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NIST SP 800-53 Learning Center

AC-1 — Policy and Procedures

Read the official control and assessment content, then use the separately labeled Bare Metal Cyber perspective to connect the requirement to implementation, evidence, and sustained operation.

0Enhancements
9Parameters
4Baseline memberships
2Assessment methods

AC — Access Control · NIST SP 800-53 Release 5.2.0

LowModerateHighPrivacy
Official NIST control content

Control statement

  1. a.Develop, document, and disseminate to [Organization-defined: organization-defined personnel or roles]:
    1. 1.[Organization-defined: ac-01_odp.03] access control policy that:
      1. (a)Addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities, management commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and
      2. (b)Is consistent with applicable laws, executive orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines; and
    2. 2.Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the access control policy and the associated access controls;
  2. b.Designate an [Organization-defined: official] to manage the development, documentation, and dissemination of the access control policy and procedures; and
  3. c.Review and update the current access control:
    1. 1.Policy [Organization-defined: frequency] and following [Organization-defined: events] ; and
    2. 2.Procedures [Organization-defined: frequency] and following [Organization-defined: events].
Official NIST discussion

Discussion

Access control policy and procedures address the controls in the AC family that are implemented within systems and organizations. The risk management strategy is an important factor in establishing such policies and procedures. Policies and procedures contribute to security and privacy assurance. Therefore, it is important that security and privacy programs collaborate on the development of access control policy and procedures. Security and privacy program policies and procedures at the organization level are preferable, in general, and may obviate the need for mission- or system-specific policies and procedures. The policy can be included as part of the general security and privacy policy or be represented by multiple policies reflecting the complex nature of organizations. Procedures can be established for security and privacy programs, for mission or business processes, and for systems, if needed. Procedures describe how the policies or controls are implemented and can be directed at the individual or role that is the object of the procedure. Procedures can be documented in system security and privacy plans or in one or more separate documents. Events that may precipitate an update to access control policy and procedures include assessment or audit findings, security incidents or breaches, or changes in laws, executive orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines. Simply restating controls does not constitute an organizational policy or procedure.

Official OSCAL parameters

Organization-defined parameters

These values must be resolved through the organization’s tailoring and governance process. Bracketed parameter references in the control text identify where a decision is required.

organization-defined personnel or roles
personnel or rolespersonnel or roles to whom the access control policy is to be disseminated is/are defined;
personnel or rolespersonnel or roles to whom the access control procedures are to be disseminated is/are defined;
ac-01_odp.03
officialan official to manage the access control policy and procedures is defined;
frequencythe frequency at which the current access control policy is reviewed and updated is defined;
eventsevents that would require the current access control policy to be reviewed and updated are defined;
frequencythe frequency at which the current access control procedures are reviewed and updated is defined;
eventsevents that would require procedures to be reviewed and updated are defined;
Original Bare Metal Cyber perspective

From control text to operational evidence

Use Policy and Procedures as a testable risk decision. Translate the official statement into accountable people, repeatable processes, configured technology, and evidence that demonstrates the outcome over time. In this family, pay particular attention to identity, authorization, least privilege, session boundaries, and access lifecycle governance.

Implementation workflow

  • Define the control boundary, responsible owner, inherited portions, and systems or processes in scope.
  • Resolve each organization-defined parameter before declaring the control implemented.
  • Document how the implementation satisfies every clause of the official control statement.
  • Collect evidence as a normal byproduct of operation rather than only before an assessment.
  • Review exceptions, changes, and monitoring results on a risk-based cadence.

Evidence examples

  • access approvals and entitlement records
  • role and group configuration exports
  • periodic access review results
  • authentication and authorization logs

Common failure patterns

  • standing privileges that outlive business need
  • shared or orphaned accounts
  • access rules implemented differently across systems
  • approvals that cannot be traced to actual permissions

Questions practitioners should ask

  • What risk decision is this control intended to support in this system?
  • Which parts are implemented locally, inherited, shared, or not applicable—and what evidence supports that decision?
  • Do the documented narrative, deployed configuration, operating process, and collected evidence agree?
  • What event or threshold requires the implementation to be reviewed or changed?
Official NIST SP 800-53A content

Assessment objectives and methods

Show the assessment objective
  1. AC-01a.
    1. AC-01a.[01]an access control policy is developed and documented;
    2. AC-01a.[02]the access control policy is disseminated to [Organization-defined: personnel or roles];
    3. AC-01a.[03]access control procedures to facilitate the implementation of the access control policy and associated controls are developed and documented;
    4. AC-01a.[04]the access control procedures are disseminated to [Organization-defined: personnel or roles];
    5. AC-01a.01
      1. AC-01a.01(a)
        1. AC-01a.01(a)[01]the [Organization-defined: ac-01_odp.03] access control policy addresses purpose;
        2. AC-01a.01(a)[02]the [Organization-defined: ac-01_odp.03] access control policy addresses scope;
        3. AC-01a.01(a)[03]the [Organization-defined: ac-01_odp.03] access control policy addresses roles;
        4. AC-01a.01(a)[04]the [Organization-defined: ac-01_odp.03] access control policy addresses responsibilities;
        5. AC-01a.01(a)[05]the [Organization-defined: ac-01_odp.03] access control policy addresses management commitment;
        6. AC-01a.01(a)[06]the [Organization-defined: ac-01_odp.03] access control policy addresses coordination among organizational entities;
        7. AC-01a.01(a)[07]the [Organization-defined: ac-01_odp.03] access control policy addresses compliance;
      2. AC-01a.01(b)the [Organization-defined: ac-01_odp.03] access control policy is consistent with applicable laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines;
  2. AC-01b.the [Organization-defined: official] is designated to manage the development, documentation, and dissemination of the access control policy and procedures;
  3. AC-01c.
    1. AC-01c.01
      1. AC-01c.01[01]the current access control policy is reviewed and updated [Organization-defined: frequency];
      2. AC-01c.01[02]the current access control policy is reviewed and updated following [Organization-defined: events];
    2. AC-01c.02
      1. AC-01c.02[01]the current access control procedures are reviewed and updated [Organization-defined: frequency];
      2. AC-01c.02[02]the current access control procedures are reviewed and updated following [Organization-defined: events].

Examine

  • Access control policy and procedures
  • system security plan
  • privacy plan
  • other relevant documents or records

Interview

  • Organizational personnel with access control responsibilities
  • organizational personnel with information security with information security and privacy responsibilities
Official relationships

Related controls

These relationships come from the official OSCAL catalog. They indicate useful dependencies or context, not automatic inheritance or equivalence.

IA-1PM-9PM-24PS-8SI-12
Official CUI requirement crosswalk

Related NIST SP 800-171 requirements

These Rev. 3 requirements cite this base control or one of its enhancements as a source. The relationship does not by itself determine contractual applicability or complete implementation.

03.15.01Policy and ProceduresAC-1 →
Source record

Authoritative sources

Bare Metal Cyber is an independent educational publisher and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NIST. Official control requirements and interpretations remain with NIST and the responsible authorizing organization.