How to hire a PREA auditor.
For agencies that participate in PREA, every covered facility needs a certified audit once each three-year cycle. Most facilities searching for an auditor have been through the process before and now need a new one. This guide covers how to find, vet, and contract with an auditor in plain language.
PREA compliance is tied to federal funding: states certify compliance through their governors, and agencies that accept the relevant grant funds take on the standards, including the audit requirement. If your agency is one of them, hiring the right auditor is not complicated, but there are federal rules about who can do the work, who cannot, and how the engagement has to run. Here is the process, step by step. For authoritative guidance at any point, the PREA Resource Center's website is the official source.
Confirm your audit timing
Under 28 C.F.R. § 115.401, every facility covered by the PREA standards must be audited at least once during each three-year audit cycle, and agencies with multiple facilities must have at least one-third of them audited in each year of the cycle. If you are not sure where your facility falls in the current cycle, check the date on your last final audit report and count forward three years.
If you are reading this, chances are you are not new to audits. Facilities usually go looking for a new auditor for a handful of reasons: the consortium or state arrangement that supplied audits has ended, the previous auditor retired or was not recertified, or the agency simply wants a different auditor this cycle. All of those are normal, and none of them change the process below. What does matter is lead time: certified auditors book site visits months out, so six to nine months ahead of your deadline is comfortable.
Start with the PREA Resource Center's auditor database
Only a DOJ-certified PREA auditor can serve as the lead auditor on a PREA audit, and the Department of Justice maintains one public list of them: the PREA Resource Center auditor database. All active auditors are listed there, and it is the place to confirm anyone you are considering.
The database shows each auditor's certification status, certification date, and the facility types they are certified to audit. Pay attention to status: auditors listed as decertified or suspended may not conduct audits at all, and an auditor with restricted status may need DOJ permission to take on new work. Also confirm the certification type matches your facility. An auditor certified only for juvenile facilities cannot lead the audit of your county jail, and vice versa.
One lead, sometimes a team. A lead auditor may bring other certified auditors or non-certified support staff onto an engagement, and for larger facilities that depth is a real advantage. But the certified lead auditor is the one responsible for the audit and every work product, so that is the certification you verify.
Screen for conflicts of interest
The standards build independence into the hiring rules, and this is where agencies most often trip. Under § 115.402, the auditor must be someone with no financial ties to your agency. Specifically, you cannot hire an auditor who received financial compensation from your agency within the three years before you retain them, other than fees for conducting prior PREA audits. And it runs both ways: for three years after the audit, your agency cannot employ, contract with, or otherwise compensate that auditor except for future PREA audits.
In practice, that means the consultant who helped you write your PREA policies last year cannot audit you this year. Ask any prospective auditor directly whether they have done paid work for your agency in the past three years, and keep your own record of the answer. A careful auditor will raise this question before you do.
Ask the questions that separate auditors
Certification is the floor, not the ceiling. Once you have a short list of certified, conflict-free auditors, the useful differences come out in a conversation. Worth asking:
- How many audits have you completed, and in what settings? Experience with your facility type, whether that is a maximum-security prison, a 60-bed county jail, or a community confinement program, means fewer surprises during the onsite and a report grounded in how that type of facility operates.
- What is your corrections background? Time spent working inside facilities, in security, compliance, or administration, gives an auditor working knowledge of posts, supervision practices, recordkeeping, and how policy shows up on the unit.
- Will you bring a team? The certified lead auditor conducts the audit personally. Leads may also bring additional certified auditors or support staff onto an engagement, so ask who will be onsite and in what role.
- How do you handle corrective action? If any standard comes back as Does Not Meet, a 180-day corrective action period follows. Ask whether follow-up review is included in the quoted fee or billed separately.
- Can you provide references? A facility that has been through an audit with this auditor can tell you what the experience was actually like.
Understand what an audit costs
There is no government-set price for a PREA audit. Auditors set their own fees, and quotes vary based on facility type, size, location, and travel. Some auditors quote a fixed fee per facility; others bill a daily rate plus expenses. When comparing quotes, make sure you are comparing the same scope: does the fee cover the pre-audit document review, the full onsite visit, the interim and final reports, and corrective action follow-up? A low quote that bills corrective action separately can end up costing more than a higher all-inclusive one.
Get the full scope in writing before you sign anything, and ask about travel costs up front. An auditor based within driving distance of your facility often has a real cost advantage over one flying in.
Put the contract and timeline in place
PREA audits follow a set sequence under the DOJ audit methodology, so the contract should reflect it. The PREA Resource Center offers guidance on audit contracting, including sample auditing contract provisions (under revision as of this writing, so check the PRC site for the current version). The audit itself is initiated and documented through DOJ's Online Audit System. Here is how a standard engagement unfolds:
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| ~8 weeks before onsite | The Pre-Audit Questionnaire opens in the Online Audit System and the facility begins uploading policies, training records, and supporting documentation. |
| 6 weeks before onsite | The audit notice is posted throughout the facility so staff and residents can communicate confidentially with the auditor. |
| Onsite visit | Facility walkthrough, confidential interviews with staff and residents, observation of supervision practices, and verification that policy matches practice. Typically a few days, depending on facility size. |
| Within 45 days | The written report is filed, rating every standard as Exceeds, Meets, or Does Not Meet. |
| Up to 180 days | If any standard is not met, the corrective action period runs, ending in the Final Audit Report. |
Get your facility ready
The best thing you can do for your own audit is prepare like the auditor is already in the building. Before the engagement starts, have these in place:
- A designated point of contact, usually your PREA Coordinator or PREA Compliance Manager, who can pull records and schedule interviews or line up the people who can.
- A completed Pre-Audit Questionnaire with the supporting documentation organized and uploaded on time.
- The audit notice posted where staff and residents will actually see it.
- A private space for confidential interviews.
- Access to the housing areas, records, staff, and residents the audit methodology requires.
Facilities that treat the pre-audit phase seriously almost always have shorter corrective action lists. The TrustPoint resource library collects the PREA Resource Center's policy review worksheets and preparation guides if you want a head start.
Looking to hire a PREA auditor now?
TrustPoint Consulting is an independent, DOJ-certified PREA auditor based in Wisconsin, serving the Midwest and available nationwide. Certified since 2014 for adult prisons, jails, lockups, and community confinement, with 23 audits completed and corrective action support included in every engagement. Send your facility type, location, and timeline for a direct quote, with no procurement middleman.
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