Clause 7.1: Resources
The organization has to determine what resources the records system needs and provide them.
What clause 7.1 asks
The organization has to determine what resources the records system needs and provide them. Resources include people with the right skills, systems and storage, budget, time, expert advice and access to the business functions the system serves. The clause puts the duty on the organization rather than on top management alone, which means resource decisions at every level have to match the objectives and the risks the system is meant to control.
Resources include people, systems, storage, budget, time and expert advice. The clause is where a policy promise meets a cost line, and where an underfunded system becomes visible.
Reading it in practice
Resource evidence is often the weakest part of a records audit. The system may be purchased but unstaffed, or staffed but without storage budget. The clause asks the organization to determine and provide what the system needs, which means a cost line, a named person and a decision when the two do not match.
The third edition is at stage 50.00 and its clause text is not public. No public draft wording. The 2019 text puts the duty on the organization rather than top management alone, which spreads the resource decision to every level that owns a process.
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 clause 7.1
The auditor will compare the resource plan with the objectives and the risks. Look for a budget, a staffing profile and a funding decision for a system change.
- Resources Resource plan or budget covering people, systems, storage and specialist support
- Resources Staffing and skills profile for the records function
- Resources Business case or funding decision for a system change
Where clause 7.1 commonly fails
- A system promised in the policy but underfunded in the budget
- Storage growth treated as an IT problem with no records input
What to do about clause 7.1 before the revision
Put a cost against each objective and each risk treatment. Identify the one resource gap that most threatens the next audit. Take it to the budget owner with the evidence.
Read across from clause 7.1
Open the full index. The revision record shows the public stage record and the proven 2011 to 2019 changes.
Source for clause 7.1: ISO 30301:2019, ISO 30301:2019, Clause 7.1, 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.