Clause 7.4: Communication
The organization has to decide what it communicates about the records system, when, with whom and how.
What clause 7.4 asks
The organization has to decide what it communicates about the records system, when, with whom and how. That covers internal communication about policy, objectives, changes and incidents, and external communication with regulators, clients, suppliers and archivists where the system depends on them. The clause does not require a documented procedure, but the decisions have to be made and the important communications have to happen in a way the organization can show.
Communication covers internal change and incident messages and external contact with regulators, clients, suppliers and archives. The clause does not require a procedure, but the decisions have to be made and the important messages have to happen.
Reading it in practice
The clause does not require a procedure, but it does require decisions. A short plan that names who tells whom about a policy change, a system outage or a disposal hold is enough. External communication matters most when a regulator, a client or an archive is relying on the organization to keep or transfer records.
The third edition is at stage 50.00 and its clause text is not public. No public draft wording. The 2019 text replaced the 2011 procedure requirement with a decision about what, when, with whom and how to communicate.
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 7.4
Expect a communication plan or a set of decisions, and evidence of a message sent for a policy change, a system change or an incident.
- Communication Communication plan covering records topics, audiences, channels and timing
- Communication Messages issued for a policy change, a system change or a records incident
- Communication Record of external communication with a regulator, client or archive
Where clause 7.4 commonly fails
- Communication left to informal email with no plan and no record
- A serious records incident never communicated to the functions that needed to act
What to do about clause 7.4 before the revision
Write a one-page communication plan for records: topics, audiences, channels and timing. Send one message about a real change. Keep the record of the external communication that matters most.
Read across from clause 7.4
Open the full index. The revision record shows the public stage record and the proven 2011 to 2019 changes.
Source for clause 7.4: ISO 30301:2019, ISO 30301:2019, Clause 7.4, 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.