A self-audit you can walk your facility with, covering the WHMIS elements an inspector actually asks to see: what hazardous products you have, whether the safety data sheets are current and reachable, whether every container is labelled, and whether your training records prove it.
How to use it. Walk the workplace with this in hand rather than filling it in at a desk. Mark each line Y / N / N-A, and write the specific evidence — a document name, a location, a date — in the last column. A blank evidence column is a gap. To print: Click "Print" below → select Portrait orientation → enable Background graphics in print settings → Print. To fill in: Print and complete by hand, or use your browser's "Save as PDF" and fill the fields in any PDF editor.
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WHMIS Compliance Audit
Self-audit checklist · Canadian workplaces
HSE ADVISOR CANADA hseadvisor.ca
Employer / company:
Site or area audited:
Audited by:
Position:
Date of audit:
Next review:
1. Program administration
Requirement
What good looks like
Y / N / N-A
Evidence or gap
Written WHMIS program
A documented program naming who maintains the inventory, the SDS library, labelling and training — not just a binder of data sheets.
Named program owner
One person accountable, with a named backup.
Worker consultation
The joint health and safety committee or health and safety representative has reviewed the program.
Annual review
Reviewed at least yearly and after any new product, process change or incident.
2. Hazardous product inventory
Requirement
What good looks like
Y / N / N-A
Evidence or gap
Inventory exists and is current
Every hazardous product in the workplace is listed, including maintenance, janitorial and shop consumables.
Inventory matches the floor
Spot-check: pick five containers at random and confirm each appears on the list.
Discontinued products removed
Products no longer in use have been disposed of and delisted.
Storage quantities recorded
Maximum quantities and storage locations are documented for emergency planning.
Spot-check record — five containers picked at random:
Product name
Location
On inventory? (Y/N)
Labelled? (Y/N)
SDS found? (Y/N)
3. Safety data sheets
Requirement
What good looks like
Y / N / N-A
Evidence or gap
SDS for every product
One current sheet for every product on the inventory. No gaps.
Current format
Sheets follow the 16-section format required by the Hazardous Products Regulations. Any legacy MSDS is a finding.
Sheet currency (varies by jurisdiction)
Your jurisdiction sets the employer duty. Find it in the table below and record each request or update.
Amended HPR: sheets and labels
Supplier sheets and labels meet the amended Hazardous Products Regulations (in force Dec 15, 2022; transition ended Dec 14, 2025).
Amended HPR: reclassified products
Aerosols, flammable gases and products under pressure on your inventory are checked against the new classes: Chemicals Under Pressure, Aerosols Category 3 (non-flammable) and the new Flammable Gases Category 1 subcategories (Category 1A now covers pyrophoric gases).
Amended HPR: new sheet content
Sheets show the revised physical and chemical properties in item 9. Mixtures list every hazardous ingredient above its cut-off level. Combustible dust products carry the hazard statement "May form combustible dust concentrations in air" or "May form explosible dust-air mixture".
Readily available
Sheets are readily available to workers who may be exposed. A 15-minute retrieval time is a good internal target, not a legal requirement. Test it on the shift you are auditing.
Accessible without a password barrier
If the library is electronic, workers can reach it without relying on one person or one locked computer.
Backup if the system is down
A paper copy or offline copy exists for a power or network failure.
Employer duty on sheet currency (CCOHS)
Jurisdictions
Update within 90 days when significant new information becomes available
AB, MB, NB, ON, PE, QC
Actively seek an updated sheet from the supplier every three years
Federal workplaces (Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations), BC, SK, NL, NT, NS, NU, YT
Sources: CCOHS, Safety Data Sheets (SDS); Health Canada, Amended Hazardous Products Regulations. Health Canada has said it will focus on compliance promotion until July 19, 2027 and apply risk-based enforcement after that. Check your jurisdiction's regulation for the exact wording.
Test retrieval, do not assume it. Ask a worker on the floor to produce the sheet for a product they use, and time it. The legal standard is “readily available”; 15 minutes is an internal target.
4. Labels
Requirement
What good looks like
Y / N / N-A
Evidence or gap
Supplier labels intact
Original containers carry a legible supplier label with product identifier, hazard pictograms, signal word, hazard and precautionary statements, and supplier information.
Damaged labels replaced
No faded, torn or overwritten supplier labels in service.
Workplace labels on decanted containers
Every container a product was transferred into carries a workplace label: product identifier, safe handling precautions, and a reference to the SDS.
Site-mixed products labelled
Products mixed or diluted on site are labelled to the same standard.
Piping and bulk vessels identified
Fixed installations are identified by an alternative method that workers have been trained on.
Masking tape and a marker is not a workplace label. A container reading only "cleaning solution" is a finding. The label needs the product identifier, safe handling precautions, and a pointer to the safety data sheet.
5. Education and training
Requirement
What good looks like
Y / N / N-A
Evidence or gap
General WHMIS education delivered
Workers understand pictograms, label elements, and how to read a safety data sheet.
Site-specific training delivered
Training covers the actual products in this workplace, the controls in place, and what to do in a spill or exposure.
Training records retained
Dated records naming the worker, the content and the trainer.
Refresher on change
Retraining occurs when a new product is introduced or a process changes.
Workers can demonstrate it
Ask two workers to explain a pictogram on a product they use. Record what happened.
Worker
Training delivered
Date
Trainer
6. Controls and emergency response
Requirement
What good looks like
Y / N / N-A
Evidence or gap
Exposure controls in place
Ventilation, substitution, enclosure or PPE as identified by the hazard assessment.
Spill response equipment
Correct absorbent and neutralising materials, stocked and accessible.
Eyewash and shower
Where required, tested on the documented schedule and unobstructed.
First aid aligned to products
First aid provisions reflect the actual first aid measures on the data sheets in use.
7. Findings and corrective actions
#
Finding
Action required
Owner
Due
WHMIS Compliance Audit Checklist · HSE Advisor Canada · Free to use and adapt.
WHMIS Compliance Audit Checklist · Version 1.2 · Reviewed October 2026 · HSE Advisor Canada. Free to use and adapt. General guidance, not legal advice.
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This resource is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm every requirement against the current regulation in your jurisdiction before relying on it.