diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/audit.rb b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/audit.rb
index a73a0bef51..5a3e41d670 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/audit.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/audit.rb
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ module Homebrew
       style
     end
 
+    online = ARGV.include? "--online"
+
     ENV.activate_extensions!
     ENV.setup_build_environment
 
@@ -50,7 +52,7 @@ module Homebrew
     output_header = !strict
 
     ff.each do |f|
-      fa = FormulaAuditor.new(f, :strict => strict)
+      fa = FormulaAuditor.new(f, :strict => strict, :online => online)
       fa.audit
 
       unless fa.problems.empty?
@@ -131,6 +133,7 @@ class FormulaAuditor
   def initialize(formula, options={})
     @formula = formula
     @strict = !!options[:strict]
+    @online = !!options[:online]
     @problems = []
     @text = FormulaText.new(formula.path)
     @specs = %w{stable devel head}.map { |s| formula.send(s) }.compact
@@ -230,6 +233,7 @@ class FormulaAuditor
       return
     end
 
+    return unless @online
     same_name_tap_formulae = Formula.tap_names.select do |tap_formula_name|
       user_name, _, formula_name = tap_formula_name.split("/", 3)
       user_name == "homebrew" && formula_name == name
@@ -423,7 +427,7 @@ class FormulaAuditor
   end
 
   def audit_github_repository
-    return unless @strict
+    return unless @online
 
     regex = %r{https?://github.com/([^/]+)/([^/]+)/?.*}
     _, user, repo = *regex.match(formula.stable.url) if formula.stable
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/test-bot.rb b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/test-bot.rb
index 64b14efa34..0418b7dec5 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/test-bot.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/test-bot.rb
@@ -481,7 +481,7 @@ module Homebrew
       end
       install_passed = steps.last.passed?
       audit_args = [canonical_formula_name]
-      audit_args << "--strict" if @added_formulae.include? formula_name
+      audit_args << "--strict" << "--online" if @added_formulae.include? formula_name
       test "brew", "audit", *audit_args
       if install_passed
         if formula.stable? && !ARGV.include?('--no-bottle')
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/manpages/brew.1.md b/Library/Homebrew/manpages/brew.1.md
index d5c6fa17ca..ede0d02240 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/manpages/brew.1.md
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/manpages/brew.1.md
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ Note that these flags should only appear after a command.
 
 ## COMMANDS
 
-  * `audit` [--strict] [<formulae>]:
+  * `audit` [--strict] [--online] [<formulae>]:
     Check <formulae> for Homebrew coding style violations. This should be
     run before submitting a new formula.
 
@@ -47,6 +47,9 @@ Note that these flags should only appear after a command.
     If `--strict` is passed, additional checks are run. This should be used
     when creating for new formulae.
 
+    If `--online` is passed, additional slower checks that require a network
+    connection are run. This should be used when creating for new formulae.
+
     `audit` exits with a non-zero status if any errors are found. This is useful,
     for instance, for implementing pre-commit hooks.
 
diff --git a/share/man/man1/brew.1 b/share/man/man1/brew.1
index eb3b46ebf9..f3f80c76de 100644
--- a/share/man/man1/brew.1
+++ b/share/man/man1/brew.1
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ Perform a substring search of formula names for \fItext\fR\. If \fItext\fR is su
 .SH "COMMANDS"
 .
 .IP "\(bu" 4
-\fBaudit\fR [\-\-strict] [\fIformulae\fR]: Check \fIformulae\fR for Homebrew coding style violations\. This should be run before submitting a new formula\.
+\fBaudit\fR [\-\-strict] [\-\-online] [\fIformulae\fR]: Check \fIformulae\fR for Homebrew coding style violations\. This should be run before submitting a new formula\.
 .
 .IP
 If no \fIformulae\fR are provided, all of them are checked\.
@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@ If no \fIformulae\fR are provided, all of them are checked\.
 If \fB\-\-strict\fR is passed, additional checks are run\. This should be used when creating for new formulae\.
 .
 .IP
+If \fB\-\-online\fR is passed, additional slower checks that require a network connection are run\. This should be used when creating for new formulae\.
+.
+.IP
 \fBaudit\fR exits with a non\-zero status if any errors are found\. This is useful, for instance, for implementing pre\-commit hooks\.
 .
 .IP "\(bu" 4