BRCGS Certification Cost in Morocco: What Drives the Audit Bill

What exactly do you pay for when you get BRCGS certified?

First and foremost the certification body, for the audit and everything around it. The standard itself is free; the cost of the project (consultancy, training, site works) is a separate budget, outlined on our BRCGS certification hub.

We do not publish prices: without a scope and an audit duration, a figure means nothing. Here is what makes the bill vary.

On the BRCGS side, the guide to certification states that certified sites get access to a service package (the Participate library, the BRCGS Professional programme, culture and audit analysis tools), and that audit owners get Directory Pro at no additional charge. Ask each certification body to state on its quote whether any BRCGS-related fees are included, and in what form.

How is the audit duration calculated?

The audit duration is not negotiated: the certification body sets it with the standardised calculator that BRCGS publishes for Issue 9. It depends on the size of the site, the number of HACCP studies and the scope. We do not give a generic range: only the duration calculated for your site, stated on the quote, counts.

Three official rules correct common assumptions:

• same duration, whatever the programme: an unannounced audit lasts as long as an announced one, according to the BRCGS079 protocol;
• same duration for a blended audit: the total duration is the one set by the standard, the sum of the remote part and the on-site part; it does not include planning, the risk assessment or report writing (BRCGS080);
• a capped remote part: it never exceeds 50% of the total duration, and the certification body may reduce it based on its risk assessment.

Why do the scope and the number of sites weigh on the cost?

Because the certificate is tied to an address and a defined scope. Each additional address, each module, each scope extension means more audit time, and sometimes an extra visit.

• One address, one audit. BRCGS defines the initial audit as the first audit at a specific site address. A group running three plants in Morocco budgets for three audits, even with a shared management system.
• Head office. Where the standard allows a separate audit of the head office or central functions, that audit may be announced even if the plants are in the unannounced programme, and some of its clauses can be audited remotely.
• Traded products. Including chapter 9 means bringing in all the traded products stored on site; it is all or nothing.
• Additional modules. They are audited together with the standard. During an unannounced audit, if the auditor cannot assess a module because the relevant production is not running, the module is audited separately, which means an extra visit.
• Scope extension. A new product or process introduced between two audits may require a separate, announced extension audit.
• Several standards. BRCGS recommends auditing a site’s BRCGS standards at the same time, for example Food Safety and Storage & Distribution.

How do the grade and non-conformities change the budget?

The first audit sets the rhythm of the ones that follow, and every organisational incident is paid for with an extra audit. The cheapest audit is the one you pass first time.

The grade, from AA to D, is calculated on the number and level of non-conformities raised, under the audit protocol of the Standard (BRCGS080). The budget consequence is certain: a site graded C or D pays for two audits a year.

For the full rules on unannounced and blended audits, read our article BRCGS unannounced or blended audit: the rules in late 2026. To limit the number of non-conformities on the day, see preparing the BRCGS certification audit.

What can be funded, and how do you compare quotes?

The certification audit is not funded by special training contracts (CSF) of OFPPT, Morocco’s vocational training office. CSF contracts cover training actions: in a BRCGS project, HACCP, BRCGS, allergen or internal auditor training may be eligible; the audit and site works are not, and consultancy is not eligible as such.

The reference rules we apply are those on our CSF and OFPPT funding page: 70% for planned training delivered by an external provider, 40% for unplanned training, the same rates applied to a retained cost of MAD 800 per day per participant for in-house training, within a ceiling set by the vocational training tax the company declares. These rules come from the CSF procedures manual of May 2006 and its Amendment No. 2 of 2 June 2014. They are indicative rates, before ceilings and with no commitment: only OFPPT decides the reimbursement, and we offer a simulation based on your own data.

Before signing with a certification body, check these points on every quote:

• The certification body is BRCGS-approved and its auditors are qualified for the site’s product categories.
  
• The audit duration is stated and calculated with the BRCGS Issue 9 calculator.
  
• The scope of the quote matches the approved scope: products, processes, chapter 9, modules.
  
• Travel and accommodation costs are priced separately.
  
• The method for verifying corrections is described: evidence submitted or a further visit.
  
• The contract covers the unannounced audit: non-audit days, site access, lost auditor time.
  
• The cost of an audit that cannot take place (refusal of access, no production, technical failure) is written down.
  
• The proposed calendar takes account of the audit window and the production seasons.