SOC 2 Type II Readiness Checklist

Complete checklist to prepare for your SOC 2 Type II audit. 60+ items organized by TSC category. This free, professionally written template from Proveably is ready to download in multiple formats and customise for your organisation. No account required.

Walk through every major control area for SOC 2 Type II readiness. Organized by Trust Services Criteria with specific action items.

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Why You Need This SOC 2 Type II Readiness Checklist

A well-documented SOC 2 Type II Readiness Checklist is essential for organisations pursuing compliance certifications and building trust with customers, partners, and auditors. Without formal documentation, your organisation faces several risks:

  • Audit failures — Auditors specifically check for documented policies. A missing or incomplete checklist is one of the most common reasons organisations fail SOC 2, ISO 27001, or other compliance audits.
  • Security gaps — Without clear guidelines, employees and contractors may follow inconsistent security practices, creating vulnerabilities.
  • Regulatory exposure — Many regulations (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS) require documented policies. Non-compliance can result in fines and legal liability.
  • Lost business opportunities — Enterprise customers increasingly require vendors to demonstrate formal security policies before signing contracts.

This Proveably template gives you a professional starting point that covers industry best practices and maps directly to compliance framework requirements.

Compliance Framework Requirements

This template is designed to satisfy requirements from the following frameworks:

soc2

This template addresses key soc2 control requirements with pre-mapped sections and audit-ready language.

Specifically mapped control codes: CC1.1, CC2.1, CC3.1, CC4.1, CC5.1, CC6.1, CC7.1, CC8.1, CC9.1, A1.1

Template Preview

# SOC 2 Type II Readiness Checklist Use this checklist to assess your readiness before engaging an auditor. Check each item as you implement it. --- ## CC1 — Control Environment - [ ] Information security policy documented and approved - [ ] Organizational chart with security responsibilities defined - [ ] Code of conduct / ethics policy published - [ ] Board/management oversight of security program documented - [ ] Security awareness training program implemented - [ ] Annual training completion tracked ## CC2 — Communication & Information - [ ] Internal security communication channels established (Slack, email) - [ ] External communication procedures documented (customer notifications) - [ ] System boundaries and data flows documented - [ ] Privacy notice published and accessible - [ ] Whistleblower / anonymous reporting channel available ## CC3 — Risk Assessment - [ ] Risk assessment methodology defined - [ ] Risk register created and populated - [ ] Risk scoring criteria established (likelihood × impact) - [ ] Risk owners assigned - [ ] Quarterly risk review process documented - [ ] Third-party risk included in assessment ## CC4 — Monitoring Activities - [ ] Continuous monitoring tools deployed (vulnerability scanner, SIEM) - [ ] Key metrics and KPIs defined - [ ] Alerting thresholds configured - [ ] Monthly security review meetings scheduled - [ ] Control effectiveness measured periodically ## CC5 — Control Activities - [ ] Logical access controls implemented (RBAC) - [ ] Change management process documented and followed - [ ] Configuration management standards defined - [ ] Segregation of duties enforced for critical functions - [ ] Technology controls map to control objectives ## CC6 — Logical & Physical Access - [ ] Multi-factor authentication enforced (all users) - [ ] Password policy enforced (complexity, rotation) - [ ] SSO configured for all SaaS applications - [ ] Quarterly access reviews conducted - [ ] Least-privilege principle documented and verified - [ ] Onboarding/offboarding access checklists in use - [ ] Encryption at rest enabled (all databases, backups) - [ ] Encryption in transit enforced (TLS 1.2+) - [ ] Physical access controls (office/datacenter) documented ## CC7 — System Operations - [ ] Vulnerability scanning running (weekly minimum) - [ ] Penetration testing completed (annual) - [ ] Incident response plan documented and tested - [ ] Log aggregation and monitoring in place - [ ] Alert triage and escalation procedures defined - [ ] Endpoint protection (EDR) deployed on all devices ## CC8 — Change Management - [ ] Change management policy documented - [ ] All code changes require PR with review - [ ] Branch protection enabled on main branches - [ ] CI/CD pipeline with automated testing - [ ] Deployment procedures documented - [ ] Rollback procedures tested ## CC9 — Risk Mitigation - [ ] Vendor management program established - [ ] Vendor risk assessments completed for critical vendors - [ ] Business associate / DPA agreements in place - [ ] Insurance coverage reviewed (cyber liability, E&O) ## A1 — Availability - [ ] RTO/RPO targets defined - [ ] Backup strategy documented and tested - [ ] Disaster recovery plan documented - [ ] DR testing conducted (quarterly recommended) - [ ] Uptime monitoring and status page operational --- ### Scoring - **90-100%** checked: Likely audit-ready - **70-89%** checked: Close — address remaining gaps - **50-69%** checked: Significant work remaining - **< 50%** checked: Early stages — prioritize P0 items --- *Last updated: [Date]*

Frequently Asked Questions

A SOC 2 Type II Readiness Checklist is a formal checklist that complete checklist to prepare for your soc 2 type ii audit. 60+ items organized by tsc category. It provides a structured framework for organisations to document and enforce security and compliance requirements.
Yes. Proveably provides this SOC 2 Type II Readiness Checklist template completely free of charge. You can download it in Markdown, PDF, Word, Excel, or plain text format — no account required.
This checklist is mapped to soc2. It includes the specific control references and requirements needed to satisfy auditor expectations for these frameworks.
Download the template in your preferred format, then customise the bracketed placeholder sections with your organisation's specific details. Review with your security team or compliance officer, get management approval, and distribute to relevant staff. Proveably recommends reviewing and updating this checklist at least annually.
Absolutely. This template is designed as a starting point. All sections should be tailored to your organisation's size, industry, and specific compliance requirements. The placeholder text indicates sections that require customisation.

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