Annex A.3: Annex A.3: Records systems
The organization has to provide records systems that keep records authentic, reliable, usable and protected for as long as they are needed.
What annex A.3 asks
The organization has to provide records systems that keep records authentic, reliable, usable and protected for as long as they are needed. The annex frames the system requirements around integrity and security, the technologies chosen, an inventory of the systems in scope, documentation of how they work, availability, integrity, monitoring and access. The point is not to buy a particular product but to show that the chosen systems can carry the records requirements through technology change.
The point is not to buy a product but to show the chosen systems can carry the records requirements through technology change. Integrity and access have to be evidenced, not assumed from encryption.
Reading it in practice
The system inventory is the control that makes the rest possible. If the inventory stops at the repository, the organization cannot see the business applications that hold the authoritative record. Add the owner, the record classes, the technology dependency and the exit route for each system. Then test integrity, access and restore on the systems that matter.
The third edition is at stage 50.00 and its clause text is not public. Annex A.3 is normative and frames the system requirements around integrity and security, technologies, inventory, documentation, availability, integrity, monitoring and access. The third edition is not public.
Status: not shown in the public record. The 2019 requirement above is the one a certificate is issued against. No draft requirement is asserted.
Evidence for annex A.3
Expect a system inventory with owners and record classes, security and integrity controls with test or audit evidence, and availability, monitoring and access reports.
- Records system System inventory with owner, scope, record classes held and technology dependencies
- Records system Security and integrity controls with test or audit evidence
- Records system Availability, monitoring and access reports for the records systems
Where annex A.3 commonly fails
- A system inventory that stops at the main repository and misses business applications
- Integrity assumed because the storage is encrypted, with no audit trail of change
What to do about annex A.3 before the revision
Complete the inventory beyond the main repository. Test one integrity control and one restore. Record who can change a record and how the change is traced.
Read across from annex A.3
Open the full index. The revision record shows the public stage record and the proven 2011 to 2019 changes.
Source for annex A.3: ISO 30301:2019, ISO 30301:2019, Annex A.3 (normative), retrieved 22 October 2026. The requirement, evidence and gaps are written from our clause record; the draft status rests on the ISO/PRF 30301 page 89772. Every source.