ISO 27001 Annex A 5.1: Policies for information security

What auditors look for

Auditors check that 5.1 is either justified as not applicable in your Statement of Applicability or implemented and working. Typical evidence includes:

• Approved information security policy
• Policy register with owners and review dates
• Staff acknowledgement records

How to implement 5.1 in practice

1. Keep the top-level policy short and push detail into topic policies
2. Record every review, including "no change" reviews
3. Link each policy to the controls that enforce it
4. Name an owner for 5.1, decide how often it runs and file evidence each time, so the control is audit-ready all year.

Recording 5.1 in the Statement of Applicability

List 5.1 with whether it applies, the reason (usually the risks it treats or a legal or contractual requirement), its implementation status and where the evidence lives. If you exclude it, explain why none of your risks or obligations require it.

Free resources

• How to build a security policy framework
• Information security policy template
• ISO 27001 and GDPR readiness assessment
• 10 steps to implement ISO 27001
• Remote ISO 27001 consultant

More organizational controls

• 5.2 Information security roles and responsibilities
• 5.3 Segregation of duties
• 5.4 Management responsibilities
• 5.5 Contact with authorities
• 5.6 Contact with special interest groups
• 5.7 Threat intelligence
• 5.8 Information security in project management
• 5.9 Inventory of information and other associated assets