An inspection tour was a procedure that was normally carried out by flag officers in Starfleet. When a starship docked at a starbase, it was usually subject to an inspection by the flag officer of the base.

The inspection tour was also carried out by a ship's commanding officer, and was known as the Captain's Tour, where the captain traveled amongst his crew to gage the morale and efficiency as well as personnally check the status of his ship. (TOS movie: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and novel: The Klingon Gambit).