8.1.1 Requirement 8 policies and procedures maintained

Every security policy and operational procedure called for in Requirement 8 must be documented, kept up to date, in active use, and communicated to everyone affected. In this requirement set these cover user identification, account lifecycle, authentication factors, password rules, MFA and management of application and system accounts. The guidance adds that documents are best revised as processes, technologies and business objectives change, not only on a set schedule. Objective under the customized approach: expectations, controls and oversight for Requirement 8 activities are defined and followed by the relevant staff, and supporting activities are repeatable, consistent and in line with management intent.

Source: PCI DSS v4.0.1, 8.1.1. 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 PCI DSS v4.0.1 in the compliance library.

Version 4.0.1 is the active version; 4.0 has been retired. Appendix A1 applies only to multi-tenant service providers, A2 only to card-present POS POI terminals that still use SSL or early TLS, and A3 only when a payment brand or acquirer requires it. Which requirements apply to you follows your validation type.