These take place once the crop has reached a suitable growth stage, i.e. When all the ears of the crop are fully emerged and all the characters used in the identification of varieties are clearly distinguishable.

During inspections, numbers of varietal and species impurities are recorded along with any Wild Oats found. These are used along with plant populations to calculate a figure per hectare, which is then compared against the reject value (maximum permissible number) for the standard HVS and EEC. These reject values are set by the Certifying Authority.

Pre-Basic and Basic crops can only be inspected by Official Inspectors (Officers of the Certifying Authority) C1 and C2 crops can be inspected by either Official or Licensed Inspectors (Company employees operating under licence from the Certifying Authority).