calendar of system activities.

The logic is the same in every case: a finding is addressed through a correction, a root cause, a preventive action and evidence. A non-conformity corrected without root cause analysis is regularly reclassified by the auditor.

6. The BRC mock audit: a preparation tool, not a guarantee

A BRC mock audit (or pre-audit) replicates the conditions of the official audit: an auditor examines practices and evidence, records non-conformities and delivers a report ranked by priority. It offers three practical benefits:

• Testing the reality on the ground before certification is at stake, under normal operating conditions.

• Prioritising actions on the non-conformities with the greatest impact on the grade.

• Reassuring teams by familiarising them with the questioning of an external auditor.

Its limits must be clear: a mock audit does not grant certification and does not guarantee the outcome of the official audit. It is optional and not included by default in the certification process. If you wish to entrust it to the certification body you are considering, ask explicitly whether it offers this service for the standard and scope concerned, and which impartiality rules apply. The other option - an independent provider separate from the certification body - keeps preparation and certification apart.

To scope a useful BRC mock audit, specify from the outset: the edition of the standard, the exact scope (site, activities, products), the format (full audit or targeted assessment), on-site presence and the expected deliverables (non-conformity report, prioritisation, debrief).

7. BRC audit preparation checklist: D-90, D-30, D-7

At D-90 (three months before)

• Confirm the audit format, the scope and the edition of the standard with the certification body.

• Check the calculation of the duration of a BRC audit and block out the availability of key team members.

• Launch a full internal audit covering all clauses of the standard.

• Address internal non-conformities with correction, root cause and evidence.

• Update the HACCP plan (validation, verification, hazard analysis).

• List missing or expired supplier documents and follow up with suppliers.

• Schedule outstanding training and a documented traceability test.

At D-30

• Have critical procedures and records reviewed (versions, signatures, dates).

• Check that non-conformities from the previous audit and the internal audit have actually been closed.

• Check the validity of supplier certificates, analyses and technical data sheets.

• Carry out a BRC mock audit or a targeted dry run on high-risk areas.

• Check the condition of premises, doors, walls, equipment and signage.

• Confirm the cleaning plan, pest control and calibration.

• Prepare the logistics: room, access, escorts, availability of evidence.

At D-7

• Finalise the audit organisation and confirm the contact person for each requirement.

• Check that all recent records are signed and filed.

• Remind teams of the audit scope and what is expected in interviews.

• Make sure that evidence with expiry dates (certificates, analyses, attestations) is up to date.

• Plan internal communication for the opening and closing meetings.

• Stay vigilant: any last-minute operational change must remain traceable.

8. Conclusion: what to decide now

A BRC audit is not won on the day of the visit: it is prepared over the preceding three months, and above all over the twelve months of records that will need to be presented. Three decisions shape what follows:

1. Define the format (announced, unannounced, recertification) and confirm the edition of the standard with your certification body.

2. Secure the documentary evidence - procedures, records, supplier certificates - and track their expiry dates ahead of time rather than in a rush.

3. Address known non-conformities with correction, root cause and evidence, then test the result through an internal audit or a mock audit.

If your main pain point is collecting and tracking supplier documents, a platform such as Tracklab helps centralise this data and keep a file ready for audit at any time. You can also go further depending on the entity concerned: BRCGS Food certification, BRCGS Packaging certification or BRCGS Agents & Brokers certification.

Useful sources

• BRCGS - Food Safety: official guidance and recommendations: Publications and technical documents

• BRCGS - Audit duration calculator (Food Safety Issue 9): https://www.brcgs.com/certification-listing/food-safety/

• BRCGS - Protocol on unannounced audits: https://www.brcgs.com/media/ng3p14g2/brcgs079-ps-and-protocol-on-unannounced-audits-meeting-the-gfsi-benchmark-v61.pdf

• DEKRA Certification - Mock audit or pre-audit: https://www.dekra-certification.fr/dekra-certification-france-organisme-certificateur-et-d-audit/audit-a-blanc-ou-pre-audit-dekra-certification.html

• ASI Food Safety - Most common BRCGS non-conformities and corrective actions: https://www.asifood.com/asi-food-safety-blog/most-common-brcgs-non-conformities