Non-Conformance Report Format
Raises a quality failure and the correction required.
Details
non conformance report formatUploads
Your logo
A photo or picture
Goes on this page only. Drag it anywhere and pull its corner to resize it.
Your signature
Draw it with a finger, a mouse or a trackpad, and it goes on the page like a picture.
Pictures and signatures stay on this device. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
Red highlights mark what is still blank. Click anything on the page to change it. Your draft is kept on this device as you work.
Dear Sir / Madam,
A non-conformance has been raised under reference [reference]. What was found: [what was found]
This does not meet the following requirement: [the standard or spec breached]. The effect is: [impact].
Required corrective action: [what must be done], to be completed by [date]. The report will be closed once the action is verified as effective, not merely as done.
What is a Non-Conformance Report?
A non-conformance report records something that did not meet its specification — a part outside tolerance, a batch mixed, a procedure skipped — and drives it to a decision. It names what failed, against what requirement, what happens to the affected material, and what stops it recurring. Without one, a failure gets fixed quietly by whoever found it, the same failure returns next month, and nobody can show a customer or auditor that it was ever addressed.
Manufacturing quality teams, construction site engineers, food producers, laboratories, aerospace and automotive suppliers and anyone running a certified management system raise these. The trigger can be an incoming goods check, an in-process inspection, a final test, a customer complaint, or an internal audit finding. A supplier may also receive one from a customer, in which case the response — containment, root cause and corrective action — becomes a contractual obligation with a deadline rather than an internal housekeeping exercise. In regulated production it forms a standing part of the batch record.
The duty to record and close non-conformities sits in whichever management standard or regulation you work under. Quality, food safety, medical device, aerospace and construction schemes each set their own expectations for containment, root cause analysis and evidence that the fix worked, and some distinguish major from minor findings with their own escalation rules. Terminology varies too: deviation, defect notice, quality alert, corrective action request. Check the clause in the standard your certification body audits against, and use its language, before deciding your own format is sufficient.
A non-conformance report is not a disciplinary record and should not name a person as the cause; a process that lets one operator's slip reach the customer is the finding, not the operator. It is also not the corrective action itself — writing the report changes nothing until the actions in it are done and verified. And it does not authorise use of the affected material: shipping something on concession requires a documented decision by whoever is entitled to make it, usually with the customer's written agreement.
What to put in a Non-Conformance Report
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Issuing organisation | For example: Maple Grove Homeowners Association |
| Organisation address | For example: 1420 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
| NCR reference | For example: NCR-2026-0041 |
| What the noise is | For example: loud music and shouting, well after midnight |
| Requirement breached | For example: Purchase specification PS-014, clause 3.2 (bond integrity) |
| Impact | For example: The batch cannot be used on the current contract and delivery to the end customer is at… |
| Corrective action required | For example: Supplier to replace the affected units and provide the bond test records for the batch. |
| Due by | Free text |
| Signatory name optional | For example: K. Srinivasa Rao |
| Signatory designation optional | For example: Honorary Secretary |
| Issued to (full name) | For example: James Whitfield |
| Their address | For example: 588 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
How to write a Non-Conformance Report
State the requirement that was not met
Point at the specific clause, drawing dimension, standard, work instruction or purchase order line. ‘Shaft diameter 12.05 mm against drawing tolerance 12.00 ± 0.02 mm’ is a non-conformance. ‘Shaft wrong size’ is a complaint. Without the requirement stated, nobody downstream can judge severity, and a disputed report collapses the moment the supplier reads it.
Quantify and locate the affected stock
Record how many units, which batch or lot numbers, which serials, and where they physically are: quarantine cage, in transit, on the customer's line, already installed. This is the containment question and it is the urgent part. A report that describes the defect perfectly but does not say how many might already have shipped leaves the real risk unmanaged.
Decide the disposition and who approved it
Every non-conforming item gets one outcome: rework, repair, regrade, use as is under concession, return to supplier, or scrap. Name the outcome, the person authorised to make that call, and the date. Where the customer's specification is involved, use as is normally needs their written agreement — record it, because a verbal concession is worth nothing when the part fails in service.
Find the cause, not the culprit
Ask why the process allowed it, using a structured method your team actually applies — five whys, a fishbone, whatever you can show an auditor. ‘Operator error’ is where analysis stops being useful. ‘The fixture accepts the part in two orientations and only one is correct’ is something you can fix. Record the method and the evidence, not just the conclusion.
Verify the fix, then close it
Write the corrective action with an owner and a due date, then set a check that proves it worked: a number of subsequent batches inspected, an audit of the revised instruction, a re-run of the failed test. Close the report only when that evidence exists. A report closed on the promise of an action is among the most common findings auditors write up.
Common mistakes
- Describing the defect without naming the requirement it breaches leaves the report arguable, and a supplier will use exactly that gap to reject the claim.
- Skipping the quantity and location of affected stock means containment never happens, and defective material carries on moving while the paperwork is being completed.
- Recording ‘operator error’ as the root cause ends the investigation before it starts, which is why the identical non-conformance reappears within a few months.
- Shipping material on concession without the customer's recorded agreement turns an internal quality issue into a breach of contract the moment the part fails.
- Closing the report when the corrective action is agreed rather than when it is verified leaves you with a file of open problems that look closed.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a non-conformance and a defect?
A defect is a fault in a product. A non-conformance is any failure to meet a specified requirement, which is broader: it covers products, but also a procedure not followed, a calibration overdue, a record missing or a training gap found in an audit. Every defect is a non-conformance; plenty of non-conformances involve no faulty product at all.
Who raises a non-conformance report?
Anyone who finds the problem should be able to raise one — inspectors, operators, storekeepers, site supervisors, auditors and customer service staff. Quality usually owns the register, assigns the number and drives it to closure, but restricting who may raise a report is the fastest way to make sure most non-conformances are never recorded. Keep raising easy and closing controlled.
What is the difference between correction and corrective action?
Correction deals with the item in front of you: scrap it, rework it, replace it. Corrective action deals with the cause so the next batch is not affected: change the fixture, revise the instruction, retrain, add a check. Most standards expect both and audit the second hardest, because a file of corrections with no corrective action means the same problem keeps arriving.
Do I need a separate 8D report as well?
8D is a structured problem-solving format many automotive and electronics customers require for significant failures, with defined steps for team, containment, root cause, permanent action and prevention. It does not replace the non-conformance report — the report records and tracks the issue, and the 8D is the investigation attached to it. Use whichever your customer's supplier requirements name.
How long should closed non-conformance reports be kept?
Long enough to show a pattern and to satisfy the standard or contract you work under, which often ties retention to the life of the product or a fixed number of years. Aerospace, medical and food sectors set their own periods, and a customer's supplier agreement may set a longer one. Check the applicable standard and contract rather than picking a period yourself.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.