Free template
Corrective action request (CAPA) form
A corrective action request is the form used to make sure a problem is fixed at its cause and does not come back. It is the record of a CAPA, corrective and preventive action: the problem is described with facts, the customer is protected by containment, the root cause is found and confirmed, a corrective action removes it, a preventive action deals with the same weakness elsewhere, and the request is closed only when data shows the fix works. This form covers those seven sections on two portrait pages, with the source of the request, separate boxes for why the problem happened and why it was not caught, and a list of the documents to update.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
When to use it
When to use a corrective action form
- For a customer complaint or a returned part that needs a formal response.
- For a repeat problem, a failed audit finding or a nonconformance that must not happen again.
- For a supplier defect, when you issue the request to the supplier and they fill it in.
- For internal problems with a safety or cost impact that need a documented fix.
- Not for one-off problems with an obvious cause: fix them and move on.
How to fill it in
- 1
Fill in the header and the source
Request number, date, who raised it, who it is issued to, the part or process and the response date. Tick the source and write the NCR, complaint or audit number.
- 2
Describe the problem
What requirement was not met, with the evidence: the part, the drawing or standard, how many, where and how it was found. Facts, not causes.
- 3
Contain it first
Protect the customer while you investigate: check suspect stock on the line, in the warehouse, in transit and at the customer, and record how many were checked and found bad.
- 4
Find and confirm the root cause
Tick the method, then write why it happened and why it was not caught. Confirm the cause with data or a test before choosing actions.
- 5
Correct and prevent
At least one corrective action for each root cause, with an owner and a date. Then check where else the same weakness exists and update the FMEA, control plan, work instructions and training.
- 6
Verify and close
After enough time or parts, check with data that the problem has not come back. Tick effective and close, or go back to the root cause.
A filled-in example
Illustrative, not a benchmarkAn example: a corrective action request raised from a customer complaint about loose screws on a bracket assembly.
- Problem: 14 of 600 brackets in one delivery had a screw below torque, all built on second shift over two days.
- Containment: 1,800 brackets in stock checked and 9 more found and reworked; the customer's 600 sorted the same week.
- Root cause: after a breakdown, a battery driver replaced the corded one and was never set to the torque on the work instruction. It was not caught because the torque audit ran on first shift only.
- Corrective action: driver set and locked, and added to the start-of-shift check. Torque audit extended to every shift.
- Preventive action: every battery driver in the plant checked against its work instruction, and the control plan updated.
No loose screws turned up in six weeks of audits and deliveries, so the request was closed with that data attached.
Common mistakes
Closing at containment
Once the sorting stops the complaints, the pressure drops and the cause is never found. Keep the request open until the fix is verified.
Human error as the root cause
People make mistakes when the process lets them. Ask what made the error possible and fix that.
Retraining as the only action
Training helps, but it does not remove the cause. Look for a change to the process, the fixture or the check.
No escape cause
If you only ask why it happened, the next defect gets out the same way. Write why it was not caught too.
Verifying the next day
One good day proves little. Check over enough time or parts for the problem to have come back if the fix had not worked.
Download the template
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
Run this template in LeanSuite
In LeanSuite operators raise a non-conformance at the line with photos, and a systemic issue becomes a CAPA: a project type with its own approval steps, root cause sections and action plan.
In the lean glossary
Free tools
FAQ
Corrective action request (CAPA) form: common questions
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