EvidenceSheet
PCI DSS v4.0.1 · Req 9: Restrict Physical Access

9.5.1.2.1 Risk-based frequency and type of POI inspections

The entity must set both how often periodic POI device inspections occur and what type of inspection is done through its targeted risk analysis, carried out in line with every element of Requirement 12.3.1. The guidance names factors such as the device's location and whether it is attended or unattended, notes that unsupervised devices in public areas might be inspected more often than those in secure or supervised areas, and advises consulting vendor documentation. Applicability: deployed card-present POI devices. Objective under the customized approach: how often POI devices get inspected reflects the risk the entity faces. Future-dated: treated as a best practice up to 31 March 2025 and mandatory since then.

Source: PCI DSS v4.0.1, 9.5.1.2.1. 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.

4
artefacts
0
held by a system
2
at each review
hard
to go live
Document repository
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

none for this control

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

  • Inspection records demonstrating the defined frequency is achieved per tier · Document repository
  • Evidence of periodic review of the risk analysis and any vendor guidance considered · Vendor register / contract repository

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

  • Targeted risk analysis document for POI inspection frequency and type, structured per Requirement 12.3.1 · Document repository
  • Device risk tiers such as attended, unattended and public-facing with assigned inspection intervals · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

No system holds this evidence for you: it is people and documents. Reminders and routing to the owner still save time. Put the document under version control with an owner and review date, and log each review as a record with reviewer and date.

Common gaps auditors find

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.

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9.5.1.2 Periodic inspection of POI device surfaces · 9.5.1.3 Training for personnel in POI environments