Sedex SAQ or SMETA Audit: How to Prepare

A customer has asked you for Sedex or SMETA. Start with the short answers.

First question	Short answer
What is a SMETA audit?	SMETA (Sedex Members' Ethical Trade Audit) is an on-site social audit of one worksite. Sedex owns the methodology. An approved audit company carries it out.
What is the difference between Sedex and SMETA?	Sedex is the membership platform. It holds your company and site details, the Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), and audit reports. SMETA is the audit methodology.
What does 2-Pillar or 4-Pillar mean?	A 2-Pillar audit covers labor standards and health and safety, with a basic environment check. A 4-Pillar audit adds a full environment assessment and business ethics. See the comparison.
Is SMETA a certification?	No. Sedex says SMETA is "a continuous improvement methodology rather than a certification." You receive an audit report, not a certificate.
Is there a pass or fail?	No. Sedex does not use a pass/fail model. The audit records findings, and the site works through a corrective action plan.
Who pays for the audit?	Usually the supplier. Sedex says suppliers own and pay for their SMETA audits, and book them directly with an approved audit company, which quotes the fee. If your customer offers to share the cost, agree it before you book.
How long is an audit valid?	Sedex says it no longer accepts a SMETA audit as a robust assessment of current conditions after 24 months. Your customer may ask sooner.

Platform details and links checked 4 October 2026.

Before collecting documents, establish which job is actually on your desk:

Customer request	What it means	Who completes it
Complete or update the Sedex SAQ	An online self-assessment about your business practices, management systems, policies, and workers	Your company
Arrange or prepare for a SMETA audit	An independent assessment of a specific worksite using Sedex's audit methodology	A Sedex-approved Affiliate Audit Company

These are connected, but they are not interchangeable. The SAQ can help prepare for an audit. Completing it does not mean that a SMETA audit has taken place, and SMETA is not a certification you can award yourself.

First, confirm the request
If the customer wants the Sedex SAQ
Prepare the SAQ answers and evidence
How Questionnaire Pass works with the Sedex SAQ
If the customer wants a SMETA audit
2-Pillar vs 4-Pillar: what each audit covers
Is SMETA a certification, and is there a pass?
What does a SMETA audit cost?
Before you book: SMETA audit checklist
How long should you allow for audit preparation?
What to prepare for the auditor
What happens on the audit day
The audit report, findings, and corrective action plan
What happens after the audit
What Questionnaire Pass cannot do

First, confirm the request

Ask the customer or the named Sedex contact:

Do you need our Sedex company and site details, the SAQ, a SMETA audit, or all three?
Which legal entity and worksite does the request cover?
Which customer account should the site be linked to?
If an audit is required, is it 2-Pillar or 4-Pillar, and which approved audit company should be used?
What deadline applies to the SAQ, the audit, and any follow-up separately?

Do not book an audit because an email merely mentions Sedex. Do not assume that completing the SAQ satisfies a request for independent verification.

If the customer wants the Sedex SAQ

Sedex describes its Self-Assessment Questionnaire as a set of questions about business practices, management systems, policies, and worker information. It is completed by the supplier and can be shared with multiple buyers.

Sedex supplier access is paid per site. As checked on 4 October 2026, Sedex lists Standard membership at £224 per site per year and Supplier Plus at £374 per site per year, billed annually, with regional taxes potentially added. Standard membership includes access to the platform and a questionnaire tailored to the supplier's industry, size, and country. Questionnaire Pass is a separate €99 purchase from ESG for Suppliers.

The questionnaire assigned to you depends on factors such as business type, site characteristics, and workforce. Read the current guidance attached to each question in your account instead of relying on a copied list from an older version.

Sedex says the SAQ can now be downloaded and uploaded as an Excel document. That gives you a practical way to gather answers from colleagues and prepare outside the platform before uploading the completed file.

Prepare the SAQ answers and evidence

Assign each section to someone who can confirm the underlying practice:

Company, site, and workforce

Check the legal entity, site address, business type, products or services, worker numbers, employment arrangements, and any accommodation or recruitment arrangements. A group-level answer should not silently replace site-specific information.

Labor standards

HR or payroll may need to confirm contracts, working hours, rest days, wages, overtime, recruitment fees, age checks, disciplinary practices, worker representation, discrimination controls, and grievance channels.

Health and safety

The site or safety owner may hold risk assessments, training records, accident logs, emergency procedures, fire-safety records, maintenance checks, chemical controls, and personal protective equipment records.

Environment and business ethics

Depending on the questionnaire and site, you may need environmental permits, waste and resource records, environmental procedures, anti-bribery controls, reporting channels, and related training or investigations.

For every answer, record the site, reporting period, owner, and source. Check that documents are current and describe what actually happens. Do not create a policy solely to obtain a Yes answer, substitute zero for missing data, or claim that a group document covers a site when it does not.

Ready to work through the downloaded SAQ with your existing records? Prepare my Sedex SAQ answers with Questionnaire Pass — €99.

How Questionnaire Pass works with the Sedex SAQ

You provide the files. Download the SAQ Excel file from Sedex and add relevant text-readable policies, certificates, utility bills, waste records, payroll or HR summaries, and previous approved responses.
Questionnaire Pass prepares drafts. It identifies what your records can support, separates suggested wording from supported material, and leaves missing information open for you.
You review and return to Sedex. Check every answer, export the approved response in the supplied workbook, and upload it through the Sedex workflow. Resolve any fields or platform checks that still require your decision.

Questionnaire Pass covers one questionnaire. Sedex already lets suppliers share their SAQ information with multiple buyers inside its platform. If you also receive questionnaires outside Sedex, compare Questionnaire Pass with ESG Passport; Passport keeps approved answers for reuse across later requests.

If the customer wants a SMETA audit

SMETA is an audit methodology owned by Sedex. Sedex says the current version is SMETA 7. As of 4 October 2026, Sedex has not announced a newer version. In April 2026, Sedex reported a consultation on two parts of SMETA 7: Collaborative Action Required findings and issue titles. Sedex says it will communicate agreed changes in advance. In November 2025, Sedex said SMETA 7.0 achieved recognition from the Consumer Goods Forum's Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI).

The audit is carried out at a worksite by an auditor from one of Sedex's approved Affiliate Audit Companies. Sedex does not conduct the audit itself, and non-approved providers are not authorized to offer SMETA audits. Sedex publishes the current list of approved audit companies and says they are all APSCA members.

Sedex's SMETA guide says the audit assesses each site against both local law and the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) Base Code. Whichever gives workers more protection becomes the benchmark.

Your company needs an active Sedex membership for a SMETA audit to be conducted and uploaded to the platform. The audit service is a separate cost arranged with an approved audit company; ask that company for a complete quote. Confirm the provider through Sedex's current approved list rather than relying on an unsolicited offer.

The customer or audit company should confirm whether the scope is 2-Pillar or 4-Pillar. Sedex says the auditor may review the site's documents, records, policies, processes, practices, operations, workers, and conditions. An accurate SAQ helps preparation, but the audit tests what is happening at the site, not just what was entered online.

Announced, semi-announced, or unannounced

Sedex defines three scheduling types:

Announced: the audit date is agreed with, or disclosed to, the site.
Semi-announced: the audit date falls within an agreed window of at least three weeks, set by the buying company or the audit body.
Unannounced: the site receives no prior notice of the date.

In 2025, Sedex updated its guidance to recommend semi-announced or unannounced audits unless an announced audit is needed for logistical or other valid reasons. Do not assume you will know the exact date. Keep records audit-ready throughout the window.

2-Pillar vs 4-Pillar: what each audit covers

Sedex members choose between a 2-Pillar and a 4-Pillar audit. Sedex says about 70% of SMETA audits are 4-Pillar. Your customer usually decides which one it needs. Sedex spells the first pillar "Labour Standards."

	2-Pillar	4-Pillar
Labor standards	Yes	Yes
Health and safety	Yes	Yes
Environment	Basic assessment only	Full assessment
Business ethics	No	Yes
Management Systems Assessment	Yes, for the areas in scope	Yes, for the areas in scope
Illustrative time on site (Sedex)	2 days	3 days

Sources: Sedex SMETA guide and SMETA 7.0 one-pager. Sedex calls the on-site times illustrative. The audit company sets the actual duration.

Labor standards cover the ETI Base Code labor areas. Sedex's SMETA guide lists them as enabling accurate assessment; employment is freely chosen; responsible recruitment and entitlement to work; freedom of association and collective bargaining; no child labor; legal wages; living wages; working hours that are not excessive; no discrimination; regular employment; responsible use of subcontracting and homeworkers; and no harsh or inhumane treatment.

Health and safety covers Base Code area 3: working conditions are safe and hygienic. Sedex says the 2-Pillar version adds a basic environment assessment.

Environment (4-Pillar) covers air emissions and greenhouse gases, chemicals, energy use, environmental permits and management systems, reforestation, conservation and biodiversity, waste management, and water use and wastewater.

Business ethics (4-Pillar) covers awareness of requirements and policy, grievance mechanisms, systems to manage compliance, and land rights. Sedex's one-pager says the auditor looks for evidence of corruption and bribery and reviews the policies that manage those risks.

Management systems. SMETA 7 includes a Management Systems Assessment (MSA). Sedex says it checks four elements for each Base Code area: policies and procedures, resources and responsibilities (a sufficiently senior manager is accountable), communication and training, and monitoring. Sedex says SMETA assesses whether systems are "fit for purpose" for the site's context, size, and risk. It does not require a specific management model.

Is SMETA a certification, and is there a pass?

No to both. Sedex says "SMETA is a continuous improvement methodology rather than a certification." Sedex's SMETA workflow says the audit does not aim to judge whether a site is a "Pass."

You receive an audit report and a Corrective Action Plan Report, uploaded to the Sedex platform. Do not describe your site as "SMETA certified" or "SMETA approved." Describe what happened: a SMETA 2-Pillar or 4-Pillar audit took place on a stated date, by a named audit company, and the corrective actions have a stated status.

Supplier Plus membership includes what Sedex calls an "official certificate." That relates to membership, not to an audit result.

What does a SMETA audit cost?

There are three separate costs. Do not mix them up.

Sedex membership. Sedex lists Standard membership at £224 per site per year and Supplier Plus at £374 per site per year, as checked on 4 October 2026. Sedex says an audit is not required to join. It is needed only when a customer asks for one.
The audit fee. The approved audit company quotes it. Sedex does not publish audit fees. Ask what the quote includes: auditor days, travel, translation, report upload, desktop review of corrective actions, and any follow-up audit.
The Sedex fee per audit. Sedex says it charges £199 per SMETA audit for Sedex members, effective 1 July 2026, and that this fee is charged directly to the audit company. Ask the audit company whether its quote passes this fee on.

Do not budget from a price you found on a forum or a competitor's blog. The audit fee depends on the audit company, location, site size, and scope.

Before you book: SMETA audit checklist

Work through this list before you contact an audit company:

Confirm in writing that the customer wants a SMETA audit, not only the SAQ.
Confirm the scope: 2-Pillar or 4-Pillar.
Confirm the scheduling type: announced, semi-announced, or unannounced.
Check that the site has an active Sedex membership.
Check that the site's company and site details on Sedex are correct.
Complete or update the SAQ. Sedex's workflow asks you to share it with the audit company.
Link the site to the customer's Sedex account, so the customer can see the report.
Choose an audit company from Sedex's approved list. Ask whether the customer prefers one.
Ask the audit company for a complete quote and the pre-audit information it needs.
Name one senior manager to liaise with the auditor. Sedex's workflow recommends this.
Agree in advance how corrective actions will be verified: desktop review, follow-up audit, or both.

How long should you allow for audit preparation?

There is no single reliable preparation timeline for every SMETA audit. Separate three different periods when you plan:

Scheduling: availability depends on the approved audit company, location, scope, and customer requirements.
Site preparation: the time required depends on which records the auditor will sample, how many owners and sites are involved, whether documents agree with actual practice, and which genuine gaps need attention.
Corrective action: if the audit identifies non-compliances, closure timing depends on the finding, the required evidence, and the process agreed with the customer and audit company.

Ask the approved audit company for the expected audit duration, record periods, worker and site access, language needs, and follow-up process. Work backward from the confirmed visit date. Do not adopt a generic four- or six-week internet schedule as though it were a SMETA requirement.

If the customer only wants the Sedex SAQ, the questionnaire time estimator can help you plan that desk-based task. It does not estimate auditor availability, the site visit, or corrective-action closure.

What to prepare for the auditor

SMETA audit preparation checklist (.xlsx)

A before-you-book list, the records an auditor typically asks to see (with 4-Pillar-only lines marked), and a findings register for corrective actions. It is a preparation aid. It does not predict or guarantee an audit result.

Download the free workbook (.xlsx)

Use the scope confirmed by the audit company. A practical preparation file commonly needs owners and records in these areas:

legal entity, site details, licenses, and operating permits
worker contracts, personnel records, age verification, and recruitment arrangements
payroll, working-time, overtime, leave, and attendance records for matching periods
health and safety risk assessments, training, incidents, emergency arrangements, maintenance, and inspections
worker communication, representation, grievance, discipline, and anti-harassment processes
environmental permits, waste records, chemical controls, and resource information where included in scope
business-ethics policies, reporting channels, training, and investigations where included in scope
subcontracting, labor providers, and other third parties relevant to the site

Ask the approved audit company which periods, samples, translations, and site access it requires. Its instructions take precedence over a generic internet checklist.

Before the visit, compare records that should agree with one another. For example, sample attendance records against payroll and contracts, training attendance against the people performing the work, and written emergency procedures against conditions on the floor. Record genuine gaps and corrective work already underway. Do not coach workers to repeat scripted answers or temporarily conceal normal operating conditions.

What happens on the audit day

Sedex's SMETA workflow describes these steps on site:

Opening meeting.
Site tour, for example offices and production areas.
Document review.
Management and worker interviews.
Pre-closing meeting.
Closing meeting, with a summary of findings.

Sedex advises sites to continue business as usual on the day. Do not stop overtime, move workers, or tidy away normal conditions for the visit.

The audit report, findings, and corrective action plan

Sedex's SMETA guide names two outputs:

Corrective Action Plan Report (CAPR). It summarizes the findings, the agreed corrective and preventive actions, timescales, verification methods, and the Management Systems Assessment grades.
Full audit report. It gives the context for each finding, the systems and evidence examined, and photographs.

Sedex describes four finding types:

Finding type	Sedex definition
Non-compliance	The site does not meet local or international law.
Non-conformance	The site meets the law but not the ETI Base Code.
Collaborative Action Required (CAR)	An issue that needs a multi-stakeholder approach.
Good example	Practice that exceeds both local law and the ETI Base Code.

Each finding also has a criticality level. Sedex lists business critical (imminent or serious risk to life, or severe human rights impact), critical (a systemic, deliberate, or severe breach that is a danger to workers), major (a systemic breach that could present danger or violate human rights), and minor (an isolated breach with low risk).

The Management Systems Assessment uses four grades: not addressed, fundamental improvements required, some improvements recommended, and robust management system.

There is no overall score or pass mark. Your customer reads the findings, their criticality, and the status of each corrective action.

How corrective actions are closed

Sedex says the auditor verifies corrective actions in one of two ways:

Desktop review. You upload evidence to the Sedex platform, such as photos, certificates, or policies. Sedex says the auditor reviews submissions within 5 working days. Desktop review cannot be used where worker testimony is needed. Agree the desktop review service with the audit company in advance.
Follow-up audit. An on-site visit for findings that need interviews, extensive document review, or a site tour. Sedex says it generally takes place within six months of the initial audit and must be booked with the same audit company. It covers the earlier findings only. New issues go into a new CAPR.

At a follow-up, the auditor marks each finding closed (sufficient evidence of adequate resolution) or open (insufficient evidence). Sedex says progress on an incomplete action is also recorded.

What happens after the audit

Sedex says a SMETA audit provides a Corrective Action Plan for issues found. The approved audit company uploads the audit to the Sedex platform. Your company can add comments or explanations and should agree the required remediation and evidence with the relevant customer and audit company.

Do not rely on generic promises such as “minor findings always close in 90 days.” The required action, evidence, and timing depend on the finding and the agreed process. Address immediate risks immediately, then track each remaining action, owner, target date, and closure evidence.

For each finding, record the root cause, not just the symptom. A missing overtime record is a symptom. No one owning working-time records is a root cause. The Findings tab in the workbook above has columns for both.

What Questionnaire Pass cannot do

Questionnaire Pass can help prepare the downloadable Sedex SAQ and organize supported answers before you upload it. It cannot perform a SMETA audit, certify a site, act as an Affiliate Audit Company, predict findings, close corrective actions, or replace access to workers, records, and the worksite.

If your request is an audit rather than an SAQ, use Sedex's approved auditor route and member guidance. The product CTA below applies to the SAQ only.

Official Sedex guidance

SMETA, membership, and audit-company details checked 4 October 2026. SAQ links checked 13 September 2026; the Goods providers SAQ page re-checked 4 October 2026.