ISO 27001 A.6.1: background screening, explained for startups
What A.6.1 asks of a small company, and what an auditor samples.
Run appropriate background checks on people before they join, scaled to how sensitive their role is. Balance the checks against privacy and local law.
Why it exists: to check new people before they are given access to its information.
A.6.1 Screening
New staff are checked before they get access. What proves it: background checks proportionate to the role, done before access is granted.
A certification auditor samples screening records for recent hires. A file that usually does the job: a background check provider confirmation or hiring checklist, with personal details removed.
How to put it in place
Each step leaves a record, and the record is what the auditor samples rather than the step itself. Inside Polara, the control card for A.6.1 walks you through it in this order.
- Add identity and reference checks for everyone, and deeper checks for roles that touch customer data.
- Grant access only after the checks clear.
- Keep the confirmation.
The free ISO 27001 readiness assessment asks one question that evidences it:
- Do you screen new hires before they get access?
Policies, connectors and the SOC 2 overlap
In the ISO 27001 policy pack, the People and Human Resources Security Policy covers A.6.1. An auditor reads the policy for the rule, then samples the records to see the rule was followed.
The same evidence counts toward SOC 2. The Trust Services criterion that cover this ground: CC1.4, hiring and competence.
People controls
A.6.1 is one of the 8 people controls in Annex A. What happens before, during and after someone works for you: screening, terms, training, discipline, remote work and reporting. Small teams meet these with a handful of signed records.
Nearby controls in the same theme:
Before it: A.5.37, written procedures. After it: A.6.2, employment terms. Every control, by theme, is on the Annex A controls page.
Questions
What does ISO 27001 A.6.1 require?
What evidence does an auditor want for A.6.1?
Get ready for ISO 27001 certification.
The readiness assessment is free, with no payment and no card. ISO 27001 is part of Constellation, at $10,800 a year: everything in Orbit plus the management system, the policies, the evidence and the management review for ISO 27001, and your SOC 2 Type 2 audit is included in every contract year. You contract the certification body directly.
The internal audit is priced separately: Polara arranges it with an independent internal auditor from our partner network who works in the platform, and quotes it for your company.
Take the free assessmentPolara Labs is not a certification body. Certification audits are performed by independent accredited certification bodies.