Non-Conformance Report (NCR) Writing

When to use

Write an NCR whenever a product, material, or service does not conform to a specified requirement:

• Incoming inspection failure
• In-process defect found at any production step
• Final inspection rejection
• Customer return or field complaint
• Audit finding on a product characteristic

The non-negotiable rule

An NCR describes WHAT is wrong, not WHY.

Root cause belongs in the CAPA / 8D. The NCR is the factual record of the non-conformance itself. Mixing root cause speculation into the NCR contaminates the record.

An NCR is a controlled quality record and may be used in audits, customer reviews, and legal contexts. All content must be objective and defensible.