Remote Qualiopi audits: which audits can be done by videoconference (and which can't)

You’re preparing for a Qualiopi audit and wondering whether it can happen over a screen instead of with an auditor physically in your premises. The answer depends entirely on which type of audit is involved: since the 31 May 2023 order, the framework is precise and leaves little room for interpretation. Here is what’s allowed, what isn’t, and how to prepare effectively when videoconference is an option.

Three audits, three different logics

Qualiopi certification relies on three types of audits that don’t serve the same purpose — and therefore don’t follow the same rule on remote formats:

• The initial audit, carried out before the certificate is first issued, to check that the provider meets the 32 indicators of the National Quality Framework from the moment it enters the scheme.
• The surveillance audit, generally held 14 to 22 months after the initial audit, to check that compliance is maintained over time.
• The renewal audit, organized before the certificate expires (it’s valid for 3 years), to renew certification for a full new cycle.

The 31 May 2023 order, which strengthened audit procedures for certification bodies accredited by COFRAC, clarified which of these three steps can skip the on-site requirement — and tightened the conditions for the other two.

Initial audit: always on site, even for a fully remote offering

The first point to remember, since it often surprises people setting up a fully e-learning offering: the initial audit must take place on site, regardless of the training format on offer. The fact that your courses are delivered entirely online doesn’t turn your entry audit into a videoconference. The auditor needs to meet in person the people in charge of quality management, review your evidence file, and, where relevant, observe the tools used to deliver and track the training.

This is an important distinction from what you might expect: it isn’t the training’s delivery format that determines the audit’s format, but the type of audit itself. A provider preparing its evidence file for a first audit therefore needs to schedule an in-person meeting, not just a screen share.

Surveillance audit: videoconference by default, with four exceptions

This is the only one of the three audits for which videoconference is the default. In practice, barring a specific situation, your certification body can conduct the entire surveillance audit remotely: presenting the evidence file on screen, discussing with the quality and pedagogical leads, and checking on progress since the previous audit.

The 31 May 2023 order does, however, set out four situations that require an on-site visit, even for a surveillance audit:

1. An admissible complaint or report about your organization, sent to the certification body or to the authorities.
2. An unfavorable risk analysis — for example, when evidence suggests possible major non-conformities or a significant decline in quality.
3. A multi-site audit with sampling: when your certification body has selected some of your secondary locations in its sampling plan, those sites can be visited in person.
4. A request from the audited provider itself: you can always choose to host your auditor in person, even when nothing requires it.

Outside these four cases, a certification body that systematically requires on-site visits for surveillance audits with no identified risk or complaint is stepping outside the framework set by the order — worth knowing before you choose your certification body, since some apply stricter policies than others on this point.

Renewal audit: mandatory on-site visit since May 2023

Before the 31 May 2023 order, some certification bodies agreed to conduct renewal audits remotely, on the same basis as surveillance audits. That’s no longer the case: since that date, the renewal audit must take place on site. The logic behind the rule is stricter oversight at the moment a provider embarks on a new three-year cycle: the auditor needs to observe the actual organization directly, beyond what can be shown on a screen.

This rule applies regardless of the provider’s size or the nature of its training offering, including for organizations that have never had an in-person visit since their initial audit.

No permanent premises: how does an on-site audit work?

A common concern among independent trainers or providers working from a coworking space: does the lack of dedicated premises exempt them from the on-site requirement? No. The provider simply needs to arrange a place where the auditor can be received under satisfactory conditions — a shared office rented for the occasion, a home office, or any space where the evidence file and key people can be gathered for the duration of the audit. What matters to the auditor isn’t how prestigious the premises are, but whether the interview and document review can happen under proper conditions.

What videoconference actually changes for the auditor

The remote format doesn’t lower the bar, but it changes how the auditor builds their judgment. A study by Yueqi Li, Sanjay Goel and Kevin Williams, “Impact of remote audit on audit quality, audit efficiency, and auditors’ job satisfaction”, published in 2023 in the International Journal of Auditing, shows that when auditors move from on-site to remote work, they rely more heavily on technology and professional skepticism, while the efficiency of communication and cooperation with the audited party declines. In other words: remotely, an auditor compensates for the lack of physical contact with a stricter reading of what’s presented on screen, and tolerates a poorly organized file or vague explanations less well.

For a provider being audited by videoconference, this translates into a real digital-preparation challenge: a clear, well-organized evidence file that’s easy to share on screen becomes at least as important as a well-organized binder on a meeting table.

Preparing well for a surveillance audit by videoconference

A few points worth attending to in order to make the most of the remote format without losing evidence quality:

• Test your connection and screen-sharing tools before the day, with the person who will actually present the documents to the auditor.
• Organize your evidence file digitally by indicator, with a clear structure — the same exercise as for an on-site audit, but one that tolerates even less improvisation on screen.
• Make sure your quality, pedagogical and administrative leads are simultaneously available, even for a remote audit.
• Keep a record of the exchanges and evidence shown, to document your own follow-up in case you need to draft a corrective action plan for any non-conformities found.
• Anticipate the report notification deadlines: whether conducted on site or remotely, the audit leads to the same obligations to respond to non-conformities — see our article on the audit report and response deadlines.

A framework that changes neither the indicators nor the expected evidence

Regardless of the format — on site or videoconference — the indicators assessed and the evidence expected remain strictly identical. Videoconference is a logistical option, not a lighter form of scrutiny — and it fits into a broader push to strengthen audits that began with the 31 May 2023 order, a push the 1 August 2026 decree expanding the framework to 33 indicators continues, including tighter traceability requirements for providers delivering training remotely. A mock audit run beforehand, under the same conditions as the real one (on site or remote, as applicable), remains the best way to check that your evidence file holds up just as well on screen as on the table.

Take action

Whether your next audit happens on site or by videoconference, preparation rests on the same fundamentals: a complete evidence file, organized by indicator and easy to review. The Complete Kit Certif (€297, 14-day guarantee) provides the templates and document structure auditors expect, whatever format is used. If you’re just starting out ahead of a first initial audit that must be conducted in person, the ebook Create Your Training Organization in 30 Days (€67) helps you build the right foundations from the activity declaration onward, and the Complete Pack (€347) bundles both resources to approach every certification step with confidence.