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Kick-start your SOC 2 Compliance
Stress-Free with this Checklist!
Covers all the latest SOC 2 Requirements
- Availability: 3 Controls
- Security — the baseline for every SOC 2 audit: 33 Controls
- Confidentiality: 2 Controls
- Privacy : 18 Controls
- Processing Integrity: 5 Controls
Track Compliance with Ease
- Available in Google Docs: Access the SOC 2 Compliance Checklist anywhere, anytime! Collaborate with your team.
- Powerful Compliance Readiness Dashboard: Monitor all SOC 2 requirements and track your company’s readiness.
Stay Organized and Accountable
- Use the dashboard to assign responsibles.
How to start your SOC 2 Compliance?
Without SOC 2 Compliance Checklist
- Uncertain About the Right SOC 2 Report - SOC 2 type 1 vs Type 2 ?
- Clueless About Scope and Controls - You’re left wondering if you’re overcommitting or missing critical elements ?
- Overwhelmed by Complexity - The entire SOC 2 process feels like navigating a tangled web of complex standards, technical jargon, and endless documentation requirements ?
- Lost Control - You have no clear sense of where your company stands in the compliance process, what still needs to be done, and how long it will take to get there.
With SOC 2 Compliance Checklist
- Clarity on the Right SOC 2 Report from the start!
- Easily define the right scope and controls for your SOC 2 audit with actionable steps tailored to your industry
- This checklist breaks down complex controls and technical jargon into simple, easy-to-follow steps, reducing stress and helping you stay on track with confidence.
- Stay in control with a clear checklist, that shows you exactly where you stand, what’s left to do, and when you’ll be finished. Track your progress on the compliance dashboard.
How can this SOC 2 Compliance Checklist help You?
During my career, I've faced the challenge of achieving SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance firsthand while running my telehealth startup. I still remember the stress, the anxiety, and the uncertainty of not knowing where to begin. Back then, a simple yet powerful resource like this SOC 2 Compliance Checklist would have been a lifesaver.
Later, in my role at a major tech company, I successfully guided over 50 projects through SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance. Through these experiences, I discovered the most effective ways to prepare for these rigorous standards, focusing on the essential parts and how these frameworks can add real value to projects, not just headaches.
My goal is to help you see the real-world usefulness of these compliance frameworks without the stress and confusion.
That’s why I created this simple yet powerful SOC 2 Compliance Checklist and Dashboard — to help small and medium companies start their compliance journey quickly and efficiently without breaking the bank.
Here are the steps to take and what to do at each stage of the process:
1) Determine if SOC 2 Type 1 vs Type 2 is Right for Your Business
SOC 2 Type 1: Start with a Foundation (single process run)
When beginning your SOC 2 compliance journey, the first decision is whether to start with a SOC 2 Type 1 audit before moving on to the more comprehensive SOC 2 Type 2 audit.
A SOC 2 Type 1 audit evaluates whether your policies, procedures, and controls are suitably designed to meet the applicable SOC 2 criteria at a specific point in time. During a Type 1 audit, auditors will review documentation and control evidence to confirm that your controls are properly designed as of a particular date. This audit is less time-consuming and offers a quicker way to demonstrate initial compliance to customers and stakeholders.
SOC 2 Type 2: Demonstrate Long-Term Compliance (requires 6-12 months)
A SOC 2 Type 2 audit is more rigorous, as it goes beyond assessing the design of controls. In addition to verifying that controls are suitably designed, a Type 2 audit requires evidence that these controls have been operating effectively over a period of time (typically 3-6 months or more) to meet SOC 2 criteria. This provides a deeper level of assurance to your customers that your controls are not only in place but consistently effective.
Because of the difference between SOC 2 Type 1 vs Type 2 audits, many organizations choose to start with a Type 1 audit as a stepping stone to a Type 2. However, it's important to know that a Type 1 audit is not a prerequisite for a Type 2 audit—you can opt to proceed directly with a SOC 2 Type 2 audit if you are prepared to demonstrate control effectiveness over time.
PRO TIP: If this is your first SOC 2 audit and you need a report quickly, a SOC 2 Type 1 report is often acceptable to customers. It’s a great way to show initial compliance, especially if you’re on a tight timeline.
Keep in mind, a SOC 2 Type 2 audit will require at least 3-6 months of evidence to show consistent control operation.
2) Determine Your Scope
Defining the scope of your SOC 2 audit is a crucial first step. Start by deciding which of the Trust Services Categories (TSC) you want to be measured against. The TSC you choose will depend on your industry requirements and your customers' expectations.
PRO TIP: For your first SOC 2 audit, it is often advisable to focus on the Security category only. This is the foundational and mandatory criterion for all SOC 2 audits. You don’t need to include all five categories right away—just start with what’s essential. However, Availability and Confidentiality are often included based on specific customer needs or industry standards.
The Five Trust Services Categories (TSC):
1) Security (CC) (Required) - 33 Controls
Information and systems must be protected against unauthorized access, disclosure, or damage that could compromise availability, integrity, confidentiality, or privacy. Security is the core of any SOC 2 audit and is applicable to every organization.
Real-Life Examples of Security Controls:
Example: Preventing Unauthorized Access to Customer Data
If you run a SaaS company that stores sensitive customer data like personal information or financial details, you need to implement controls that prevent unauthorized access.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Require MFA for all employees accessing internal systems. Even if a password is compromised, unauthorized users cannot gain access without additional verification.
- Role-Based Access Controls (RBAC): Ensure employees have access only to the data necessary for their job. For example, customer support representatives can view customer data but cannot access financial records or system configurations.
Example: Securing Your Cloud Infrastructure
If your company uses cloud services like AWS or Azure, you must secure your cloud environment against potential threats.
- Vulnerability Assessments and Penetration Testing: Regularly test for and address security gaps in your cloud infrastructure.
- Data Encryption: Encrypt data both at rest (stored on servers) and in transit (transmitted between servers or users). This ensures that intercepted data remains unreadable without the encryption key.
2) Availability (A) - 3 Controls
Ensuring that your information and systems are always accessible to support your organization’s objectives, even in the face of unexpected disruptions. Including: Performance monitoring, Disaster Recovery, Security Incident Handling.
Real-Life Examples of Availability Controls:
Example: Disaster Recovery Plan
Develop a robust disaster recovery plan that includes regular backups of all critical data and systems, secure offsite storage, and clearly defined recovery procedures in case of a failure.
Test this plan quarterly to ensure every team member understands their role and can act quickly to minimize downtime in a disaster.
Example: Cloud-Based Disaster Recovery
Implement a cloud-based disaster recovery solution that replicates your entire data center in real-time.
In the event of a primary data center outage, this setup automatically switches to the cloud environment, ensuring uninterrupted service so customers can continue shopping, accessing applications, or completing transactions without delay.
3) Processing Integrity (PI) - 5 Controls
Ensure that all system processes are complete, valid, accurate, timely, and authorized to meet your organization’s objectives. This is crucial for maintaining trust and operational efficiency, especially when handling critical data like payment transactions or sensitive health records.
Real-Life Examples of Processing Integrity Controls:
Example: Ensuring Accurate Financial Transactions for an E-Commerce Platform
Implement controls to guarantee that every transaction is processed correctly, safeguarding both your business and your customers.
Automated Data Validation: Set up automated checks to ensure that every transaction captures the correct details, such as price, quantity, and product information, before being processed. This helps prevent common errors like overcharging customers or selling out-of-stock items, ultimately reducing disputes and improving customer satisfaction.
Example: Maintaining Data Quality in a Healthcare Management System
In a healthcare setting, data accuracy is paramount for patient safety, regulatory compliance, and operational effectiveness.
Quality Assurance Checks: Establish routine quality assurance processes to verify that all patient records, appointment details, and billing information are accurate and complete. For example, use automated alerts to notify staff if required fields are left blank or if there is a mismatch between treatment codes and services provided. This helps prevent mistakes that could impact patient care or result in billing errors.
4) Confidentiality (C) - 2 Controls
Protect information designated as confidential, such as personal data, proprietary information, and trade secrets, to ensure it is only accessible by authorized parties. Controls should prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse of sensitive data, aligning with your organization’s objectives.
Real-Life Examples of Confidentiality Controls:
Example: Encryption of Sensitive Documents
Ensure all sensitive documents are securely protected by encrypting them using advanced encryption standards (AES-256) both at rest (when stored on servers) and in transit (when sent over email or shared through client portals).
This measure ensures that even if data is intercepted during transmission or compromised at rest, it remains unreadable without the proper decryption key, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
Example: Data Masking and Anonymization:
When using customer data for purposes such as analytics, development, or testing, employ data masking and anonymization techniques to replace sensitive information with fictitious or partially hidden data. For instance, replace Social Security numbers or credit card details with dummy data or partially redact them.
This prevents exposure or misuse of sensitive data outside of its intended environment, maintaining confidentiality without sacrificing the utility of the data for internal purposes.
5) Privacy (P) - 18 Controls
Protect consumer personal information by ensuring it is collected, used, retained, disclosed, and disposed of in line with your organization’s objectives and relevant privacy regulations.
Real-Life Examples of Privacy Controls:
Example: Encryption and Secure Data Transmission
Protect personal data at all stages by implementing robust encryption methods. Encrypt sensitive personal information, such as Personal Health Information (PHI), both at rest (when stored on servers or databases) and in transit (when transmitted between applications and servers).
Use end-to-end encryption protocols like TLS (Transport Layer Security) to secure data transmission, ensuring that only authorized individuals have access to the information and reducing the risk of data breaches.
Example: Data Minimization and Retention Policy
Limit the collection of personal information to only what is necessary for completing transactions or providing services. Develop a clear data retention policy that outlines how long personal data will be kept and ensures it is securely deleted when no longer needed.
For example, retain customer payment details only for the period required by financial regulations, then securely dispose of them using encryption-based data destruction methods. This minimizes exposure to data breaches and helps maintain compliance with privacy laws.
PRO TIP: Start Simple: For most service providers, beginning with the Security category is sufficient to meet baseline customer expectations and compliance needs.
Expand as Needed: As you grow or if your customers demand additional assurances, consider including other categories such as Availability or Confidentiality.
3) Get Internal Buy-In
Internal buy-in from key stakeholders is absolutely crucial for a successful SOC 2 compliance journey. Open communication with your executive management, department leaders, and key team members throughout the SOC 2 audit planning process is essential. While this may mean extra work for them initially, it will ultimately pay off by strengthening your organization’s overall security posture and reducing the potential impact of a security breach.
Your organization's leadership, including the CTO or technical co-founder, will play a vital role in implementing SOC 2 controls and ensuring that all necessary evidence is provided to the auditor.
In smaller setups, like a startup with just a few team members, it's important to involve everyone who will be impacted by or contribute to the compliance process. This includes key personnel who can help implement controls, make necessary changes to your software, and support your compliance objectives.
4) Perform a Gap Assessment
One of the first crucial steps in your SOC 2 journey is to conduct a gap assessment, or readiness assessment. This involves reviewing your existing procedures, policies, and controls to assess your current security posture and identify which additional controls are needed to meet the applicable Trust Services Criteria.
Use the SOC 2 Compliance Checklist & Dashboard as your starting point to clearly understand what needs to be done and where your compliance program currently stands.
For instance, in the example d, you can see that the company has selected the Availability (A) and Security (CC) Trust Services Criteria, with 76% of the 33 Security Controls satisfied and 67% of the Availability Controls in place.
This approach provides a clear picture of your current status and helps prioritize the areas that need attention, ensuring a focused and efficient path toward achieving SOC 2 compliance.
5) Remediate Control Gaps
After completing your gap assessment, the next step is to address any gaps identified to ensure all SOC 2 control requirements are met. This can be a time-consuming process, but it's essential for achieving compliance.
Work closely with your team to:
- Review and Create Missing Policies: Develop any policies that are currently lacking, such as an Access Control Policy, Business Continuity Policy, or Cyber Risk Assessment Policy.
- Formalize and Implement Procedures: Establish, formalize, and execute key procedures, like onboarding and offboarding employees, regularly testing backups.
- Update Software Configurations: Make necessary adjustments to your software, such as enabling Multi-Factor Authentication and encrypting data both at rest & in-transit.
- Integrate New Tools and Workflows: Like integrating new tools or adding new processes to existing workflows. For example, if you need to perform background checks on new hires, to ensure there are no criminal records.
Your SOC 2 Compliance Checklist will guide you in assigning responsibilities, tracking progress, and clearly identifying which policies need to be in place. This proactive approach enables you to close all compliance gaps well before the audit, reducing stress and ensuring a smoother path to achieving SOC 2 certification.
6) Collect Your Evidence
Your written policies need to be backed by solid, verifiable evidence. Anything stated in your policies must be supported by clear documentation.
To prepare, your team should gather all relevant documents and materials that validate your policies and procedures. Remember, passing an audit isn't just about telling the auditor what you’re doing — it’s about showing them concrete proof.
For example, if you state that every new hire goes through an onboarding deck, your evidence should include the deck itself and records of calendar meetings where the deck was presented. As you collect evidence, always ask yourself: How can I prove that we’re actually doing what we say we’re doing?
7) Monitor and Maintain Controls (Essential for SOC 2 Type 2)
Now that you’ve remediated gaps and added the necessary controls to achieve SOC 2 compliance, it’s crucial to establish processes to continuously monitor and maintain those controls. This ensures that your organization remains compliant over time and is always ready for future audits.
If you have the budget, consider using tools like Drata, Vanta, or Sprinto to automate control monitoring and evidence collection. However, if you’re a smaller team with limited resources, these tools can be costly and complex. In fact, many enterprises still rely on simple methods like spreadsheets, documents, and screenshots to meet compliance requirements for standards such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA (trust me, I’ve seen it firsthand!). From my experience, a compliance tool isn’t always necessary and can sometimes add more complexity than it solves.
PRO TIP: If you’re pursuing a SOC 2 Type 1 report, you can minimize ongoing monitoring efforts since this is a “snapshot” audit that evaluates controls at a single point in time. However, if you’re not in urgent need of the SOC 2 report, consider establishing continuous monitoring processes anyway.
8) Find the Right Auditor
Picking the right auditor is key to a smooth SOC 2 process. A good auditor won’t just check your boxes—they’ll help you understand your compliance gaps, simplify the audit, and get you to that clean SOC 2 report.
But before you start, make sure you know the SOC 2 requirements and where your company stands to avoid overspending on consulting fees.
Look for an auditor who:
- Explains things clearly and makes sense to your team.
- Knows your industry and its specific challenges.
- Works well with your team and offers helpful feedback.
- Has strong references from other successful companies.
Choosing the right auditor will make your SOC 2 journey much easier and more efficient.
9 Undergo the SOC 2 Audit
Don’t worry—the auditors don’t bite! And here’s the good news: you can’t “fail” a SOC 2 audit. If something isn’t up to standard, the auditor will simply issue non-conformities or highlight gaps that need fixing. You might need to provide more evidence in certain areas or walk through some processes, and that’s it. Once those issues are addressed, you’ll receive your shiny new SOC 2 report.
With your SOC 2 compliance in hand, you can proudly show your customers that you’re serious about security—and join your competitors at the enterprise table!
Ready for Simple, Stress-Free SOC 2 Compliance?
About me
Hi, my name is Adam. With over 15 years of experience in the tech industry, I have led and completed more than 100 software development projects, managing budgets from shoestring sums to over $100 million. I've held various roles throughout my career, including CEO, CTO, Head of Department, Project Manager, Program Manager, and Founder/Co-Founder, giving me a well-rounded understanding of how software projects work — the priorities, the pitfalls, and what it takes to succeed.
During my career, I've faced the challenge of achieving SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance firsthand while running my telehealth startup. I still remember the stress, the anxiety, and the uncertainty of not knowing where to begin. Back then, a simple yet powerful resource like this SOC 2 Compliance Checklist would have been a lifesaver.
Later, in my role at a major tech company, I guided over 50 projects through SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance. Through these experiences, I discovered the most effective ways to prepare for these rigorous standards, focusing on the essential parts and how these frameworks can add real value to projects, not just headaches.
My goal is to help you see the real-world usefulness of these compliance frameworks without the stress and confusion.
That’s why I created this simple yet powerful SOC 2 Compliance Checklist and Dashboard — to help small and medium companies start their compliance journey quickly and efficiently.
It’s designed from a founder's and manager's perspective, focusing on the practical aspect, not from an auditor's viewpoint that often lacks an understanding of how real software development works.
Ready for Simple, Stress-Free SOC 2 Compliance?
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