BIOR Audited means a recruitment business has had its policies and a sample of its placement files read, line by line, against UK recruitment law and the BIOR Code, by the professional body that certifies it, within the last two years. It is proof a tender panel, a preferred supplier list or a client’s due diligence can check for itself when the question is “are you audited”. It is done online, the outcome comes within ten working days, and the result sits on the agency’s public verification page where anyone can open it.
Ten facts about the BIOR audit
Judge it by these ten facts.
- Online. No visit, no meeting, no call.
- The outcome within ten working days.
- £895 plus VAT for two years. Nothing to pay in between.
- One free declaration at twelve months, under two minutes.
- The standard set out line by line, with its version number, before you upload a thing.
- Every line of the outcome shown, met or not met, with the clause it rests on.
- Your status on a public verification page any buyer can open, with the verification address printed on the certificate.
- A badge for your website and email signature that points at the live record.
- Help at every step, with written guides and a help panel that answers from BIOR’s knowledge bank.
- Built with the agencies that use it. Every question and problem raised in the portal is read by the team and shapes the next version.
What the audit checks
Two things, both against a standard that carries a version number. The business first, in fifteen lines. A named owner of compliance, the terms issued to work-seekers, the Key Information Documents, advertising, fees and transparency, the payroll chain and every umbrella company used, statutory sick pay and rates, the day-one rights in force since April 2026, the harassment duty from 30 October 2026, documentation discipline, the January 2027 plan, right to work, agency workers’ rights, data protection, and complaints and the Code. Then the files. Five placements from the last six months, chosen by BIOR and not by the agency, each read against a ten-line checklist, from the terms issued before the first day to the payslip matching the Key Information Document. The version the agency was audited against is kept with its record, so the buyer knows what the status means.
How it works
An Agency Member adds the audit from its dashboard. The dashboard then shows three tiles, the business lines with a director’s declarations, the placement files with an upload box per checklist line, and Submit. BIOR reads the submission and issues the outcome within ten working days. There is no visit, no meeting and no call. The outcome is a page, not a report, every line met or not met, in plain words, with the regulation it rests on. Where a gap can be closed, the evidence is uploaded on the same page within twenty working days and the status follows. The agency’s verification page, directory entry, badge and certificate update the minute the outcome is issued.
What the status says, and what it does not
It says the business had the processes the law requires, that a sample of its files showed them in use, and that a director signed the declarations. It does not say that every placement complied, that the business meets every obligation outside the standard, or that it holds any sector accreditation. An Education Supply Certification, for agencies that supply schools and colleges, is in preparation and opens to Agency Members in January 2027. A buyer remains free to make its own checks and can ask the agency for its outcome page.
Every two years, with a declaration between
The status runs for two years from the outcome. At twelve months the business confirms, on one page of its dashboard, that its documents stand and nothing in its declarations has changed. There is no fee for the declaration, and the outcome email carries a calendar file with the date. Sixty days before expiry the business is invited to renew. A status that is not renewed, or a membership that lapses, shows as lapsed on the public record.
How to check an agency
Search the business at ior.org/verify. An audited business shows its BIOR Audited status and the date it runs to. A business in progress, due or lapsed is shown as such. Every audited business is also listed at ior.org/audited. The record is published by BIOR from the live register, not by the agency.
Questions people ask
Is the BIOR audit the same as BIOR certification?
No. Certification is the assessment every Agency Member and every recruiter takes against UK recruitment law and the Code. The audit is the step above it. BIOR reads the business’s own documents and a sample of its files. The audit is open to every Agency Member, and the certification assessment comes with the membership.
Who can have the audit?
Agency Members of The British Institute of Recruiters. A recruitment business that is not yet a member joins and is audited in one conversation with the team. Individual members who work in an agency can ask their business to upgrade.
How long does it take?
It is done in the agency’s own time on pages that save as they go, so it can be left and picked up where it was. The five files are chosen the moment the placements list is saved. BIOR issues the outcome within ten working days of submission.
What does it cost?
£895 plus VAT for two years, and the same at each two-year renewal, with nothing to pay for the annual declaration. The audit is for Agency Members. The membership fee is separate and is explained on the agency membership page.
Does one audit cover every sector we work in?
Yes. The audit covers the recruitment law that applies to every sector, so an agency that places across IT, finance, industrial and office roles needs one audit. An Education Supply Certification, for agencies that supply schools and colleges, is in preparation and opens to Agency Members in January 2027.
To add the audit to an Agency Membership, or to join and be audited, start at ior.org/agency-membership.
Written by The BIOR Membership Team.
Last reviewed 26 October 2026.