What evidence do auditors commonly ask for on 6.1 Screening?

A screening procedure defining criteria, depth by role and classification, who performs checks, and when and why they are done; Screening records for a sample of new joiners showing references, CV verification, qualification confirmation and identity checks; Evidence of enhanced checks such as criminal record or credit review for critical and security roles; Supplier contracts requiring screening of contracted personnel, and evidence it occurred; Records of mitigations such as reduced access or delayed onboarding where screening was incomplete; Periodic re-screening records for critical roles, and evidence candidates were informed where law requires.

What is the most common gap auditors find on 6.1?

Contractors and temporary staff start work without any screening

ISO/IEC 27002:2022 · People controls

`6.1` Screening

Every candidate who is to become personnel is to undergo background verification before joining and on a continuing basis, within applicable law, regulation and ethics, and in proportion to business needs, the classification of the information they will reach and the perceived risk. Purpose: confirm that people qualify for and fit the jobs they are being considered for and stay so throughout their employment. Guidance: screen all personnel, full-time, part-time and temporary, and where people come through service suppliers, write screening requirements into the supplier contract. Candidate information is collected and handled under the law of the relevant jurisdiction, which may require candidates to be told in advance. Verification respects privacy, PII and employment law and, where allowed, includes satisfactory business and personal references, a check that the CV is complete and accurate, checking the degrees and professional credentials the person claims, independent identity verification using an official document, and deeper checks such as credit or criminal record review for critical roles. For information security roles, confirm the candidate is competent and trustworthy, especially where the role is critical. Where a job, on appointment or promotion, gives access to processing facilities and especially to confidential information such as financial, personal or health data, consider more detailed checks. Procedures define criteria and limits: who may screen, and how, when and why checks are done. If checks cannot be finished in time, apply mitigations until they are, such as delaying onboarding or the issue of corporate assets, onboarding with reduced access, or ending employment. Repeat checks periodically according to the criticality of the role.

Source: ISO/IEC 27002:2022, 6.1. The statement above is our statement of the clause, read from the published text and cited so you can check it against the official text, not the instrument verbatim. Open ISO/IEC 27002:2022 in the compliance library.

ISO/IEC 27002 is guidance on the Annex A controls; certification is against ISO/IEC 27001. Use this set when your sheet follows the 27002 numbering.

artefacts

held by a system

at each review

hard

to go live

Identity provider / directory

where the evidence lives

teal = a system already holds it · olive = produced at each review. To go live: easy when half or more of the artefacts are already held by a system, moderate from a quarter to a half, hard below a quarter.

These are the artefacts auditors commonly ask for on this requirement, our guidance rather than text from the standard. Your assessor decides what is sufficient in your context, and asks for samples across the period when a report covers one.

system holds itEvidence a system already holds

Records of mitigations such as reduced access or delayed onboarding where screening was incomplete · HR system / LMS

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

Screening records for a sample of new joiners showing references, CV verification, qualification confirmation and identity checks · Identity provider / directory
Evidence of enhanced checks such as criminal record or credit review for critical and security roles · Identity provider / directory
Supplier contracts requiring screening of contracted personnel, and evidence it occurred · HR system / LMS
Periodic re-screening records for critical roles, and evidence candidates were informed where law requires · Identity provider / directory

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

A screening procedure defining criteria, depth by role and classification, who performs checks, and when and why they are done · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

Mostly documents and reviews. Pull the 1 system-held artefact from your HR system / LMS on a schedule; put the documents under version control with an owner and review date, and log each review as a dated record with a named reviewer.

Common gaps auditors find

Contractors and temporary staff start work without any screening
Access is granted in full before checks are completed and no mitigation is recorded
Screening is never repeated for people who move into critical roles
Checks are not proportionate, either excessive for low-risk roles or thin for high-risk ones

Do this for your whole sheet

Paste the rows you run your controls from and get this mapping for every control at once, with the periodic-review ones flagged and a first move per row. No account for the first run.

Build my evidence sheet

5.37 Documented operating procedures · 6.2 Terms and conditions of employment