Once an audit or inspection is closed, it can no longer be changed. This protects the audit trail: what was approved stays exactly as it was approved.

## When an audit counts as closed

An audit is write-protected as soon as it reaches one of these statuses:

* **Approved / Completed**
* **Finally Closed**
* **Finally Verified**

An audit that is only **Completed on Board** is **not** yet protected — it is still waiting for the office to review it and can still be edited.

## What is locked

Opening a closed audit (**Audit & Inspect** > select the audit > `Edit`) opens it in view-only mode:

* There is **no save button**.
* **Findings** cannot be added or deleted. Existing findings can still be opened, but they too open read-only.
* **Attachments** cannot be added or deleted. Existing ones can still be viewed.
* The fill-out function, the crew-list lookups and the cover picture cannot be changed.
* The **questionnaire** can no longer be opened for editing, and its action buttons on the audit tile are no longer shown.
* [Change Inspection Date](/HSSEQ/Audit-and-Inspect/Change-Inspection-Date.md) is refused.

Everything stays fully **visible**. The protection prevents changes, not reading or printing.

## Editing a closed audit anyway

This needs one of the special permissions **Edit (Administrative Tasks)** or **Edit closed items**. Users holding one of them can open and edit closed audits and their findings as before. If you think you need this, ask your system administrator — it is deliberately not given out by default.

## Findings without a risk level

A finding that was closed **before** a risk level became mandatory can still be opened and saved without one — the requirement is not applied retroactively, so historical records do not become unsaveable. See [Risk Level for Findings](/HSSEQ/Audit-and-Inspect/Risk-Level-for-Findings.md).

This exception concerns the risk level only. If the **whole audit** is closed, the finding opens read-only regardless, and the special permission above is what makes it editable again.

## Final verification needs a closed questionnaire

An audit whose questionnaire is still open cannot be finally verified. The attempt is refused with a message saying the questionnaire has to be closed first.

Close the questionnaire — in the office through `Close Report` on the audit's safety-report tile — and run the final verification again. This makes sure an audit is never approved while its questionnaire is still being worked on.

*[PO]: Purchase Order  
*[AZA]: local folder
*[(PO]: Purchase Order  
*[RQ]: Requisition  
*[(RQ]: Requisition  
*[RfQ]: Request for Quotation  
*[(RfQ]: Request for Quotation  
*[SO]: Service Order  
*[(SO]: Service Order  
*[SQ]: Service Requisition  
*[(SQ]: Service Requisition  
*[SRfQ]: Service Request for Quotation  
*[OoB]: Open on Board  
*[(OoB]: Open on Board 
*[ART]: Average Running Time (operation hours per day) 
*[MC]: Master Contract
*[ADS]: Advantage Database Server (database engine used in previous versions of the ZeeBORN software)
*[.replic]: file extension for replication files (aka data transfer files)