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Audit evidence register template
The register an auditor keeps while the audit is happening. Each piece of evidence gets a reference, a type (record or document, interview, observation, photo, sample or measurement), where it was found with an optional GPS point, a document or asset label scan, the criterion it relates to, what it shows and the finding it supports, with photos and whether it was verified. A findings index then ties each finding to its evidence references. Use it alongside the internal audit checklist, which sets out what to check.
For internal auditors, supplier auditors and quality managers who need a traceable link from every audit finding back to the evidence behind it.
- Five evidence types, each with what it is, where it was found, the sample taken and who was interviewed
- Document, asset or batch label scan and an optional GPS point for observations on a large site
- Each item tied to a criterion, what it shows and the finding reference, with photos and where it is kept
- Verified yes or no, and how, with a warning on anything not yet verified
- Findings index by grade, and live tiles for evidence by type, unverified items and % verified
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What is an audit evidence register?
It is useful when every finding in the audit report can be traced to specific, verified evidence, with the sample and the place it came from. Grades come from your own audit procedure.
Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 28 October 2026 against ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group, Guidance on evidence collection (ISO/TC 176 and IAF, 2016), ISO, ISO 19011:2026 Guidelines for auditing management systems and BSI Knowledge, ISO 19011:2026 Guidelines for auditing management systems (scope).
How to keep an audit evidence register
Start it at the opening meeting and add to it as you go.
Set the audit up
Record the audit reference, type, criteria, scope, auditee and the audit team.
Log each item
As you collect it, add the evidence with its type, source, ID or label scan, and the sample you took.
Link it
Note the criterion it relates to, what it shows and, for a nonconformity or observation, the finding reference.
Verify it
Check it against the original or a second source, or see it yourself, and say how. The register counts what is unverified.
Index the findings
List each finding with its grade, criterion and evidence references, and whether the auditee accepted it.
What makes an audit evidence register useful
Sample taken
EV-04, record or document: despatch notes for September, 12 of 140 sampled across both shifts. Criterion: DP-02 step 5, second check of every order. 2 of 12 had no second check signature, both late shift. Verified: originals seen. Supports F-01.
Fictional example. Record the actual evidence and approved arrangements for your job.
A common recording mistake
Writing a finding from memory at the end of the day, with no reference to which records were sampled or how many.
What happens next
Verify anything still unverified before the closing meeting, agree the findings with the auditee, and raise corrective actions for each nonconformity.
Try the audit evidence register form live
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Want to see one filled in? See a completed audit evidence register report (PDF), made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit.
Every question in the audit evidence register template
An audit evidence register for management system audits: one entry per piece of evidence with type (record, interview, observation, photo, sample), what it is, where it was found with optional GPS, a document or asset label scan, the criterion it relates to, what it shows, the finding it supports, photos, whether it was verified and where it is kept. A findings index links each finding to its evidence, and live tiles count evidence by type, unverified items and findings by grade. 4 sections and 66 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.
Make it your own: every question is editable
This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.
Details you only enter once
Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.
- Project: the project name
- Site or premises address: the site address, from the space or the project
- Organisation audited: the project's customer
Audit details
- ProjectShort answer
Filled in from the project in SiteSurvey.
Fills in from the project name - Site or premises addressShort answerFills in from the site address, from the space or the project
- Organisation auditedShort answerFills in from the project's customer
- Location (GPS)Short answer
- Audit date*Date
- Lead auditor*Short answer
- Audit reference*Short answer
- Type of audit*Choose one
- Internal audit (first party)
- Supplier or customer audit (second party)
- Pre-assessment or gap audit
- Other
- Audit criteria*Notes
What you are auditing against: the standard and edition, your procedures, contract or legal requirements.
- Audit scope*Short answer
Sites, processes, shifts and the period covered.
- Auditee representativeShort answer
- Other auditors or technical expertsShort answer
- CheckThis register supports a management system audit record. It does not certify conformity with any standard. Findings and grades follow your own audit procedure.
- GuidanceWhat counts as audit evidence. The ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group, quoting ISO 9000: objective evidence can be obtained through observation, measurement, test or other means, and for an audit it generally consists of records, statements of fact or other information that are relevant to the audit criteria and verifiable. Evidence is usually a sample, so record what you sampled.
- GuidanceISO 19011 gives guidance on auditing management systems. The current edition is ISO 19011:2026 (May 2026), which replaced the 2018 edition.
Evidence
- GuidanceAdd an entry as you collect each piece of evidence, where the work happens. Cover the shifts, sites and processes in your scope.
- Evidence itemsRepeat for each evidence. Each one asks:
- Evidence reference*Short answer
For example EV-01.
- Type*Choose one
- Record or document
- Interview
- Observation
- Photo
- Sample or measurement
- What it is*Short answer
For example calibration certificate for scale SC-02, or despatch bay at 10:40.
- Where it was foundShort answer
Area, system, file or person.
- Location (GPS)Short answer
Optional. Useful for observations on a large or multi-site audit.
- Scan the document, asset or batch labelScan a label: document number, revision or issue, asset tag, serial number, batch or lot number
Optional. Scan the reference on the document, equipment or product label.
- Document, record or asset IDShort answer
- Person interviewed and role*Short answer
Role is enough if your procedure keeps names out of the report.
Shown when “Type” is “Interview” - Sample takenShort answer
For example 12 of 140 despatch notes from September.
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant - Criterion it relates to*Short answer
The requirement from your audit criteria: a procedure step, contract term or clause of your standard.
- What it shows*Choose one
- Conforms
- Does not conform
- Observation or opportunity for improvement
- Not yet assessed
- Finding reference*Short answerShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- What you saw or were toldNotes
- Photo or copyPhotos
A photo of the record, place or item. Leave out personal data you do not need.
- Verified?*Yes or No
Yes if you checked it against the original record, a second source, or saw it yourself.
- How it was verifiedShort answerShown when “Verified?” is Yes
- CheckNot verified yet. Verify it before the closing meeting, or do not rely on it for a finding.Shown when “Verified?” is No
- Where it is keptChoose one
- Photo or copy in this record
- Audit file, paper
- Audit file, electronic
- Original stays with the auditee: reference only
- Sample retained
- File or location referenceShort answer
Evidence summary and findings
- Evidence itemsWorked out by the form
- Records or documentsWorked out by the form
- InterviewsWorked out by the form
- ObservationsWorked out by the form
- PhotosWorked out by the form
- Samples or measurementsWorked out by the form
- Not verifiedWorked out by the form
- Not yet assessedWorked out by the form
- Showing nonconformityWorked out by the form
- Evidence verified (%)Worked out by the form
- CheckSome evidence is not verified. Verify it or do not rely on it before the findings are agreed.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- CheckAll the evidence is of one type. Where you can, back a record with an observation or an interview.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Findings indexRepeat for each finding. Each one asks:
- Finding reference*Short answer
- Grade*Choose one
- Major nonconformity
- Minor nonconformity
- Observation
- Opportunity for improvement
- Criterion*Short answer
- Evidence references*Short answer
For example EV-02, EV-04.
- Finding statement*Notes
The requirement, what was found, and the evidence.
- Accepted by the auditee at the closing meeting?Yes or No
- What the auditee disputesShort answerShown when “Accepted by the auditee at the closing meeting?” is No
- Major nonconformitiesWorked out by the form
- Minor nonconformitiesWorked out by the form
- Observations and opportunitiesWorked out by the form
- CheckEvidence shows a nonconformity but no finding is listed yet. Add it to the findings index.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- GuidanceGrades follow your own audit procedure. SiteSurvey does not set them.
Evidence review and sign-off
- Evidence not verified or not assessedWorked out by the form
- Evidence resultWorked out by the form
- Evidence gaps to closeRepeat for each gap. Each one asks:
- Action*Notes
- PriorityChoose one
- Before the closing meeting
- Before the report is issued
- Before the follow-up audit
- Who will do it*Short answer
- Due byDate
- Status*Choose one
- Open
- In progress
- Done, checked
- Photo when donePhotosShown when “Status” is “Done, checked”
- Gaps still openWorked out by the form
- Decision*Choose one
- Evidence complete for the audit report
- Complete once the listed gaps are closed
- Evidence not enough: extend the audit or sample more
- Follow-up audit dateDate
- Summary for the audit reportNotes
- Lead auditor nameShort answer
- Lead auditor signature*Signature
- Auditee representative nameShort answer
- Auditee representative signatureSignature
See it filled in
A completed audit evidence register report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.
Audit evidence register FAQs
What counts as audit evidence?
The ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group quotes ISO 9000: objective evidence can be obtained through observation, measurement, test or other means, and for an audit it generally consists of records, statements of fact or other information that are relevant to the audit criteria and verifiable. The register's types follow that: records and documents, interviews, observations, photos, and samples or measurements.
Source: ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group, Guidance on evidence collection (ISO/TC 176 and IAF, 2016).
Does audit evidence have to be verified?
The Auditing Practices Group says audit evidence should be verifiable. The register asks whether each item was verified and how, for example checked against the original or seen by the auditor, and counts anything unverified so it is dealt with before findings are agreed.
Source: ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group, Guidance on evidence collection (ISO/TC 176 and IAF, 2016).
How much evidence should I collect?
Audit evidence is in general based on samples, because an audit has limited time and resources, and sampling is closely tied to how much confidence you can place in the conclusions. The Auditing Practices Group also says to collect evidence where the work takes place, preferably in real time, covering shifts and representative sites and processes. Record each sample in the register.
Source: ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group, Guidance on evidence collection (ISO/TC 176 and IAF, 2016).
Which version of ISO 19011 applies?
ISO 19011:2026, published in May 2026, is the current edition of the guidelines for auditing management systems, and ISO 19011:2018 is withdrawn. It gives guidance on the principles of auditing, managing an audit programme and conducting audits. It is guidance and does not lead to certification.
Sources: ISO, ISO 19011:2026 Guidelines for auditing management systems and BSI Knowledge, ISO 19011:2026 Guidelines for auditing management systems (scope).
How are findings graded?
By your own audit procedure. The register offers major nonconformity, minor nonconformity, observation and opportunity for improvement because they are common grades, but SiteSurvey does not define them. Each finding lists the evidence references behind it, so the grade can be checked against the evidence.
Does this register certify anything?
No. It supports a management system audit record and does not certify conformity with any standard. Not finding evidence of conformity does not by itself show that the auditee fails to meet the criteria, as the Auditing Practices Group points out, so record what you looked for as well as what you found.
Source: ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group, Guidance on evidence collection (ISO/TC 176 and IAF, 2016).
Related
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Templates that go with the audit evidence register form
Internal audit of a quality, health and safety or environmental management system, a 5S area or a procedure, with findings, corrective actions and sign-off.
Record a non-conformance, contain it, find the root cause with 5 whys, set corrective actions with owners and dates, then verify and close.
Structured walk of a work area: what you saw against the standard, the eight wastes, conversations with the people doing the work, observations and actions.
Approve or re-evaluate a supplier or subcontractor: insurance, certificates and competence checks, scored performance, audit findings and a decision with conditions.
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