Audit trailUpdated September 26, 2026

The audit trail that logs every field, every time

Who changed a value, when, what it was before, what it is now, and why. Capture records all five automatically, on every record, and none of it can be edited from the app.

  • Field-level, not form-level
  • Cannot be edited from the UI
  • Exportable any time

Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 aligned

Stage 1

Draft

Build and edit freely

Stage 2

Approved

Locked for live use

Stage 3

In the casebook

Only approved forms

Audit trail
  • SDV requirement changed on Systolic BP

    Data manager · Reason: critical safety value

  • Form approved: Vital Signs (VS) v2

    Study owner · Locked for live use

  • Answer changed: Weight 68.0 to 68.5 kg

    Site coordinator · Reason: transcription error

5

things logged: user, time, old value, new value, reason

Field

level, not just form-level

0

admin settings that can turn it off

EDC + eConsent

one audit trail across both

What gets recorded

Not a change log. A record that survives an inspection

A usable audit trail needs more than a timestamp. Capture logs the user, the exact time, the value before the change, the value after, and the stated reason, for every field, automatically, with no extra step for the site to remember.

  • Applies to eCRF fields, repeating rows like concomitant medications, and eConsent signature events.
  • Recorded by the database itself, not the browser, so it survives even if a session is interrupted.
  • Not editable or clearable from the application by any role.

Stage 1

Draft

Build and edit freely

Stage 2

Approved

Locked for live use

Stage 3

In the casebook

Only approved forms

Audit trail
  • SDV requirement changed on Systolic BP

    Data manager · Reason: critical safety value

  • Form approved: Vital Signs (VS) v2

    Study owner · Locked for live use

  • Answer changed: Weight 68.0 to 68.5 kg

    Site coordinator · Reason: transcription error

In practice

Where the audit trail actually gets used

  1. 1

    Query resolution

    A monitor checks who resolved a query, what the value changed to, and the stated reason.

  2. 2

    Data cleaning

    A data manager traces an outlier back to when it was entered and whether it was ever corrected.

  3. 3

    QA sampling

    QA pulls a sample of entries ahead of an inspection to confirm ALCOA+ principles hold up.

  4. 4

    Site correction

    A coordinator fixes a transcription error and records the reason at the moment they do it.

The difference

A basic change log vs a real audit trail

Level of detail
Form was edited, no field named
Exact field, old value and new value
Reason
Not captured
Required reason for every change
Editable by admins
Often yes
Never, from the application
Covers eConsent
Separate system, separate log
Same audit trail as EDC

FAQ

Questions teams ask before they switch

Something not covered here? Ask us directly.

What is an audit trail in clinical trials?

A record of every change made to trial data, capturing who made the change, when, the value before and after, and the reason. It replaces the need to trust an unverified correction.

Is Capture’s audit trail field-level or form-level?

Field-level. Each individual field keeps its own history of old value, new value, user and reason, rather than one log entry for the whole form.

Can an administrator edit or delete audit trail entries?

No. The audit trail is recorded by the system, not the interface, and cannot be edited or cleared from the application by any role.

Does the audit trail cover eConsent as well as EDC?

Yes. Signature events, document versions and consent status changes are logged in the same audit trail as eCRF data changes.

Can I export the audit trail for a monitoring visit?

Yes, at any time, filtered by site or date range, without needing to file a support request.

How is this different from a simple version history?

Version history usually shows that a document changed. A field-level audit trail shows exactly which value changed, what it was before, who changed it, and why, on every individual field.

Look at a real audit trail entry

Free sandbox, sample data, no credit card. Make an edit and see exactly what gets logged.