diff --git a/api/migrations/20260212165353-audit-log.js b/api/migrations/20260212165353-audit-log.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..951ad5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/migrations/20260212165353-audit-log.js
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+'use strict';
+
+var dbm;
+var type;
+var seed;
+var fs = require('fs');
+var path = require('path');
+var Promise;
+
+/**
+  * We receive the dbmigrate dependency from dbmigrate initially.
+  * This enables us to not have to rely on NODE_PATH.
+  */
+exports.setup = function(options, seedLink) {
+  dbm = options.dbmigrate;
+  type = dbm.dataType;
+  seed = seedLink;
+  Promise = options.Promise;
+};
+
+exports.up = function(db) {
+  var filePath = path.join(__dirname, 'sqls', '20260212165353-audit-log-up.sql');
+  return new Promise( function( resolve, reject ) {
+    fs.readFile(filePath, {encoding: 'utf-8'}, function(err,data){
+      if (err) return reject(err);
+      console.log('received data: ' + data);
+
+      resolve(data);
+    });
+  })
+  .then(function(data) {
+    return db.runSql(data);
+  });
+};
+
+exports.down = function(db) {
+  var filePath = path.join(__dirname, 'sqls', '20260212165353-audit-log-down.sql');
+  return new Promise( function( resolve, reject ) {
+    fs.readFile(filePath, {encoding: 'utf-8'}, function(err,data){
+      if (err) return reject(err);
+      console.log('received data: ' + data);
+
+      resolve(data);
+    });
+  })
+  .then(function(data) {
+    return db.runSql(data);
+  });
+};
+
+exports._meta = {
+  "version": 1
+};
diff --git a/api/migrations/sqls/20260212165353-audit-log-down.sql b/api/migrations/sqls/20260212165353-audit-log-down.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..44f074e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/migrations/sqls/20260212165353-audit-log-down.sql
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+/* Replace with your SQL commands */
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/api/migrations/sqls/20260212165353-audit-log-up.sql b/api/migrations/sqls/20260212165353-audit-log-up.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d375024
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/migrations/sqls/20260212165353-audit-log-up.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+CREATE TABLE audit_log (
+    id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
+    -- "area.action" (e.g., 'calendarEvent.create', 'member.update_rank')
+    action_type VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
+    -- The JSON blob containing detailed information
+    payload JSON DEFAULT NULL,
+    -- Identifying the actor
+    created_by INT,
+    -- The ID of the resource being acted upon
+    target_id INT DEFAULT NULL,
+
+    created_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
+    CONSTRAINT fk_created_by FOREIGN KEY (created_by) REFERENCES members(id) ON DELETE
+    SET NULL,
+        INDEX idx_action (action_type),
+        INDEX idx_target (target_id)
+);
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/api/src/services/logging/auditLog.ts b/api/src/services/logging/auditLog.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f6e5adc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/src/services/logging/auditLog.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import pool from "../../db";
+import { logger } from "./logger";
+
+export type AuditArea = 'member' | 'calendar' | 'unit' | 'auth' | 'admin' | 'application';
+
+export interface AuditContext {
+    actorId: number;       // The person doing the action (created_by)
+    targetId?: number;     // The ID of the thing being changed (target_id)
+}
+
+class AuditLogger {
+    async record(
+        area: AuditArea,
+        action: string,
+        context: AuditContext,
+        data: Record<string, any> = {} // Already optional with default {}
+    ) {
+        const actionType = `${area}.${action}`;
+
+        try {
+            await pool.query(
+                `INSERT INTO audit_log (action_type, payload, target_id, created_by) 
+                 VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?)`, // Fixed: removed extra comma/placeholder
+                [
+                    actionType,
+                    JSON.stringify(data),
+                    context.targetId || null,
+                    context.actorId,
+                ]
+            );
+        } catch (err) {
+            logger.error('audit', `AUDIT_FAILURE: Failed to log ${actionType}`, { error: err });
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Making data optional using '?' and default parameter
+    member(action: 'update_rank' | 'status_change' | 'create', context: AuditContext, data: any = {}) {
+        return this.record('member', action, context, data);
+    }
+
+    calendar(action: 'event_signup' | 'event_create' | 'attendance', context: AuditContext, data: any = {}) {
+        return this.record('calendar', action, context, data);
+    }
+
+    application(action: 'created' | 'approved' | 'denied' | 'restarted', context: AuditContext, data: any = {}) {
+        return this.record('application', action, context, data);
+    }
+}
+
+export const audit = new AuditLogger();
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/api/src/services/logging/logger.ts b/api/src/services/logging/logger.ts
index cc4c39e..73adba2 100644
--- a/api/src/services/logging/logger.ts
+++ b/api/src/services/logging/logger.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 export type LogLevel = 'debug' | 'info' | 'warn' | 'error';
 export type LogDepth = 'normal' | 'verbose' | 'profiling';
-export type LogType = 'http' | 'app' | 'auth' | 'profiling';
+export type LogType = 'http' | 'app' | 'auth' | 'profiling' | 'audit';
 
 export interface LogHeader {
     timestamp: string;