Clause 7.5.1: Documented information: general
The records system has to include the documented information the standard requires and any further documented information the organization decides is needed for the system to work.
What clause 7.5.1 asks
The records system has to include the documented information the standard requires and any further documented information the organization decides is needed for the system to work. The 2019 edition removed the earlier list of mandatory statements and the requirement for documented procedures, so the organization now chooses the form and amount, except where a clause explicitly requires documented information. The choice has to be justified by effectiveness, not by habit.
Documentation should be proportionate to the system's needs. The clause asks the organization to know which documented information is required by which clause and which it has chosen to keep for effectiveness.
Reading it in practice
The register is also a de-duplication tool. Most organizations have several documents that say the same thing and several clauses whose required records are missing. Mapping each item to a clause or a stated purpose shows both problems at once. The clause leaves the form open, so a wiki page or a system record can be as valid as a PDF if it is controlled.
The third edition is at stage 50.00 and its clause text is not public. No public draft wording. The 2019 edition removed the 2011 list of mandatory statements and the requirement for documented procedures, leaving the organization to choose the form and amount except where a clause requires it.
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 7.5.1
Expect a documented information register that maps each item to its clause or its purpose. The auditor will ask why a document exists and what would fail without it.
- Documented information Documented information register showing what is required by which clause
- Documented information Index of organization-determined documentation with its purpose and owner
- Documented information Review showing documentation is proportionate to the system's needs
Where clause 7.5.1 commonly fails
- Every process documented because that is how it was always done
- A required record missing because the clause that requires it was not tracked
What to do about clause 7.5.1 before the revision
Build the register: item, clause or purpose, owner, location, retention. Remove one document that has no answer. Add one that a clause requires and you are missing.
Read across from clause 7.5.1
Open the full index. The revision record shows the public stage record and the proven 2011 to 2019 changes.
Source for clause 7.5.1: ISO 30301:2019, ISO 30301:2019, Clause 7.5.1, 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.